FOCUS ON LEGAL VICES: EXPERT

Tobacco, Gambling,Alcohol Cause Problems

Cocaine or card games? Crystal meth or cigarettes? Marijuana or rye
whisky? Our society needs to focus on legal vices rather than the
illicit, according to an expert in the field.

"Most of our addiction problems occur with behaviours from legal
substances -- tobacco, alcohol and gambling," said Wayne 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 that started Monday in Saskatoon and runs until
Wednesday. He said addictions to legal vices 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 more than 50 per cent of alcohol
revenue, he said. Another study done in Ontario suggests that while
only five per cent of gamblers have moderate to severe problems,
those people contribute 35 per cent of casino revenues, he said.

Skinner said what concerns him is the minority of people who supply a
sizable amount of revenue to the government. What needs to be
examined 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, the provincial 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 the program focuses on prevention. Another appealing
aspect is that the project includes many disciplines in its approach,
such as criminal justice, health care and social services, along with
the substance abuse system, he said.

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