PRESCRIPTION DRUG USE BY TEENS A CONCERN

21 Per Cent of Students Used Pain Drugs for Non-Medical
Purposes

TORONTO -- While alcohol remains the substance of choice among
Canadian teens, a new study in Ontario released Tuesday shows use of
prescription painkillers is a growing cause for concern.

According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, 21
per cent of students surveyed about their drug use revealed they had
tried a prescription pain medication for non-medical purposes at least
once in the past year.

More than 75 per cent of teens reported getting the pills from
home.

Doug Beirness, manager of research and policy for the Canadian Centre
on Substance Abuse said Ontario's youth opioid statistics are the
first of their kind in Canada but should serve as a wakeup call across
the country. An opioid is a chemical substance that has a
morphine-like action in the body and is used for pain relief.

He said past surveys conducted nationally only asked about the opioid
painkiller OxyContin and showed about one per cent of students had
tried it.

"I think it sounds a warning," said Beirness. "This really is opening
our eyes to a whole other area that clearly wasn't on our radar
before." He said parents should be aware of the new statistics and
take steps to safeguard the accessibility of medications in their homes.

Benedikt Fischer, a director at the Centre for Addictions Research of
B.C., said it should not come as a shock that the Ontario survey found
more young people are using opioids because there has been a sharp
increase in the non-medical use of prescription painkillers among the
general population in Canada over the past 10-15 years. But he
cautioned that the data could be misleading.

"A mother may give her son, who has a migraine, a Tylenol No. 3 or a
Percocet, and it might be for very legitimate reasons," said Fischer.
"But it is still non-medical use because it has not been prescribed by
a doctor for this specific reason."