Download this fact sheet: Alcohol and other drug use by Australian Indigenous people: a snapshot [PDF: 84 KB]
Number 2.22 May 2004
For workers
Introduction
Problematic alcohol and other drug use has been identified as a major contributor to poor health and a general lack of spiritual wellbeing within the Indigenous community, particularly among young people. This fact sheet looks at the available research on use of alcohol and other drugs by Indigenous Australians.
What does the research say?
Although there is little information available regarding patterns of drug use among young Indigenous Australians, research suggests that Indigenous Australian adolescents are more likely to have drug-use problems than other Australian adolescents.1
Use of alcohol and other drugs by Indigenous Australians
Tobacco use
Graph 1 (see page 2) shows that the incidence of cigarette smoking among Indigenous persons is more than double that of non-Indigenous persons.
In a survey of residents of a rural Victorian town with a largely Indigenous population, it was found that the rate of tobacco use among the Indigenous population (64 per cent using tobacco) was much higher than among the non-Indigenous population of a neighbouring rural town (23 per cent using tobacco).2
Alcohol use
More Indigenous Australians abstain from alcohol than non-Indigenous Australians. However, of those Indigenous Australians who do drink, more are likely to drink at levels of risk for short-term or long-term harm. The 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey reported on Indigenous Australians’ risk of alcohol-related harm, compared to non-Indigenous people:
Percentages of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians who drink at risky/high risk levels for alcohol-related harm3
Risk Indigenous Non-Indigenous
Short-term 48.7 34.3
Long-term 19.9 9.7
Illicit drug use
The 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey also provides the most recent data on illicit drug use by Indigenous Australians. Illicit drug use in Australia is more widespread among the Indigenous population than the non-Indigenous population, with 31.8 per cent reporting recent use of an illicit drug and 27 per cent reporting recent use of marijuana/cannabis, compared to 16.7 per cent and 12.7 per cent, respectively, among non-Indigenous people.3
Volatile substances
Petrol sniffing is one form of volatile substance use reported as having devastating health and social conseqences for Indigenous Australian young people and their communities. In 1992 it was estimated that there was a total of 600–1000 petrol sniffers in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.4 However, a more recent review of strategies used to prevent petrol sniffing in Indigenous Australian communities found that the number of petrol sniffers in Australia and in individual communities can fluctuate considerably over time.5
The review found that petrol sniffing does not occur in all Indigenous communities, and it has been shown to occur in "waves" in some regions. For example, there may be a marked increase in petrol sniffing during the northern wet season (when there may be few recreational and other activities available for young people on school holidays) or associated with gatherings for ceremony or football. This makes it difficult to estimate the extent or prevalence of petrol sniffing in Indigenous Australian communities.
In addition, petrol sniffing among young Indigenous Australians often occurs along with other forms of drug use, such as alcohol and cannabis use.
Attitudes towards drug use
There appears to be little difference in perceptions and attitudes towards drugs and drug use by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
In 2001, both Indigenous (29.8 per cent) and non-Indigenous (34.9 per cent) Australians considered heroin use to be of most serious concern for the community. Marijuana/cannabis use was considered of second-highest concern among both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Alcohol was the most accepted substance, with 72.9 per cent of Indigenous people and 74.8 per cent of non-Indigenous people approving regular use of alcohol by an adult.3
Acknowledgements
With thanks to Marc Williams for assistance in developing this fact sheet, and to the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) for permission to reproduce its artwork.
Sources
1 Rowland B & Toumbourou JW 2004 Preventing drug-related harm in Indigenous Australian communities, Prevention Research Evaluation Report no. 10, West Melbourne: DrugInfo Clearinghouse
2 Guest CS, O’Dea K, Carlin JB & Larkins RG 1992 "Smoking in Aborigines and persons of European descent in southeastern Australia: Prevalence and associations with food habits, body fat distribution and other cardiovascular risk factors" Australian Journal of Public Health, 16:4, pp. 397–402
3 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2002 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, Detailed findings, Cat.PHE 41, Canberra: AIHW
4 Brady 1992, cited in d’Abbs P & MacLean S 2000 Petrol sniffing in Aboriginal communities: A review of interventions, Casuarina, NT: Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health
5 d’Abbs P & MacLean S 2000 Petrol sniffing in Aboriginal communities: A review of interventions, Casuarina, NT: Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health
For information about drugs and drug prevention, or contact our Information Officer for assistance on email druginfo@adf.org.au or tel. 1300 85 85 84 (Victoria only).