DRUG DABBLERS, BUT HARDLY HOOKED

THE WAY WE ARE

There's a strong link between being a smoker and being divorced, but it's
not clear which is cause and which is effect. The typical marijuana smoker
is a university graduate who is currently unemployed, but it's not clear
whether unemployment gives him the motive or just the time. And most people
who have tried heroin say they use the drug once a year or less.

These are some of the mysteries raised in a report called Patterns of Drug
Use in Australia, 1985-1995, which was released last week by the Federal
Health Department. The investigators - Toni Makkai, of the Institute of
Criminology in Canberra, and Ian McAllister, of the Research School of
Social Sciences at ANU - drew on data from five surveys taken between 1985
and 1995, with a total sample size of 15,000. The smoker. A woman is most
likely to smoke if she is single, aged 20 to 29, and in a manual
occupation. A man is most likely to smoke if he has a trade qualification
but is unemployed, was born in Australia, and has been divorced. Divorced
people are twice as likely to smoke as married people.

The typical smoker consumes 17 a day (compared with 18 in 1985). There
seems to be a big decline in smoking among teenagers - in 1985, 64 per cent
of 14- and 15-year-olds said they had tried cigarettes, compared with 36
per cent in 1995. The authors suggest this may result from restrictions on
shops selling small packets and on tobacco sponsorship of sport, which "may
have reduced the visibility and attractiveness of smoking to young people".

The drinker. Six per cent of men and 4 per cent of women are classified as
"harmful drinkers" (five or more drinks every day). The typical harmful
drinker is likely to be aged 40 to 59, with limited educational
qualifications, unemployed, Australian-born, and never married.

The pothead. About a third of Australians of all ages, and half of those
aged 14 to 29, say they have tried marijuana at some time in their lives.
About a third of those who use marijuana do so at least once a week. The
most likely marijuana user is an unemployed male with tertiary
qualifications, in his 20s, born in Australia, New Zealand or Britain.

The junkie. Nearly 2 per cent of Australians of all ages, and nearly 4 per
cent of people aged 14 to 29 say they have tried heroin at some time. The
person most likely to have tried heroin is a male in his 20s, Australian
born, with tertiary or trade qualifications but unemployed.

The authors comment: "The popular image of heroin is of a heavily addictive
drug which forces regular use on those who succumb to its effects. The
survey evidence portrays a different picture ... those who use (or used)
heroin frequently - once a week or more - is just under one in 10 of all
users. By far the largest group of users - 86 per cent - are those who said
that they used the drug less than once a year. While heroin is undoubtedly
addictive for a small group of users, the survey evidence suggests that
there is a much larger proportion of recreational users in the general
population."

This comment has generated an angry reaction from a lobby group called
Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform. It put out a statement saying the
report was irresponsible because it was based on an unreliably small
sample. The group's president, Brian McConnell, said: "The evidence is
everywhere that the problem of heroin and other hard drugs is increasing."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski