PREVENTION KEY TO TREATING ADDICTION

SASKATOON -- Cocaine or card games? Crystal meth or cigarettes?
Marijuana or rye whisky? Our society needs to focus on legal vices
rather than the illicit, Wayne Skinner said.

"Most of our addiction problems occur with behaviors from legal
substances, tobacco, alcohol, and gambling," said Skinner, deputy
clinical director in the addictions program at the Centre for
Addictions and Mental Health, Ontario.

Skinner was keynote speaker at Moving Forward, a national conference
on substance abuse held in Saskatoon Monday. He said addictions to
legal activities have become endemic and the problem needs to be public.

"It's not just a problem for government but a problem for
communities, it's a civic issue," he said. "We all need to be
thinking about what's the balance here and what has to be done about
it, because really, what are governments but the reflections of the
will of the communities."

The group of people with severe addiction is the size of a shot glass
compared to the rest of the population, but the problems facing
society aren't pint sized, because they affect everyone.

A study done in Ontario found that 10 per cent of people who consume
alcohol are problem drinkers, Skinner said. That small group of
people, drinks enough to contribute over 50 per cent of alcohol
revenue, he said. Another study done in Ontario suggests that only
five per cent of gamblers have moderate to severe problems but
contribute to 35 per cent of casino's winnings, he said.

Skinner said what concerns him is this minority of people who supply
a sizable amount of revenue to the government. He said what needs to
be looked at is how much cash goes back into helping those with a problem.

"I think what the province and First Nations have said is that they
want to utilize gaming and utilize alcohol sales for funding of
programs but we want to do that in a way that doesn't actually harm
individuals," said Graham Addley, minister of healthy living services.

He said the answer is the Premier's Project Hope, a three-year plan
to prevent and treat substance abuse.

Skinner said that the program is positive because they're focusing on
prevention. Another appealing aspect is that the project includes
many disciplines in their approach, such as criminal justice, health
care, social service along with the substance abuse system, he said.

What if the project is so successful and the money made by the
government diminishes?

"The revenues may go down but I don't view that as losing money
because you'd be having a much healthier population," Addley said.

Dealing with addictions goes beyond the traditional approach of
treatment, he said, adding that the majority of addictions can be
prevented. He said that the stereotypes related to addiction need to
be dismantled, making it "easier for people to say 'this is a problem
in my life.' "

"We need to become as good getting the community and government
awareness of the problem side of alcohol and gambling addictive
behaviours, as those who are involved in promoting the positive
aspects of these products," he said.