QUEBECERS DRINK MORE OFTEN BUT BINGE LESS, STUDY SHOWS

Report Used As Part Of Anti-drug Drive. Researchers Were Particularly
Alarmed About Alcohol And Drug Use By Quebec Adolescents

Quebecers enjoy their booze, but they are less likely than other Canadians
to drink to excess, a new Quebec study has found.

Eighty-two per cent of Quebec residents surveyed in 2000-01 said they
consumed alcohol - beer far outranked wine and spirits - in the previous 12
months, compared with the national average of 78 per cent.

Prince Edward Island had the lowest rate of alcohol use, at 69.7 per cent
of the population.

But Quebecers were less likely to binge - five drinks or more at a time -
or be at risk of alcohol dependency, than most Canadians, said Michel
Germain, director of the Comite permanent de lutte a la toxicomanie, an
agency that advises the Quebec government on drug and alcohol addictions.

The agency yesterday released a report on the consumption of alcohol,
illegal drugs and some prescription medications (tranquilizers, sedatives
and sleeping pills).

This is the agency's largest drug-related study of Quebec habits to date,
Germain said, and uses data provided by statisticians police, health
authorities, social agencies, school boards and community groups.

The information is meant to back up Quebec's new anti-drug policy, to be
launched in 2004.

Researchers were particularly concerned about alcohol and drug use by
adolescents.

A 2002 study of a group of high school students found 69 per cent of people
age 12-17 had consumed alcohol in the previous year, and 41 per cent had
tried drugs.

"It's rare to find a high school student who has not been offered a
marijuana joint at one time or another," Denis Boivin, alcohol and drug
specialist with the Montreal Regional Health Board, said yesterday.

Among other findings in the drug and alcohol study:

- - Marijuana use among Quebecers, age 15 or more, doubled between 1989 and
1998 (from 6.5 per cent to 13.5 per cent).

- - Almost one in three respondents said they had tried drugs, including
unprescribed medications, at least once in their lives.

- - Quebec women are twice as likely as other women in Canada to have
consumed alcohol during their last pregnancy.

- - Abitibi-Temiscamingue residents (54 per cent) lead Quebec in the number
who downed five drinks or more at a time.

- - Frequent drinking (at least twice a week) peaks in middle age; binge
drinking appeals most to young adults, age 20 to 24.

- - More than 4,000 people, mostly men, were hospitalized in 2001-02 for drug
or alcohol problems.

The regional health board spends $25 million a year on research, support
programs and public campaigns against drug and alcohol abuse.

A 24-hour hotline offers support and resource information for people with
drug and alcohol problems. Call (514) 527-2626.