REPORT EXPOSES 'ALARMING' EXTENT OF TEENAGE SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Many Smoke, Drink, Use Drugs By Early Teens. One-Size-Fits-All
Approach Won't Suit All Ages: Expert

By the time they're 14, many Canadian youth have done it all -
cigarettes, drugs and alcohol - so a new report on substance abuse
and addiction should serve as a "call to action" to change that, the
organization behind the research says.

Pot smoking, in fact, now exceeds the rate of cigarette smoking among
youth, the study found.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse says Canadians need to pay
closer attention to the fact the average age when a child smokes a
cigarette for the first time is about 12, 13 when he or she uses
alcohol and gets drunk and 14 for first-time drug use.

In a report released yesterday, titled Substance Abuse in Canada:
Youth in Focus, the CCSA outlines gaps in Canada's overall approach
to dealing with these worrying statistics and it suggests several
strategies to plug the holes.

The report paints an alarming portrait of drug and alcohol use by
youth. By the time they are in their first year of high school, about
two-thirds of students had consumed alcohol, according to one survey.
Another survey of youth age 15-24 showed 83 per cent were currently
drinking or had consumed alcohol within the past year. If it's any
comfort to parents, the students characterized their drinking as
light to infrequent.

More than one-third of students in grades 7 to 9 have binged on
alcohol, meaning they consumed five or more drinks on a single
occasion, researchers found. The same was true for 40 per cent of 15-
to 19-year-olds, while another survey showed one-third of young
drinkers drank at a hazardous level.

After alcohol, cannabis was the most commonly used illegal substance
among youth. Cannabis use is reported by 17 per cent of students in
grades 7 to 9, about 29 per cent of 15- to 17-year-olds, and almost
half of 18- to 19-year-olds, the CCSA report said.

The statistics underline that new approaches are needed to prevent
and treat substance abuse by youth, said Michel Perron, the CCSA's
chief executive officer.

In general, Perron said in an interview, there needs to be more
funding for services, better co-ordination between all levels of
government and non-governmental agencies, and better use of
evidence-based research to evaluate which approaches are most
effective. Specifically, Perron says, services need to be matched to
the age and needs of certain kinds of youth, especially those at
higher risk of substance abuse.

A universal prevention strategy that talks to youth about peer
pressure, for example, can be effective up to about age 12, but
beyond that, a one-size-fits-all approach won't work, he said.

Prevention strategies should target youth as early as possible,
Perron said, ideally at around age 10.

"The longer we stave off a young person from trying illegal drugs or
the like, the better it is, the less likely that they'll carry on
into the future," he explained.

Canada also needs to "professionalize" addiction treatment services
to make them more effective, Perron said. There's a shortage of
knowledgeable workers and no consistency in training, his organization says.

There's also room for improvement in schools, the CCSA report said.
Prevention strategies would be more effective, for example, if
teachers had better training to recognize youth with substance abuse
issues, it states.

Perron said he is optimistic about the continuing challenges of
curbing substance abuse among youth. While addiction was not on the
political or public radar five or 10 years ago, Perron said,
encouraging signs are now emerging.

He's eagerly awaiting the anti-drug strategy promised by the federal
government and expected this fall, and the recently established
Canadian Mental Health Commission is another move in the right
direction, he said. Good progress is being made at provincial levels
too, Perron added.