HUGE RISE IN TEENAGERS TRYING HEROIN

The number of Australian teenagers who have tried heroin at least once has
almost trebled in just three years, while more than half a million 14- to
19-year-olds report they have used an illegal drug, such as cannabis, recently.

And young girls have now matched their male counterparts in illegal drug
use, with 51 per cent of 14- to 19-year-olds admitting they have tried an
illicit substance, compared with 33.5 per cent three years ago.

The statistics are contained in the 1998 National Drug Strategy Household
Survey, the most comprehensive study of its kind in Australia. Collated by
the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for the Commonwealth
Department of Health, the results are based on a national random survey of
10,030 Australians.

They show public debate about drugs must be "realistic", taking into account
the fact that teenagers experiment with drugs and alcohol, according to the
information manager for the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Mr
Paul Dillon. "We have to gain their trust and help them make informed
choices," he said.

Most alarmed at the figures on young women, Mr Dillon said: "Perhaps we have
to start looking at targeted campaigns. For example ... the most successful
campaigns world-wide were those targetted specifically at young males to
stop binge drinking. Perhaps we should turn attention in a similar way to
young women."

The national survey reveals 22 per cent of adults now use an illicit drug,
with 46 per cent of the population stating they have used an illegal
substance at least once in their lifetime. Marijuana had been tried by two
in every five Australians aged 14 and over, an increase of 8 per cent since
1995, while tobacco smoking registered a slight decline, from 27 per cent in
1995 to 26 per cent in 1998.

The proportion of teenage cannabis smokers increased from 29 per cent in
1995 to 35 per cent last year, with the proportion of young females rising
from 20 per cent in 1995 to 34 per cent last year.

However, alcohol remains the most commonly used drug, with more than 80 per
cent of people aged 14 and over saying they had used it in the past 12
months. Nearly half said they consume it regularly.

The statistics for alcohol use are particularly worrying among 14- to
19-year-olds, with more than two-thirds consuming dangerous levels.

Mr Dillon said that when people reported illicit drug use, the majority
meant cannabis, not opiates such as heroin.

"However, the worrying trends are certainly those affecting young women," he
said. "Why are young women more attracted to these substances now? We used
to say young women were protected almost by their gender from some
drug-related problems."

Meanwhile, drugs given to children for psychological disorders are being
traded in the playground, with one child dead from taking an unprescribed
dose. The girl died after taking a drug she had bought illicitly at school,
which she had thought was medication used to treat attention deficit disorder.

The revelation was contained in a study by the Centre for Independent
Studies on drug consumption in Australia.