STUDY LINKS YOUNG SMOKERS, DRUG USE

CIGARETTE smokers under the age of 20 are far more likely to drink
alcohol, use cannabis and take illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin,
amphetamines, ecstasy and hallucinogens than non-smokers of the same
age, says a national report to be released Wednesday morning.

The study uses data from the 2004 Canadian Addiction Survey (CAS) to
show that smokers under the age of 20 were 14 times more likely to
consume alcohol, 20 times more likely to use cannabis, and 13 times
more likely to use other illicit drugs, the Canadian Centre on
Substance Abuse said Tuesday.

The CCSA says that if your teenage son or daughter is smoking
cigarettes, there is a greater chance he or she is also using other
substances such as alcohol and illicit drugs, including cannabis.

This is a key finding of Risks Associated with Tobacco in Youth Aged
15 to 19, a report to be released Wednesday morning in Ottawa.

A Winnipeg expert confirmed that the study's findings are accurate.

"They would be consistent with what our expectations would be," John
Borody, chief executive officer of Addictions Foundation Manitoba,
said Tuesday. "There's nothing in there that would surprise me."

Borody, whose agency was involved in the national survey, said that
what is so important about the new study is that it is the first time
that a national research agency has correlated tobacco use with other
harmful substance use.

He said about 20 per cent of Manitoba youth smoke cigarettes, a
percentage that is steadily declining.

Borody said that the references to alcohol consumption compared to
non-smokers will be based on heavy use of alcohol -- "how much harm
you're doing in drinking" -- and not on how many smokers or
non-smokers have an occasional drink.

"The correlation of alcohol and drug use to smoking is very
interesting, and something we should take a closer look at," Borody said.

The report will be posted Wednesday at www.ccsa.ca.