Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia annual report 2023–24

Selected other drugs: client demographics and treatment

In addition to the most common principal drugs of concern, the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set (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 receive treatment than people who use other drugs. See the Key terminology and glossary for further information.

Together, nicotine, ecstasy and cocaine have contributed around 1–2% of all treatment episodes each year since 2014–15 (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 drug of concern rather than principal drug of concern. For example, nicotine was reported as a principal drug of concern in only 0.9% of treatment episodes in 2023–24 but was an additional drug of concern in 8.6% of episodes (Table Drg.5).

Nicotine

In 2023–24, nicotine was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 9.5% of all treatment episodes (20,741) (Table Drg.5).

In 2023–24:

• Nicotine was the principal drug of concern in just 0.9% of treatment episodes (1,936) (tables Drg.1, Drg.5). This proportion has remained relatively stable since 2014–15 (1.6%, 2,622) (Table Drg.5).
• Nicotine was an additional drug of concern in 1 in 10 treatment episodes (8.6% or 18,805) (Table Drg.4). Most treatment episodes with nicotine as an additional drug of concern were for alcohol (43%), amphetamines (28%) or cannabis (19%) 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 alcohol and other drug (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 2023–24, 1,440 clients received treatment for nicotine as the principal drug of concern (Table SC.9).

Of these clients:

• Half were male (50%) (Table SC.9).
• 7 in 10 (70%) were aged either 10–19 (38%), 20–29 (17%), or 30–39 (15%) years (Table SC.10).
• 1 in 5 were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people (19% of clients) (Table SC.11).

Treatment

In 2023–24, 1,936 treatment episodes were provided to clients for nicotine as the principal drug of concern. 

Among nicotine-related episodes in 2023–24:

• The most common source of referral into treatment was health service (30%), followed by self/family (23%) (Table Drg.46).
• The most common main treatment types were assessment only (32% of episodes), counselling (30%) and support and case management (28%) (Table Drg.45).
• The median duration of these treatment episodes was 29 days (Table Drg.48). Half of all episodes (55%) lasted between 2 days and 3 months, while 1 in 5 (22%) lasted less than 1 day (Table OV.12).
• 7 in 10 episodes ended with a planned completion (72%), while 13% ended unexpectedly (Table Drg.47).

Ecstasy

In 2023–24, ecstasy was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 1.1% of all treatment episodes (2,309) (Table Drg.4).

In 2023–24:

• Ecstasy was the principal drug of concern in 0.2% of treatment episodes (540) (Table Drg.5).
• This proportion has remained relatively stable since 2014–15 (0.6% or 969) (Table Drg.5).
• Ecstasy was an additional drug of concern in 0.8% of treatment episodes (1,769) this has fallen since 2014–15 (2.0%, 3,273) (tables Drg.4 and Drg.5). Most treatment episodes with ecstasy as an additional drug of concern were for amphetamines (37%), cannabis (25%) or alcohol (24%) (Table Drg.3).

Client demographics

In 2023–24, 356 clients received treatment for ecstasy as the principal drug of concern. Among these clients:

• 7 in 10 were male (73%) (Table SC.9)
• 4 in 5 were aged either 10–19 (29%) or 20–29 (51%) (Table SC.10)
• Less than 1 in 10 were First Nations people (7.0%) (Table SC.11).

Treatment

In 2023–24, 540 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 (15 days), almost doubling since 2022–23 (8 days) (Table Drg.75).

Among ecstasy-related treatment episodes in 2023–24:

• The most common source of referral into treatment was diversion from the criminal justice system or self/family (both 29%) (Table Drg.73).
• The most common main treatment types were counselling (43%) and assessment only (19%) (Table Drg.72).
• 2 in 3 treatment episodes took place in a non-residential treatment setting (64%) (Table Drg.74).
• 7 in 10 treatment episodes ended with a planned completion (70%), while 15% ended unexpectedly.
• The proportion of episodes with a planned completion ranged from 55% for episodes with support and case management as the main treatment to 93% for information and education (Table Drg.74).

Cocaine

In 2023–24, cocaine was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 2.5% of all closed treatment episodes (5,396) (Table Drg.4).

In 2023–24:

• Cocaine was the principal drug of concern in 1.2% of treatment episodes (2,626), rising from 0.3% in 2014–15 (558) (Table Drg.5).
• Cocaine was an additional drug of concern in 1.3% of treatment episodes (2,770).
  • This has remained relatively stable since 2014–15 (1.3%), with an increase in episode numbers from 2,129 to 2,770 across the period (Table Drg.5). Most treatment episodes with cocaine as an additional drug of concern were for alcohol (42%), amphetamines (30%) or cannabis (15%) (Table Drg.3).

Client demographics

In 2023–24, 1,858 clients received treatment for cocaine as the principal drug of concern (Table SC.12).

Among these clients:

• 4 in 5 were male (82%) (Table SC.9).
• Half were aged 20–29 years (47%) and a further 31% were aged 30–39 (Table SC.10).
• 1 in 14 (6.8%) were First Nations people (Table SC.11).

Treatment

In 2023–24, 2,626 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 4 weeks (29 days), decreasing since the previous year (37 days) (Table Drg.84).

Among cocaine-related treatment episodes in 2023–24:

• The most common source of referral into treatment was self/family (37%), followed by diversion (21%) and health services (19%) (Table Drg.82).
• The most common main treatment types were counselling (45%) and assessment only (21%) (Table Drg.81).
• 3 in 4 treatment episodes took place in non-residential treatment facilities (75%) (Table Drg.83).
• 2 in 3 treatment episodes ended with a planned completion (65%), while 17% ended unexpectedly.
  • Planned completions were most likely where the main treatment type was information and education (93%) (Table Drg.82).