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Youth

Youth (up to 18 years) and young adults (19-25 years) are particularly important groups in relation to AOD problems. More young people are engaging in problematic AOD use at younger ages. They are especially vulnerable to AOD-related problems due to age and inexperience.

GPs are increasingly called upon to provide youth-friendly and youth-appropriate services.

Intervening early can prevent the development of dependence and / or progression to more severe AOD-related problems.

Alcohol

Young people's patterns and levels of drinking place them at significant risk of harm compared with the community in general.

Alcohol-related deaths amongst older people can be attributed to long-term hazardous or short-term harmful patterns of use (Chikritzhs et al., 1999)

Approximately 25-33% of 14-24 year olds drink in a high-risk manner (Chikritzhs et al., 2000), increasing the likelihood of:

serious harm
injury or death due to acute conditions resulting from alcohol intoxication

Risk of harm amongst young people is increased due to their:

smaller physical size
fewer social controls
peer values and norms that condone intoxicated behaviour
risk of overdose due to lack of tolerance

Use of alcohol or other drugs at risky and harmful levels may:

interfere with normal physiological, social and emotional development
increase risk of suicide
increase risky sexual behaviour / unwanted sex
cause blackouts
contribute to poor academic performance
contribute to / or cause mental health problems
cause behavioural problems, such as fighting, resulting from feelings of aggression (NHMRC, 2001)

GPs are encouraged to screen for alcohol-related problems among young people and to provide brief interventions and harm minimisation advice wherever appropriate.

Cannabis

Adolescents are included in the higher risk group of developing adverse acute and chronic effects from cannabis.
Those with schizophrenia may be particularly susceptible to the negative effects of cannabis. There is evidence that use may exacerbate psychotic symptoms in those with the disorder, and long-term, heavy use may precipitate schizophrenia in youths (Hall & Degenhardt, 2001).

Ecstasy

In the 2001 Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey:

6.1% of people aged 14 and over reported lifetime use of ecstasy or other designer drugs
2.9% reported using ecstasy in the previous 12 months (AIHW, 2002).

The current trend is one of increasing prevalence of use.
Ecstasy is almost exclusively taken in a social setting (McKetin et al., 1999; Topp et al., 1997b) usually as part of youth culture centred on dance music. Use of ecstasy by friends is a significant factor in initiation and continuation of ecstasy use.

Cocaine

Cocaine use is most common amongst young adults

8% of Australians aged 20-29 years reported having used cocaine
3% reported having used cocaine in the past year
Drug Information - Cocaine
Handbook Chapter 8 'Cocaine' (PDF File 116Kb)

Volatile Substances

There is a lack of good epidemiological data on the prevalence of use amongst general community groups and subgroups. However some trends in using volatile substances are emerging:

there is a higher prevalence amongst the 14-17 year old age group than older groups (White, 2001)
the trend for use is greatest amongst younger teenagers, aged 12 and over (White, 2001)
male adolescents use more than female adolescents (AIHW, 1999)
amongst recreational drug users volatile substances and cannabis were most commonly combined with ecstasy, amphetamine or LSD at rave scenes (Boys et al., 1997)
compared with non-Indigenous counterparts, young Indigenous users
- show greater habitual use
- use more frequently
- use over a longer period (Carroll et al., 1998)
Drug Information - Volatile Substances
Handbook Chapter 10 'Volatile Substances' (PDF 113 KB)

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