Drugs and Alcohol - The Facts Page

Life Education is committed to giving children the best opportunity to live a safe life, free from the harmful effects of drugs. Here’s why we need your help to do it:

Every 24 minutes an Australian dies through either legal or illegal drugs – that’s over 22,000 deaths every year

(AIHW- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare)

By age 15, almost one third of teenagers are binge drinking

(AIHW - 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey) Note: AIHW defines risk and high risk in the short term as 7 or more standard drinks in one day for males and 5 or more for females.

Teenagers who start drinking before age 15 are FIVE TIMES more likely to become dependent on it than those who don’t start until age 21

(Drug Info Clearinghouse)

Road accidents caused through alcohol, costs Australia $3.1 billion a year

(Dept of Health and Ageing)

Alcohol abuse causes $3.5 billion worth of lost productivity per year

(Dept of Health and Ageing)

80% of smokers start as children or adolescents

(Soulos and Sanders, ASH)

In 2002, it was estimated that 205,000 boys and girls aged 12-17 were smokers. If they continued, 103,000 of them would end up dying from a smoking related disease.

(QUIT)

23% of teenagers (14 - 19 year olds) has used an illicit drug at some time

(AIHW - 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey)

Over one million Australians (14 years or older) have used methamphetamines at least once in their lifetime.

(AIHW - 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey)

Ecstasy use has more than tripled since 1995

(AIHW - 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey)

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