TEENS SMOKE MORE POT THAN CIGARETTES, REPORT SAYS

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.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse says Canadians need to pay
closer attention to the facts that 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 Wednesday, titled Substance Abuse in Canada: Youth in
Focus, the centre 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 that 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 a 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 that 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 substance abuse centre report said.

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

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

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, said
Perron, 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, said Perron. There's a shortage of
knowledgeable workers and no consistency in training, his organization
says.

There's also room for improvement in schools, the centre's 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 ongoing challenges of curbing
substance abuse among youth. While addiction was not on the political
or public radar five or 10 years ago, said Perron, 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.

The centre's report is a call to action for both levels of government
and the general public, he said.

"We're very much looking to mobilize Canadian attention that we need
to address substance use and addiction by youth in Canada," he said.
"We can't do this with government alone; we have to be willing to work
together."