Canadian Report Emphasizes
Dangers Of Binge Drinking By Students
(Marijuananews
note: Both the report and the reporting place the emphasis where is belongs, on binge
drinking.
This article is one more example of Canadian news coverage that is much better than that
commonly found in DEAland’s prohibitionist press.)November 16, 1999
From The Toronto Star
lettertoed@thestar.com
http://www.thestar.com/
By Phinjo Gombu, Toronto Star Staff Reporter
MORE STUDENTS ARE GETTING HIGH, SURVEY FINDS
Binge Drinking Identified As Key Drug-Use Concern
Drug use ranging from cigarettes and alcohol to cocaine and Ecstasy is soaring among
Grades 7 to 13 students in Ontario, according to a survey by the Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health.
(Marijuananews note: Notice that marijuana is not mentioned in the
lead paragraph, in sharp contrast to coverage of similar reports in DEAland.)
See
When The Partnership
For A Marijuana-Free America Speaks,
The Media For A Marijuana-Free America Parrots.
Widely Reported Press Release About Kids and "Drugs" Mentions Marijuana 29
Times, Alcohol 0!
and
A Gem Of
Prohibitionist Propaganda About Marijuana And Some Facts About Alcohol
– Both Courtesy The Internet
Binge drinking by teens, which has risen by almost one-third
in the past six years, is one of the key concerns identified by the survey.
(Marijuananews note: Notice the emphasis on binge-drinking,
in sharp contrast to coverage of similar reports in DEAland.)
See
The Reality Of
the Marijuana Situation In Canada: Unequal Injustice.
Alcohol Costs Canadian Health Almost 100 Times As Much As Marijuana.
Tobacco: Almost 200 As Much – Article and Editorial
About 42.4 per cent of the 920,000 students represented are binge
drinkers, described in the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey as the consumption of more than
five drinks on any given occasion.
"It's of serious concern," Dr. Edward Adlaf, the lead scientist involved in the
biennial survey, said yesterday. Some 5,000 students from 111 schools in 38 different
school boards were interviewed.
The study results, extrapolated to represent about 920,000 students, are accurate within 2
percentage points.
Drug use "is approaching the levels we saw several decades ago," Adlaf said.
The dramatic increase in binge drinking from 30.5 per cent in 1993
fits in with the other key finding in the survey: an increase in cigarette smoking, he
said.
Despite government-funded campaigns to stop cigarette smoking and drug use, the number of
teenaged smokers rose to 28.3 percent this year from 23.8 per cent six years ago.
Adlaf said both trends carry long-term health risks and are habits
that are carried into adult life - unlike other kinds of illicit drug use, which are often
experimental.
He said it's troubling that in just about every category of drug use, the trend line runs
up, not down. At the same time, the percentage of students not using drugs fell to 26.8
per cent this year from 36.3 per cent in 1993.
Other comparisons since 1993 show:
* The percentage of students using four or more drugs rose to 17.4 per cent from 8 per
cent.
* Cannabis use rose to 29.2 per cent from 12.7 per cent.
* The use of hallucinogens increased to 13.6 per cent from 3.1 per cent.
* Alcohol use rose to 65.7 per cent from 56.5 per cent.
The use of Ecstasy, the drug of choice for young people who attend all-night rave parties,
grew to 4.8 per cent from 0.6 per cent since 1993.
Since July, three deaths connected to Ecstasy overdoses have occurred in and around
Toronto.
Adlaf, an assistant professor of public health at the University of Toronto, said
researchers weren't able to definitively identify the cause of such worrying trends.
But he speculated that the resurgence in drug use among Ontario students reflects trends
among adults and other students across North America, Europe and Australia.
Other reasons could be a decline in moral disapproval of drugs in society and a weakening
perception among adolescents about the dangers of drug use, Adlaf said.
Adlaf described this weakening perception as "generational forgetting."
Because the 1980s were marked by a decline in drug use from an all-time high in the 1970s,
there is a knowledge gap among teens, who are unaware of the dangers of overdoses and
other associated risks, he said.
Other findings include:
* About one-third of students surveyed reported that they had been exposed to somebody
trying to sell them drugs.
* The percentage of licensed student drivers who reported driving within an hour of having
two or more drinks remained stable between 1997 and 1999 at about 16 per cent.
* There was a ``significant'' increase in the number of students who
drank weekly, to 19.7 per cent of drinkers from 14.4 per cent six years ago.
* On average, cannabis users consumed the drug about 15 times a
year.
* One-third of the smokers surveyed said they need a cigarette about 30 minutes after
waking up in the morning.
The survey, which began in 1968 when the Toronto District School Board approached the
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, showed some interesting geographic and gender
differences in drug-use patterns.
Almost 77 per cent of the students in Northern Ontario said they
used alcohol, while only 59.4 per cent of those in Toronto said they drank.
While there was an across-the-board increase in the use of seven types of drugs (alcohol,
cannabis, glue, solvents, medical barbiturates, medical stimulants and non-medical
barbiturates,), there was a smaller increase in the use of non-medical barbiturates and
alcohol among females.
As part of its campaign to educate young people, the centre announced yesterday the
creation of a Web site www.virtual-party.org,
where a party situation is simulated and young people can make real-life decisions about
alcohol, drinking and driving, dating and drug use.
Copyright: 1999, The Toronto Star
Supported