OUR VICES OUR NOW OUR HABITS

We smoke too much, drink too much and snort too much.

What was the name of that Doobie Brothers album from '74? Oh yes, What
Were Once Vices Are Now Habits.

Canadians seem to like to party and it's not only driving us to an
early grave, but it's costing the economy big time -- to the tune of
$40 billion, annually. That figure towers over the GNP of many Third
World countries.

It seems our vices have become our habits. And we're paying the price
for those nasty vices.

Canadians will notice the extent of these vices at the workplace, by
the increasing rates of absenteeism. Admit it, we've all made that
call to the office after an evening (weekend) of over imbibing.

According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, the public cost
of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drug abuse totals nearly $40 billion a
year. The cost of substance abuse, at all levels, is staggering.

A report based on 2002 data and released this week by the centre lays
it on the line and there are no grey areas:

- - Eighty per cent of the yearly $39.8-billion economic drain can be
blamed on legal substances -- booze and smokes. Illegal drugs -- weed,
heroin, cocaine and crack account for 20 per cent.

- - Smoking accounts for $17 billion of the total costs, or 42.7 per
cent.

- - Alcohol-related costs reached $14.6 billion, or 36.6 per
cent.

- - Alcohol was blamed for 4,258 deaths in 2002, mostly from liver
disease, impaired driving and alcohol-related suicides.

A Canadian Press story said the study found that direct health-care
costs of substance abuse in 2002 neared $9 billion, attributed to
overdoses, collisions and related illness. To put some perspective on
this, that's more than what was spent on cardiovascular disease ($7.3
billion) or cancer ($2.7 billion).

"Twenty per cent of all acute-care hospital days are the result of
alcohol, tobacco or illegal drug use," said Michael Perron, chief
executive officer of the centre. "This is an enormous factor which
impacts wait times, and which could be reduced to lessen the strain on
our health-care system."

The cover story in last week's Maclean's magazine looked at what
Canadians are doing to themselves in light of overindulgence of their
vices. "Health care is meant to be open to everyone equally," the
magazine said, "but some doctors question, even deny, treatment to
those with certain vices."

The CCSA report reveals that in the one decade from the time of the
centre's first study in 1992, the estimated annual costs had soared by
$21.5 billion from $18.5 billion.

Despite the millions of dollars spent on advertising campaigns to get
Canadians to quit smoking, drink responsibly (add don't drink and
drive) and don't do drugs, it doesn't seem the message is getting
through. Even those public service announcements used in the
Sentinel-Review and Oxford Review, urging people to butt out and don't
get behind the wheel in an inebriated state, seem to be
ineffective.

It's time to curtail our self-destructive vices. Step back, take a
deep breath and slow down. Take care of yourself. If you don't, who
will?

According to a new survey, Canada is described as the third most
desirable place to live in the world, behind the United Kingdom and
Switzerland. Among other things, Canadians are noted for being hard
working individuals. No mention of our love of vices.