Teenage Drink and Drug Abuse Rife

4/3/2018 Teenage drink and drug abuse rife
THE AUSTRALIAN
Teenage drink and drug abuse rife

STEPHEN LUNN,SOCIAL AFFAIRS WRITER THEAUSTRALIAN 12:00AM February 25, 2008
THE scourge of alcohol abuse across Australia is far worse than previously thought, with one in five 16- and 17-
year-olds now binge-drinking in any given week and nearly 500,000 children living at risk of exposure to an adult
drinking at harmful levels.
The figures on cannabis use are equally disturbing, with one in seven secondary school students using the drug
within the past 12 months.
The problem has been allowed to reach such plague proportions because most Australians consider drinking and
drug use by young people to be a normal activity and "often seen as a rite of passage to adulthood", Australian
National Council on Drugs chairman John Herron warns.
Releasing a paper today entitled Supporting Families of Young People with Problematic Drug Use, the federal
Government's principal advisory body on drugs policy said its estimates last May about the disturbing number of
children exposed to adult binge-drinkers and cannabis users had proven to be significantly short of the mark. That
study found one in eight Australian children lived with a problem drinker or drug user, including more than 230,000
children in households at risk of exposure to a binge drinker and more than 40,000 living in a house where an adult
uses cannabis daily.
A reassessment of the research finds almost double the numbers, estimating that 451,000 children are exposed to
binge drinking and that 70,000 live with a daily cannabis user.
Overall among 12- to 17-year-olds, one in 10 (168,000) report binge-drinking (defined as seven or more standard
drinks in a day for a male and five or more standard drinks for a female), in any given week. For 16-year-olds, the
figure is one in five (54,116), the same as for 17-year-olds (59,176). For young indigenous Australians, 27 per cent
use alcohol and 12 per cent drink to excess.
"Of particular concern is the finding that approximately 13 per cent of young drinkers report drink-driving and 16
per cent report going to work or school under the influence of alcohol," the report finds.
The growing army of young problem drinkers is placing enormous personal and financial stress on families, the
report finds.
It finds most of the nation's drug and alcohol treatment providers don't have the financial or manpower resources to
deal with families wanting to be involved in the process when the research shows family members should be part of
the solution.
"We are enormously concerned about the high rates of binge-drinking," Dr Herron said.
"What this report clearly says is that drug and alcohol use by young people has become normalised and is often seen
as a rite of passage into adulthood.
"It's clear from the report that parents have an important role in influencing what happens to their children.
Adolescents are less likely to drink and engage in binge drinking if parents actively disapprove."
Last week Kevin Rudd voiced concern about binge-drinking, saying he and Health Minister Nicola Roxon were
developing strategies to combat the problem.
"I would describe (it) as an epidemic of binge-drinking across the country," he said.
"It is not good for young people's health and it is certainly not good in terms of coping with addictions in general."
The report recommends parents keep their children away from alcohol, and says that condoning its use can be
dangerous for a child's mental and physical development.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/teenage-drink-and-drug-abuse-rife/news-story/1f575778f0ad4dd7064b044b1e00f5ea?sv=1bd8e3f722f9dfb4a9178
"Parents should delay the onset of alcohol use in young people as long as possible in order to avert the adverse
impact of alcohol on adolescent body and brain development as well as to reduce the likelihood of high-risk alcohol
use and abuse in adulthood," it concludes. If parents do want to take steps to help their child, they should go beyond
friends and family and look to professional services, public health expert Margaret Hamilton said.
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4/3/2018 Teenage drink and drug abuse rife

Teenage drink and drug abuse rife

Your afternoon Briefing

Barnaby, Vikki drawn into debate

The accent’s often on absurdity

‘I’ll be blamed for sandpaper’

Four face lashing over gay sex

Windfall from Chinese mine

Facebook messenger app Subscription terms Photo Sales Our journalists

Chinese Site Group Subscription Terms News Archive Subscribe

Today's paper Accessibility The Australian Plus member benefits

Privacy Policy Sign up to Newsletters

Relevant Ads Opt-out Manage Your Newsletters

Copyright The Australian. All times AEST (GMT +10:00)

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