ALCOHOL-RELATED HARM HIGH IN MANITOBA

Manitobans suffer from among the highest rates in Canada of harm
related to other people's alcohol use, says a national addictions
study released yesterday.

Thirty-six per cent of Manitoba respondents to the Canadian Addiction
Survey reported having been harmed - verbally abused, shoved or
physically assaulted - at least once in the past year due to someone
else's drinking, above the national average of 32.7 per cent and the
second highest rate in the country.

"Often with people who come into shelter - there's been alcohol
involved or some other substance," noted Karen Peto, executive
director of the YWCA, which runs the YWCA Westman Women's Shelter in
Brandon.

"It's a part of the whole picture."

Manitoba, along with the other western provinces, also posted higher
rates of harm to friendships, marriages, work, finances and physical
health because of one's own drinking.

A total of 13,909 Canadians - a minimum of 1,000 respondents in each
province - participated in the random survey, conducted by phone
between Dec. 16, 2003 and April 19, 2004.

Use of all drugs and alcohol is on the rise across Canada, according
to the survey, which is the first national survey on alcohol and
drug-use patterns since 1994.

Alcohol remained the most commonly-used drug among Canadians, with
79.3 per cent of people older than 15 consuming alcohol over the past
year. One quarter of those people reported binge drinking - five
drinks or more for men at one sitting, and four for women - at least
once a month.

Across Canada, 17.8 per cent of people reported they had been a
passenger in a vehicle with a drunk driver in the past year - a
dramatic increase from 7.5 per cent in 1994.

Marijuana use increased dramatically over the past decade, with 44.5
per cent of people having smoked pot at some point in their lives,
compared to 28.2 per cent in 1994.

Almost 70 per cent of people 18 to 24 reported having smoked
pot.

Use of cocaine and crack also jumped, from 3.8 per cent to 10.6 per
cent of the population reporting having used the substances. And 4.1
per cent of people reported having used ecstasy.

Men aged 18 to 24 reported highest use of alcohol and drugs, as well
as the highest rate of harm from those drugs.

Use of harder drugs, such as inhalants, heroin, steroids and injection
drugs hovered around one per cent of the population.

Patricia Begin, spokeswoman for the Canadian Centre on Substance
Abuse, which co-ordinated the survey, said the data was intended to
give policy makers and addictions workers a "base line" in terms of
who is using what drugs in Canada.