Hawk's Comment: Also in the Toronto Sun under:
Subject: Teen drug use rising - Survey
Source: Toronto Sun (Canada)
Contact: editor@sunpub.com

SMOKING, DRINKING RISES AMONG ONTARIO STUDENTS

TORONTO -- More Ontario young people are smoking, drinking alcohol and
using hallucinogens, a survey shows.

A survey published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal yesterday
found that smoking increased to more than 27 per cent of youths surveyed in
both 1995 and 1997, from 21.7 per cent in 1991, while alcohol use rose
slightly to 58.5 per cent in 1995 and 59.6 per cent in 1997, from 58.7 per
cent in 1991.

The 1997 survey of 3,990 Ontario students from Grade 7 to OAC across 168
schools shows that the use of eight other street drugs has flattened after
increasing earlier this decade, but researchers say this is no excuse for
complacency.

Between 1993 and 1995, teens' use of cannabis, glue, heroin,
methamphetamines, hallucinogens, cocaine, crack cocaine, PCP
(phencyclidine) and MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) increased.

But a follow-up survey in 1997 showed that only the use of hallucinogens,
such as mescaline and psilocybin, had increased significantly and the use
of MDMA and other hallucinogens increased only slightly.

"In 1993 to 1995 there (were) fairly large increases in drug use among
teens, but between 1995 to 1997, it appears to be stabilized and remained
flat,'' said co-author Dr. Edward Adlaf, a research scientist at the
Addiction Research Foundation.

"There has been no significant decline in smoking among adolescents but
more work needs to be done,'' Adlaf said.

The Ontario premier's council on health had set goals for the year 2000 to
reduce to 50 per cent alcohol use among people ages 12 to 18 and to reduce
tobacco use to 10 per cent.

Adlaf said the rates of drug use across time tends to be highly correlated
with changing attitudes and cultural beliefs.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan