Drunk Ladettes alarm - Young women black out in soaring numbers!
Herald Sun, 4th of Sept 2010
In 2009, the Victorian Drug and Alcohol Prevention Council (VDAPC) conducted a Victorian Youth and Alcohol and Drug Survey through interviews with 5001 Victorian 16 to 24 year olds to measure their attitudes to and use of drugs.
The report published by the Victorian Department of Health in May 2010** provides comparative data with similar surveys conducted in 2002 and 2004.
Comparing data from 2002, the 2009 survey showed a reduction in use of cannabis (down from 28.2% in 2002 to 20.5% in 2009), ecstasy (down from 10.5% to 9%) and amphetamines (down from 8.3% to 6.6%). There has been a small increase in cocaine use (up from 3.4% to 4.1% in 2009).
While recent use of alcohol is down slightly from 89.5% in 2002 to 87.3% in 2009, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of youth binge drinking (consuming more than 20 standard drinks in one session) – up from 26% to 42% in 2009.
The average age for a first drink remains at 15 years. The survey showed that teenagers taking up drinking before turning 15 often turned out to be more likely to drink to excess and take illegal drugs later.
The fastest growth in binge drinking was among women in the 18 -21 age bracket increasing from only 18% in 2002 to 37% in 2009.
Almost half of 16 to 17 year old girls admitted being served alcohol in a pub or club in the past year, despite the State Government's crackdown on underage drinking.
The highest frequency of binge drinking was among 18 – 21 year old men with 33% binge drinking at least once a month.
More than one-third (37%) of young people who had recently used alcohol had also tried to cut down their use. By contrast, approximately half of those who had recently used each type of drug had also tried to cut down in the past year.
Slightly less than half (46%) of those who had tried to reduce or stop their alcohol consumption felt they had been 'very successful' in their attempt. By contrast, the majority of young people who reported having tried to cut down their use of cannabis (79%), ecstasy (72%), amphetamines (69%), analgesics (65%) or tranquillisers (77%) felt they had been 'very successful' in doing so.
(reprinted for eductional purposes only)
** The 2009 Victorian Youth Alcohol and Drug Survey - Final Report can be downloaded as an 82 page document from the VDAPC web site at: