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A new report shows that young drinkers are consuming more alcohol more often, since the drinking age was lowered from 20 to 18 just over two years ago.
The Justice Ministry report has found no significant increase in the number of teenagers who drink alcohol, but those who do drink are doing so more often, and consuming more.
The report, ordered by the Justice Minister Phil Goff, has found an increase in the number of alcohol-related visits to hospital by young people.
But the number of alcohol-related car crashes has decreased.
Many elderly drinking dangerously
And another study has found that a significant proportion of elderly people living in the community have dangerous alcohol drinking patterns.
The study, published in Friday's New Zealand Medical Journal, investigated drinking patterns among people aged over 65 living in Christchurch.
It found that 83% of the elderly people surveyed consumed alcohol, and just over a third drank more than four times a week.
Around one in ten senior citizens were found to have hazardous drinking patterns, and men were more likely to report lifetime alcohol dependency and hazardous drinking than women.
Researchers also found that alcohol use and misuse among the elderly was often under-recognised by GPs.
The study says health professionals should prepare for an increase in the number of older people with alcohol-related medical and social problems in the future.
