B.C. TOPS NATIONAL DRUG, ALCOHOL HARM SURVEY

Substance abuse persists across the country, drinking part of our culture

TORONTO -- Despite the high-profile debate over the use of marijuana,
substance abuse of all kinds--especially alcohol--continues to be a major
cause of disease and injury in the country, the results of a national survey
suggest.

Sponsored by Health Canada, the Canadian Executive Council on Addictions and
the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, the survey looked at Canadians age
15 or older. The telephone poll was conducted between December 2003 and
April 2004 and released March 23. A total of 13,909 respondents from all
provinces participated.

The researchers noted that physical health was the area of a person's life
most affected by drug or alcohol abuse. Other areas examined were
friendships; home life and marriage; work; studies and employment; finances
and "legal." Interestingly, Canadians said they had virtually no problems
with the law as a result of using illegal drugs.

The researchers calculated that overall, 14.8% of Canadians found alcohol
had a harmful effect on their physical health at some point during their
lifetime. The lifetime rate was highest for residents of B.C., at 18%.
Alberta was second at 17.5%, and Saskatchewan was third at 16.5%.

The highest provincial lifetime rate for cannabis-related harm was also
recorded in B.C. The rate was 17.4%. In second place was Quebec at 17.4%;
ranked third was Alberta at 16%. The national lifetime rate of drug-related
health problems was 15.1%.

Drinking is a major part of our culture, the researchers noted. Fully 79.3%
of Canadians are alcohol users currently, while 92.8% have used it at some
point in their life.

The researchers provided a window into the aggressive and violent behaviour
that alcohol can trigger in some users. Nationally, verbal abuse was the
most common form of harm exhibited, with 15.8% of Canadians saying they had
witnessed the behaviour in a drinker. As well, 15.5% said they had seen
serious arguments that resulted from alcohol use. Pushing or shoving was
observed by 10.8%.

Finally, 3.2% of respondents said they had seen physical assaults that were
fuelled by drink.

"The prevalence of adverse experiences with alcohol over the lifetime (of
individual Canadians) is high enough to conclude that alcohol problems are
part of Canadian life," wrote one contributor to the study, Dr. Florence
Kellner (PhD), a professor in Carleton University's department of sociology
and anthropology in Ottawa.

By way of comparison, 44.5% of Canadians currently have ever used cannabis,
they found. Over the last 12 months, 14.1% admitted using the drug.

The researchers found cannabis users tend to be young, single males who are
relatively well-educated, high-income earners.