WE'RE DRINKING LESS

Study Finds Cigarette Use Among Teenagers Is A Major Concern

Canberra

THE stereotype of the typical Aussie with a drink in one hand and a
cigarete in the other may be a myth, according to new research.

But the research shows illegal drug use remains high, especially among
young people, with most Australians aged under 30 admitting to having tried
at least one illegal drug.

The report, from the Australian Institute of Helath and Welfare, shows
Australians now drink less alcohol than the average for developed
countries, the amount dropping from 13 litres of pure alcohol per adult in
1981 to 9.8 litres per year.

This puts Australia 19th of the 45 nations surveyed, which included
countries such as Britain, where alcohol consumption is rising.

Even in the traditional national pasttime of beer consumption Austraia
rated only ninth, well behind the beer-loving citizens of the Czech Republic.

The heaviest overall drinkers are from the Republic of Ireland, who knock
back 12.3 litres of pure alcohol a year.

Australia also ranks 20th of 22 OECD countries in smoking, with the
percentage of smokers dropping from 37 per cent in 1971 to 19.8 per cent in
2001.

Only Sweden and the United States smokes less, with all countries recording
drops in cigarette consumption over the 30-year period.

Cancer Foundation tobacco spokeswoman Denise Sullivan said a combination of
health campaigns and laws restricting the availability of cigarettes over
the past 30 years had led to the decline.

"But we cannot be complacent when one in five Australians still smokes and
the habit costs us $21 billion a year," she said.

Smoking among teenagers was a major concern, with the report showing that
one in 10 smoked every day.

The study found Australians might have exchanged their beer and cigarettes
for stronger stuff, with 17 per cent saying they used at least one illicit
drug during 2001.

Although illegal drug use was higher than 20 years ago, the number of
Australians who used cannabis, heroin, cocaine and amphetamines had dropped
from the all-time high recorded in 1998.

The only major illegal drug to have recorded a rise between 1998 and 2001
was ecstasy, going from 2.4 per cent of the population to 2.9 per cent.

Rates of illegal drug use were highest among young people, with 34.3 per
cent of 14 to 19 year-olds saying they had tried cannabis at least once.

The number jumped to 59 per cent for people in their 20s, with 12.4 per
cent weekly users.

Australians were more likely to use cannabis, heroin, amphetamines or
ecstasy than were Canadians, Americans or Britons - but less likely to have
used any of these drugs than New Zealanders.