Alcohol continues to be the number one drug of concern for
Australians seeking treatment for drug or alcohol issues, according
to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare (AIHW).
The report, Alcohol and other drug treatment services in
Australia 2007-08: report on the National Minimum Data Set,
found that treatment for alcohol issues has continued to increase,
with treatment for alcohol comprising 44% of treatment episodes in
2007-08 compared with 38% in 2002-03.
'Over 154,000 alcohol treatment episodes were provided in
2007-08, which is 7,000 more than the year before,' said Amber
Jefferson of the Institute's Drug Surveys and Services Unit.
Alcohol treatment was followed by treatments for cannabis (22%
of treatment episodes), amphetamines (11%) and heroin (11%).
'Treatment for heroin use declined over the five years between
2002-03 and 2007-08, but there was a slight rise in the number of
treatment episodes last year, from 14,870 in 2006-07 to 15,571 in
2007-08,' Ms Jefferson said.
'Treatment for cannabis and amphetamines has remained stable,'
she said.
The vast majority of episodes (96%) involved clients seeking
treatment for their own alcohol or other drug use, but a small
percentage were for people seeking treatment related to someone
else's drug or alcohol use.
Alcohol was the focus of treatment for most age groups-32% for
people in their 20s, 42% for people in their 30s and 84% for people
60 and older.
Younger people (aged 10-19 years) were more likely to receive
treatment for cannabis use (43% of treatment episodes) than alcohol
(34%).
Counselling was the most common form of treatment followed by
withdrawal management.
The AIHW also released today, Alcohol
and other drug treatment services in Australia 2007-08: findings
from the National Minimum Data Set, which presents summary
results.
Friday 21 October 2009
Further information: Amber Jefferson tel. (02)
6244 1137 mob. 0407 915 851
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. (02) 6244 1032.
Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia
2007-08: report on the National Minimum Data Set
Report
summaryFull
report
Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia
2007-08: findings from the National
Minimum Data Set
Report
summaryFull
report