Copyright: 2004 Times Colonist
Contact: letters@tc.canwest.com
Website: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Glenn Bohn, CanWest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

B.C. TEENS SMOKE AND DRINK LESS, TAKE FEWER RISKS

VANCOUVER -- Smoking among B.C. youths has gone down dramatically in just
five years.

Many young people are waiting longer to have sex.

And there's even been a slight decline in the number of adolescents who are
using alcohol, marijuana and harder drugs.

These are some of the findings highlighted in a report released Monday by
the McCreary Centre Society, a non-profit, Vancouver-based research
organization that conducted its largest ever adolescent health survey in
B.C. schools last year.

More than 30,500 students in grades 7 to 12 filled out a survey with 140
questions on issues such as suicide, racism and substance abuse. It's the
third McCreary survey since 1992 and many of the same questions were asked
during all three surveys, so now some trends are apparent.

According to the report, the health of B.C.'s youth has gradually improved
in the past decade. Nine out of 10 teens report they are in good or
excellent health. Most kids enjoy a good run, not a hit of crystal meth.

"In many respects, young people in the province are taking fewer risks than
youth five or 10 years ago," the report states. "These trends are
especially encouraging among early adolescents."

Take smoking, for example.

The 2003 survey found that 73 per cent of youths were non-smokers, compared
to 55 per cent in 1998.

The younger the child, the less likely they are to smoke: 59 per cent of
the 17-year-olds are non-smokers, but that number climbs to 74 per cent for
15-year-olds and 89 per cent for 13-year-olds.

Greater Vancouver youths continue to have the lowest smoking rates. (Six
per cent say they are currently smoking, down from 12 per cent in 1998.)

The regions with the highest rate of young smokers are now the Kootenays
(10 per cent) and the Interior (nine per cent).

Dr. Roger Tonkin, a retired University of B.C. pediatrician who chairs the
society's board, said many key findings in the 2003 survey suggest that
B.C. teens are likely part of "a shift to a more conservative lifestyle"
that youths across Canada and the U.S. have adopted in the past decade.

"Most kids are doing OK, and we think we need to say that," Tonkin said
during an interview.

On the other hand, he said he doesn't want to pretend everything is rosy.

For instance:

- - Although gambling is illegal for minors, 26 per cent of the youths said
they had bought lottery tickets, 23 per cent had bet on sports pools, seven
per cent had bet on gambling machines, and two per cent reported they had
bet at a casino in B.C.

- - Ten per cent of the girls and seven per cent of the boys who filled out
the 2003 survey said they had run away from home one or more times in the
previous year. The McCreary report notes that running away from home
increases virtually every type of risk, including poor health, fights,
early sex, pregnancy, and alcohol and drug abuse. It notes that an
"astounding" 47 per cent of these young people have considered suicide.

- - A new question in the 2003 survey asked students about Internet use.
Twenty-three per cent of the girls and seven per cent of the boys said they
had been in contact with a stranger on the Internet who made them feel unsafe.

And even though fewer youths in B.C. are smoking -- a trend the McCreary
report called "the most dramatic news" coming out of its 2003 survey --
some facts about teen tobacco habits remain troubling.

"Although smoking rates have decreased for both genders, girls are still
more likely to smoke than boys -- 76 per cent of boys are non-smokers,
versus 71 per cent of girls," the report notes.