Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia annual report

Selected other drugs: client demographics and treatment

In addition to the most common principal drugs of concern, the AODTS NMDS report includes information on selected other drug types: nicotine, ecstasy and cocaine. These drugs may be commonly used in the community or linked to increased risk of harm. Treatment captured through the AODTS NMDS for these drugs may be less prominent than for other drugs as they are relatively uncommon, or people who use them are less likely to seek treatment than people who use other drugs. See the Key terminology and glossary for further information.

Together, nicotine, ecstasy and cocaine have contributed around 2–3% of all treatment episodes each year since 2012–13 (tables Drg.1, Drg.5). Individually, the proportion of treatment episodes for each of these drugs has remained at less than 2% per year across the period (Table SD.9).

Nicotine, ecstasy and cocaine are more likely to be reported as an additional rather than principal drug of concern. For example, nicotine was reported as a principal drug of concern in only 1.2% of treatment episodes in 2021–22 but was an additional drug of concern in 9% of episodes (Table Drg.5).

 

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Nicotine

In 2021–22, nicotine was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 10% of all treatment episodes (21,659 episodes) (Table Drg.5). In 2021–22:

• Nicotine was the principal drug of concern in just 1.2% of treatment episodes (2,400 episodes) (tables Drg.1, Drg.5). This proportion has remained relatively stable since 2012–13 (1.7% or 2,600 episodes) (Table Drg.5).
• Nicotine was an additional drug of concern in just under 1 in 10 treatment episodes (9.1% or 19,200 episodes) (Table Drg.4). Most treatment episodes with nicotine as an additional drug of concern were for alcohol (38% of episodes), amphetamines (30%) or cannabis (22%) as the principal drug of concern (Table Drg.3).

The low proportion of episodes for nicotine as the principal drug of concern in the AODTS NMDS collection may be due to the existence of numerous alternative support options within the community (for example, general practitioners, pharmacies, helplines, and web services). Additionally, people may view AOD treatment services as being most appropriate for drug use that is beyond the expertise of general practitioners. However, therapy to quit smoking is becoming an integral part of some AOD services as a parallel treatment with other drugs of concern.

Client demographics

In 2021–22, 1,820 clients received treatment for nicotine as the principal drug of concern (Table SC.9). Of these clients:

• over 1 in 2 were male (52% of clients) (Table SC.12)
• over 1 in 2 were aged either 10–19 (35% of clients) or 20–29 (18%) years (Table SC.13)
• over 1 in 5 were Indigenous Australians (22% or 410 clients) (Table SC.14).

Treatment

In 2021–22, 2,449 treatment episodes were provided to clients for nicotine as the principal drug of concern.

Among nicotine-related episodes in 2021–22:

• The most common source of referral was health service (36% of episodes), followed by self/family (28%) (Table Drg.46).
• The most common main treatment types were counselling (32% of episodes and assessment only (27%) (Table Drg.45).
• Almost 4 in 5 treatment episodes took place in a non-residential treatment facility (79% of episodes), and 9.4% took place in an outreach setting (Table Drg.47).
• The median duration of these treatment episodes was 25 days (Table Drg.48). Nearly half of all episodes (47%) lasted between 2 days and 3 months, while nearly 3 in 10 (29%) lasted less than 1 day (Table OV.12).
• Almost 3 in 4 episodes ended with a planned completion (72% of episodes), while 13% ended unexpectedly (Table Drg.47).

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Ecstasy

In 2021–22, ecstasy was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 1.1% of all treatment episodes (2,238 episodes) (Table Drg.4). In 2021–22:

• Ecstasy was the principal drug of concern in 0.2% of treatment episodes (480 episodes) (Table Drg.5). This proportion has remained relatively stable since 2012–13 (0.7% or around 1,010 episodes) (Table Drg.5).
• Ecstasy was an additional drug of concern in 0.8% of treatment episodes (1,750 episodes), down from 3.3% in 2012–13 (5,140 episodes) (tables Drg.4 and Drg.5). Most treatment episodes with ecstasy as an additional drug of concern were for cannabis (36% of episodes), amphetamines (26%) or alcohol (23%) (Table Drg.3).

Client demographics

In 2021–22, 350 clients received treatment for ecstasy as the principal drug of concern. Among these clients:

• 7 in 10 were male (71% of clients) (Table SC.12)
• over 4 in 5 were aged 10–19 (32% of clients) or 20–29 (50%) (Table SC.13)
• around 1 in 8 were Indigenous Australians (13%) (Table SC.14).

Treatment

In 2021–22, 480 treatment episodes were provided to clients for ecstasy as the principal drug of concern (Table Drg.4). The median duration of these treatment episodes was just over 1 week (8 days), down from 26 days the previous year (Table Drg.75). Almost half of all episodes ended within 1 day (45% of episodes) and over 1 in 3 (35%) lasted between 2 days and 3 months (Table OV.12).

Among ecstasy-related treatment episodes in 2021–22:

• The most common source of referral was diversion from the criminal justice system (34% of episodes), followed by health service (28%) (Table Drg.73).
• The most common main treatment types were counselling (51% of episodes) and withdrawal management (14%) (Table Drg.72).
• Almost three-quarters of treatment episodes took place in a non-residential treatment setting (74% of episodes) (Table Drg.74).
• Just over 7 in 10 treatment episodes ended with a planned completion (73% of episodes), while 18% ended unexpectedly. The proportion of episodes with a planned completion ranged from 63% for episodes with rehabilitation as the main treatment to 93% for information and education (Table Drg.74).

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Cocaine

In 2021–22, cocaine was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 2.3% of all closed treatment episodes (4,808 episodes) (Table Drg.4). In 2021–22:

• Cocaine was the principal drug of concern in 1.0% of treatment episodes (2,200 episodes), rising from 0.3% of episodes in 2012–13 (512 episodes) (Table Drg.5).
• Cocaine was an additional drug of concern in 1.3% of treatment episodes (2,600 episodes). This has remained relatively stable since 2012–13 (1.6%), although the number of treatment episodes increased from 2,200 to 3,300 across the period (Table Drg.5). Most treatment episodes with cocaine as an additional drug of concern were for alcohol (41% of episodes), amphetamines (28%) or cannabis (18%) (Table Drg.3).

Client demographics

Around 1,600 clients received treatment for cocaine as the principal drug of concern in 2021–22 (Table SC.12). Among these clients:

• over 4 in 5 were male (83% of clients) (Table SC.12)
• over 1 in 2 were aged 20–29 years (52% of clients) and a further 29% were aged 30–39 (Table SC.13)
• less than 1 in 10 (7.2%) were Indigenous Australians (Table SC.14).

Treatment

In 2021–22, around 2,180 treatment episodes were provided to clients for cocaine as the principal drug of concern (Table Drg.4). The median duration of these treatment episodes was just over 5 weeks (37 days), up from 29 days the previous year (Table Drg.84). Around 1 in 4 episodes ended within 1 day (25% of episodes) and 49% lasted between 2 days and 3 months (Table OV.12).

Among cocaine-related treatment episodes in 2021–22:

• The most common source of referral was self/family (36% of episodes), followed by diversion (22%) and health services (19%) (Table Drg.82).
• The most common main treatment types were counselling (53% of episodes) and assessment only (19%) (Table Drg.81).
• Four in 5 treatment episodes took place in non-residential treatment facilities (80% of episodes) (Table Drg.83).
• Nearly 2 in 3 treatment episodes ended with a planned completion (65% of episodes), while 18% ended unexpectedly. Planned completions were most likely where the main treatment type was information and education (89% of episodes) (Table Drg.82).