GOOD NEWS ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE

There was lots of good news in the latest statistics on consumption of
tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs by teenagers in Quebec.

Cigarette smoking has been cut in half since 1998, with one in seven
teenagers now saying they smoke, compared with nearly one in three
back then. Marijuana consumption was also down, to 29.4 per cent of
teens last year, from 36 per cent in 2004.

These victories suggest that the word is getting out: Smoking,
drinking and drugs really can do young people a lot of damage. This
points the way forward in the battle to wean more of them off harmful
habits and substances.

And we should make no mistake: There is a lot of work still to do. The
Institut de la statistique du Quebec says that nearly 40 per cent of
the province's teenagers still admit to excessive drinking and nearly
one teen in 10 nowadays takes amphetamines - the one category of drugs
that did not register a solid drop in consumption. Teen users claim
that they need amphetamines to cope with an increasingly busy world.
And girls use the drug to stay thin.

If young people believe they need to be wired and thin to succeed in
today's world, we need to rethink what kind of values we are offering
them to emulate. Good health is one of the greatest gifts a person can
have. That's the real point teens need to know.