Busting some alcohol and drug myths: part 1

June 2010

We often hear or read stories about alcohol and other drugs, but before we form our own opinions, it’s important to look at the facts. This alert examines some common misconceptions and outlines the evidence that disproves them.

Myth no. 1. "There's an 'ice' epidemic out there"

Recent drug use figures do not show evidence of an ice epidemic. Of all illicit drugs, ice is one of the least commonly used. The University of Melbourne's School of Population Health has suggested that recent hype around crystal methamphetamine is misplaced when population health data is analysed. You can listen to the podcast here: Episode 1: The ice epidemic [MP3: 30MB] (new window).

This is further supported by the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: detailed results (NDSHS 2007) . The survey shows that 2.3% of respondents had used meth/amphetamines in the past year, down from 3.2% in 2004. (This figure is considerably lower than the 9.1% of respondents who indicated that they had recently used cannabis.) Of this 2.3%, most (80.1%) had used the powder form of meth/amphetamine, also known as "speed", and not the more pure form commonly known as "crystal" or "ice'.

Myth no. 2. "Dope is much stronger than it used to be"

There have been media reports of cannabis being up to 30 times stronger today than during the 1970s. However, according to the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre's fact sheet Cannabis potency, cannabis may only be a little stronger than it was in the 1970s.

The main difference today is that people are smoking the more potent parts of the plant such as heads rather than the leaf. Cannabis smokers are more likely to smoke cannabis through a "bong", and the age at which people start smoking has decreased.

Myth no. 3. "Young people are the ones who have a problem with alcohol"

In fact, "risky" drinkers can be found across all age groups. According to NDSHS 2007, young people aged 14–19 are the group most likely to abstain from drinking, with 29% choosing not to drink, compared with just over 12% for the 20–29, 30–39 and 40–49 age groups.

It is estimated that 83% of Australians are drinkers, and that 1.4 million Australians consume alcohol on a daily basis. In 2007, males (10.8%) were almost twice as likely as females (5.5%) to drink daily.

According to the National Preventative Health Taskforce's report Australia: the healthiest country by 2020, among young adults (aged 20–29 years), the prevalence of drinking at levels posing long-term risk of harm is significantly higher (16%) than among other age groups.

Myth no. 4. Alcohol and tobacco are "soft drugs"

Alcohol and tobacco are connected with greater harms to Australians than all other illicit substances combined.

Of the estimated $55.2 billion social cost of drug misuse to Australian society in 2004 and 2005, alcohol was estimated at $15.3 billion or 27.3% of the total cost. This is twice the cost of illicit drug misuse ($8.2 billion or 14.6%). Furthermore, the cost of tobacco to the Australian community is approximately $31 billion, which is more than half the total social cost of illicit drug misuse at 56.2%. (Collins DJ & Lapsley HM 2008 The Costs of Tobacco, Alcohol and Illicit Drug Abuse to Australian Society in 2004/05 [PDF: 500KB] (new window), Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia).

These costs relate to harms such as productivity, crime, health conditions, hospitalisations, and deaths.

While alcohol and tobacco may be legal, they can create or contribute to significant problems for individuals and those around them.