FROM TIPPLE TO TOKE, A NATION TURNS MORE TO DRINK AND DRUGS

More Australians are regularly drinking alcohol, drink-driving and using
illegal drugs, according to a national survey released yesterday.

And as more people imbibe, the community is becoming less interested in
maintaining controls set up to reduce harm from alcohol abuse.

The 1998 National Drug Strategy Household Survey reveals a drop in support
for establishing new dry zones and alcohol-free events.

And compared to survey findings in 1995, people are also going cold on such
proposals as serving only low-alcohol drinks at sports events, pushing up
the price of drinks and reducing liquor trading hours.

The latest research also reveals worrying increases in drug-taking among
young women. The proportion of 14 to 19-year-old females who have used
cannabis nearly doubled to 44.8 per cent in the three years since 1995. The
number who reported using heroin also increased noticeably.

The number of regular drinkers jumped from 44 to 48.6 per cent of the
national population between 1995 and 1998.

The number of people who drove a vehicle after they had been drinking also
jumped, from 10.3 to 17.5 per cent.

Nearly one in four men reported driving a vehicle while under the influence
of alcohol.

The 1998 survey, conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare, also found that in the previous 12 months:

An estimated 4.4million people were victims of alcohol-related verbal abuse.

1.3million people were victims of alcohol-related property damage.

More than 900,000 people were victims of alcohol-related physical assaults.

Almost 600,000 people suffered alcohol-related property theft.

Australians' love affair with alcohol starts early in life: 32.9 per cent of
boys aged 14 to 19 and 27.1 per cent of girls aged 14 to 19 regularly drink
alcohol. People aged 30 to 39 are most likely to be regular drinkers.

Half of those aged 20 to 59 are regular drinkers.

But Australians' worrying weakness for alcohol extends to other drugs as
well. Twenty-two per cent have used illicit drugs, up 5 per cent since 1995.

The survey showed an increase in the recent use of amphetamines,
hallucinogens, heroin, cannabis and ecstasy.

The director of the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Professor
Margaret Hamilton, said Australians underestimated the dangers of alcohol
and had been diverted by the fierce debates surrounding illicit drugs.

``The softening in the attitudes towards strategies that could reduce
alcohol-related harm is a concern,'' Professor Hamilton said.

She said it was time for a national campaign against unsafe drinking.

Alcohol and tobacco killed more than 22,000 Australians a year, she said.

The chief executive officer of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of
Australia, Mr David Crosbie, said he was concerned at the increased use of
cannabis, heroin and other drugs by young women.