OLDER ALBERTA TEENS MORE LIKELY TO TRY POT THAN CIGARETTES

Canadian Press

EDMONTON (CP) -- Older teens in Alberta are more likely to smoke marijuana
than tobacco, suggests a province-wide survey released this week.

The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission asked 3,394 kids between
Grades 7 and 12 about substance use and gambling.

One of the study's findings suggests that older teens between Grades 10 and
12 are almost twice as likely to try marijuana than cigarettes.

The poll indicated that 42 per cent had tried marijuana at least once over
the course of a year. In stark contrast, only 24.6 per cent had tried
cigarettes.

The survey was conducted in both public and separate schools over a period
of two months last winter. It is accurate to within a percentage point 19
out of 20 times.

The decline in teenagers smoking may be attributable to anti-smoking
campaigns over the last few years, suggested Art Dyer, a researcher with
the commission.

"We'll need to look at that in the context of our tobacco reduction
strategy," he said. "But one of the perhaps most important points to
consider overall is that most kids don't use drugs and don't have problems
with them. One of the dangerous things is we end up tarring all the kids
with the same brush."

The overall survey, which includes youth from Grades 7 to 12, suggested
that 56 per cent of them drank alcohol in the last year, 27 per cent smoked
marijuana, 16 per cent smoked cigarettes and 10 per cent used mushrooms.

And according to the overall study, 31 per cent played Scratch Tabs, 23 per
cent played cards for money, 21 per cent bet on sports and 9.5 per cent
played bingo.

The research also indicated that when it came to substance use and gambling
abuse, good relationships with friends, family and school, were protective
factors, while influential peer behaviour, family discord and school
disconnection, were major risk factors.

The study, which is to be done every two years, will help the commission
plan new strategies for teaching kids about the perils of drug and alcohol
abuse and gambling with its own programs, and through schools and community
groups.