DRUG USE ON RISE IN OLDER ADULTS

ILLICIT drug use is rising among baby boomers. Experts fear the
numbers will climb even higher in the next 20 years as people continue
to use the drugs of their youth.

One in 11 men and one in 18 women aged over 50 are using illicit drugs
because they have more relaxed views of drug-taking than their
parents, a report has found.

The report, published in the latest issue of the quarterly magazine Of
Substance, found that between 2004 and 2007 the use of illicit drugs
fell in every age group except the 50-59 one.

"Illicit drugs were around during most of their childhoods so they
have a different set of beliefs about them than their parents did,"
said the magazine's editor, Jenny Tinworth.

"There is every possibility we will see a generation of older people
using ecstasy and amphetamines in years to come." She said the number
of people using illicit drugs was still quite small, and there was
mixed evidence as to whether drug use rose or fell during times of
economic hardship.

"There are studies that say it rises because people are depressed and
some that say it drops because people just cannot afford to buy them."

The report, using figures from the 2007 National Drug Strategy
Household Survey, also found that about 16 per cent of baby boomers
aged over 60 were drinking alcohol daily, compared with only 3 per
cent of people under 40 and 8.5 per cent of those aged 40 to 49.

"It's not that the older people are not drinking to excess," Ms
Tinworth said. "They are having a glass of wine with dinner, but one
or two a night can easily become three or four and then we have a
whole cohort of people with alcohol-related diseases, such as some
cancers and liver damage."

Those aged between 50 and 59 were also smoking about 125 cigarettes a
week on average, the highest consumption of any age group. "They
started smoking at a time when it was common and most young people
just aren't picking that habit up anymore."

Ms Tinworth said GPs needed to be more aware that illicit drugs and
alcohol could be a problem for older people.