A new provincial survey indicates the number of PEI students using alcohol, cannabis and other drugs has remained stable over the past two years, while the number of students who smoke cigarettes has decreased.
The results of the 1998 PEI Student Drug Survey were released today during Drug Awareness Week by Health and Social Services Minister Mildred Dover and Education Minister Chester Gillan. The survey is a collaborative initiative of the Departments of Health in the four Atlantic provinces and a follow-up to a 1996 study to monitor prevalence and compare student drug use in PEI and the other three provinces.
2,581 Island students in Grades 7, 9, 10 and 12 participated in the 1998 survey. The results indicate the percentage of Island students who report no drug use whatsoever has remained stable at about 43 per cent since 1996.
Fifty-seven per cent of students reported using drugs in the past year, with the majority reporting use of more than one drug. Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis were the most commonly used drugs.
Alcohol is the drug of choice, with over half of adolescent students reporting its use in the past year. This rate is stable when compared to 1996 and to the other Atlantic provinces. Drinking rates climb from 17 per cent of Grade 7 students to 78 per cent of Grade 12 students.
Less than one in three students smoked cigarettes in the past year, and student smoking rates in PEI are decreasing. PEI has the lowest proportion of students reporting cigarette smoking. This represents a change from 1996 when the proportion was similar in the four Atlantic provinces. The decrease is most prominent in Grade 7 and Grade 9 students. Across all grades, one in three students has tried to quit.
Cannabis use in the past year was reported by about one in four students in PEI. This confirms the high rate seen in 1996. In the other Atlantic provinces, cannabis use has continued to increase.
The survey results indicate that student drug use is highly influenced by friends' behaviour. For example, if half or more of their friends drink alcohol, 82 per cent of students also drink. If half or more of their friends smoke, 59 per cent of students also smoke.
Health and Social Services Minister Mildred Dover said the survey results have important implications for the health and education sectors, students and families.
"The good news is that cigarette smoking appears to be decreasing at the junior high level. We are hopeful this is the result of effective prevention programs targeted to students in our schools and communities. We are also encouraged by the fact that the percentage of students who report no drug use has not increased," she said.
"However, we are most concerned about the high rates of alcohol and other drug use, and particularly the health and safety risks they pose for our youth. More than half of our students are using alcohol, and they rarely report using either cigarettes or cannabis without drinking alcohol."
Some common consequences of alcohol and drug use reported by students include damage to things, injury to self, tension with family and friends, unplanned sex, and driving a car while under the influence. However, the most common consequence reported by frequent users of alcohol and other drugs is unplanned sex. Across all grades, of the students who have had sex, more than half reported unplanned sex while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The rates of sexual activity climb from seven per cent of Grade 7 students to 50 per cent of Grade 12 students.
Education Minister Chester Gillan said the survey results confirm concerns about student drug use among education and health officials, teachers, parents and youth groups.
"Together, we continue to struggle with the consequences of student drug use in our schools and in our communities. School boards, administrators and teachers feel there's a connection between absenteeism, failing grades, and attitudinal problems and students affected by alcohol and drug use. Information obtained through this survey will be very useful to us, as we continue to develop policy and programs to respond to the issues," he said.
Ministers Dover and Gillan said they will be following through on the five recommendations outlined in the report: to continue to support students to make healthy choices relative to the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs; enhance school and community initiatives to improve the reach to students who have already made unhealthy decisions; continue collaboration between the Regional Health Boards and School Boards to develop and implement initiatives with clear outcomes in terms of knowledge, skill and behaviour change; continue collaboration among the four Atlantic provinces to enhance the level of cooperation in the field of addictions; and repeat the standardized Student Drug Use Survey in the year 2001 to ensure consistent and timely monitoring of student drug use and the success of initiatives.
To obtain copies of the Student Drug Survey, please contact Island Information Services at 368 4000.