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 Centre for Addictionand Mental Health |
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OSDUHS reveals alcohol, cannabis, and the medicine cabinet pose biggest drug threats to teens“There is danger in taking a complacent ‘kids-will-be-kids’ attitude. Research has clearly indicated that earlier start of drinking or using drugs is associated with higher risk of dependence in adulthood.” - Dr. Jürgen Rehm, senior scientist, OSDUHS co-author.
For over 30 years this kind of awareness has been one of the hallmarks of CAMH’s Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), Canada’s longest-running survey monitoring alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among Ontario students. Study authors and other CAMH experts briefed the media at a press conference on November 18, 2009. CAMH Senior Scientist and report co-author Dr. Robert Mann summarized the study findings, which indicate that while fewer teens are drinking alcohol in 2009 than a decade ago, binge drinking, use of cannabis and prescription drugs remain a concern. One in four students reported binge drinking (five or more drinks on one occasion) and one in five may be drinking hazardously (a risky pattern of alcohol use that increases the likelihood of physical, psychological, or social problems).
“Year-to-year, binge drinking rates have remained fairly stable; binge drinking contributes significantly to trauma and death of teens through drunk driving and other alcohol-related incidents,” said Dr. Mann. “The usual suspect of alcohol accounts for most drug use among Ontario teens, and the long-term trend for drugs such as alcohol and tobacco is going in the right direction,” said Dr. Rehm. The downward trend is not found for cannabis, he added. One quarter of students reported using cannabis at least once in the past year, with use increasing substantially with grade to almost half of 12th-graders. About 3% of students may have a cannabis dependence problem. Non-medical use of prescription opioid pain relievers such as Tylenol® No. 3, Percocet®, or OxyContin® remains a concern, especially among females. One in five teen girls report using an opioid without a prescription. “Most likely teens get prescription opioids by rummaging through the medicine cabinet and using whatever prescription pain medications they find,” said Dr. Rehm.
Despite long-term decreases, tobacco use by students remains a concern due to its known health consequences later in life; 12% of students reported smoking cigarettes either occasionally or daily (about 119,000 students). Just over half of smokers reported smoking contraband cigarettes in the past year. CAMH uses this information to design prevention and health promotion programs, inform public health policy and disseminate information to the general public. “This OSDUHS Survey is a clarion call for governments at all levels to focus prevention efforts on legally available drugs like alcohol and prescription opioids,” said Gail Czukar, CAMH’s Executive Vice President of Policy, Education and Health Promotion.
Other survey highlights include: New to the survey in 2009, students were asked about using certain over-the-counter cough and cold medications, and 7% (representing about 70,000 students) reported using these to get high during the past year. New data on the use of salvia divinorum, a legal plant with hallucinogenic properties, show that 4% of students (about 42,000) used this drug in the past year. Despite media attention focused on methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine, there is no evidence that either drug has diffused into the student population in Ontario. Other so-called “street” drugs such as crack and heroin also showed extremely low rates of use. 16% of students (about 152,000) reported getting drunk or high at school at least once during the past year, and 23% (about 219,000) reported that they were sold, given or offered a drug at school in the past year. |
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Last updated: Nov 19, 2009 2:19 PM Published: May 03, 2012 6:16 PM ID#P47239 |