10% OF HEALTH COSTS GO TO VICES

Booze, butts 'n' drugs

The use and misuse of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs were
responsible for one in five deaths and almost 10% of hospital
admissions in Canada in 1995.

A study -- published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal --
found that alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs represent a major source
of death and illness in Canada.

"This is a wake-up call that speaks to the nature of the problem.
It's somewhat different than ways that were previously conceived.
It's not just long-term medical problems that are causing death, but
also acute ones," said Dr. Eric Single, research associate at the
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

82,014 ADMITTED

The study estimated that 6,507 Canadians died and 82,014 Canadians
were admitted to hospital because of alcohol consumption and misuse.
The largest number of alcohol-related deaths stemmed from
impaired-driving accidents. About 787 men and 357 women died in car
accidents caused by alcohol impairment. Alcoholic liver cirrhosis
accounted for 1,037 deaths and 955 were alcohol-related suicides.

Researchers estimate in 1995, 34,728 deaths and 194,072 admissions to
hospital were attributable to tobacco use. Smoking-related lung
cancer accounted for 12,151 deaths while 6,671 were due to
tobacco-related chronic pulmonary disease.

And more than two-thirds of those who died from tobacco-related causes
were men.

The number of deaths related to illicit drug use in 1995 in Canada was
estimated at 805 deaths with 6,940 hospital admissions.