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, cocaine and GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate). 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.
Nicotine, ecstasy, cocaine and GHB have contributed around 1–2% of all treatment episodes each year since 2015–16 (tables Drg.1, Drg.5). Individually, the proportion of treatment episodes for each of these drugs has remained at less than 2% per year between 2015–16 and 2024–25 (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 1.0% of treatment episodes in 2024–25 but was an additional drug of concern in 10% of episodes (Table Drg.5).
Nicotine
In 2024–25, nicotine was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 11% (23,845) of all treatment episodes (Table Drg.5).
In 2024–25:
- Nicotine was the principal drug of concern in just 1.0% of treatment episodes (2,095) (tables Drg.1, Drg.5). This proportion has remained relatively stable since 2016–17 (1.3%, 2,584) (Table Drg.5).
- Nicotine was an additional drug of concern in 1 in 10 treatment episodes (10%, 21,750) (Table Drg.4).
- Most treatment episodes with nicotine as an additional drug of concern were for alcohol (40%) followed by methamphetamine (27%) and cannabis (18%) (Table Drg.3).
When considering nicotine treatment in Australia, consultation between a client and a service provider/clinician is an important step in determining a client’s treatment plan. Clients may actively seek treatment for nicotine dependence or be offered treatment for nicotine dependence by the service provider/clinician as a parallel treatment with other drugs of concern. Nicotine may be reported as a principal or additional drug of concern. Following consultation, a service provider/clinician will determine a treatment plan with the client.
Clients do not regularly seek (or are referred to) AOD treatment services for nicotine addiction treatment. Clients are more often referred to other avenues of treatment. This is due to the prevalence of other resources for the management of nicotine dependence and smoking cessation support including helplines and access to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) via general practitioners.
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 2024–25, 1,442 clients received treatment for nicotine as the principal drug of concern (Table SC.9).
Of these clients:
- Half were male (54%) (Table SC.9).
- 7 in 10 (71%) people were aged either 10–19 (36%), 20–29 (18%), or 30–39 (17%) years (Table SC.10).
- 1 in 4 people were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people (23%) (Table SC.11).
Treatment
In 2024–25, 2,095 treatment episodes were provided to clients for nicotine as the principal drug of concern.
Among these episodes:
- The most common sources of referral into treatment were health services (29%) and self or family (25%) (Table Drg.46).
- The most common main treatment types were assessment only and counselling (both 30%), followed by support and case management (28%) (Table Drg.45).
- The median duration of these treatment episodes was 31 days (Table Drg.48). Of these episodes, 6 in 10 (57%) lasted between 2 days and 3 months and 1 in 5 (21%) lasted less than 1 day (Table OV.12).
- The most common reasons treatment ended were planned completion (71%) and unplanned completion (15%) (Table Drg.47).
Ecstasy
In 2024–25, ecstasy was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 1.3% (2,827) of all treatment episodes (Table Drg.4).
In 2024–25:
- Ecstasy was the principal drug of concern in 0.3% (558) of treatment episodes (Table Drg.5).
- This proportion has remained relatively stable since 2015–16 (0.6%,1,249) (Table Drg.5).
- Ecstasy was an additional drug of concern in 1.1% (2,269) of treatment episodes, this has fallen since 2015–16 (1.8%, 3,545) (tables Drg.4 and Drg.5).
- Most treatment episodes with ecstasy as an additional drug of concern were for methamphetamine (34%) followed by cannabis (25%) and alcohol (22%) (Table Drg.3).
Client demographics
In 2024–25, 371 clients received treatment for ecstasy as the principal drug of concern. Of these clients:
- 7 in 10 were male (70%) (Table SC.9)
- 4 in 5 people were aged either 10–19 (33%) or 20–29 (43%) (Table SC.10)
- More than 1 in 10 were First Nations people (13%) (Table SC.11).
Treatment
In 2024–25, 558 treatment episodes were provided to clients for ecstasy as the principal drug of concern (Table Drg.4).
Among these episodes:
- The most common sources of referral into treatment were from self or family (31%) and diversions (25%) (via the criminal justice system) (Table Drg.73).
- The most common main treatment types were counselling (37%) and support and case management (24%) (Table Drg.72).
- 2 in 3 treatment episodes took place in a non-residential treatment setting (66%) (Table Drg.74).
- The median duration of these treatment episodes was 3 weeks (20 days), almost tripling since 2022–23 (8 days) (Table Drg.75).
- The most common reasons treatment ended were planned completion (70%) and unplanned completion (15%) (Figure 3).
- The proportion of episodes with a planned completion ranged from 64% for support and case management to 85% for information and education (Table Drg.74).
Cocaine
In 2024–25, cocaine was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 2.9% of all closed treatment episodes (6,178) (Table Drg.4).
In 2024–25:
- Cocaine was the principal drug of concern in 1.3% of treatment episodes (2,827), rising from 0.3% in 2015–16 (668) (Table Drg.5).
- Cocaine was an additional drug of concern in 1.6% of treatment episodes (3,351).
- This has remained relatively stable since 2015–16 (1.1%), with an increase in episode numbers from 2,259 to 3,351 across the period (Table Drg.5).
- Most treatment episodes with cocaine as an additional drug of concern were for alcohol (42%) followed by methamphetamine (28%) and cannabis (15%) (Table Drg.3).
Client demographics
In 2024–25, 1,886 clients received treatment for cocaine as the principal drug of concern (Table SC.12).
Of these clients:
- 4 in 5 were male (84%) (Table SC.9).
- Half of the people were aged 20–29 years (45%) and a further 30% were aged 30–39 (Table SC.10).
- Under 1 in 10 (8.7%) were First Nations people (Table SC.11).
Treatment
In 2024–25, 2,827 treatment episodes were provided to clients for cocaine as the principal drug of concern (Table Drg.4):
Among these episodes:
- The most common sources of referral into treatment were self or family (37%) followed by health services (23%) and diversion (15%) (Table Drg.82).
- The most common main treatment types were counselling (40%) and assessment only (25%) (Table Drg.81).
- The most common treatment settings were non-residential treatment settings (74%) and residential treatment settings (11%) (Table Drg.83).
- The median duration of these treatment episodes was just over 4 weeks (29 days) (Table Drg.84).
- The most common reasons treatment ended were planned completion (61%) and unplanned completion (20%) (that is, the client ceased to participate against advice, without notice or due to non-compliance).
- Planned completions were most likely where the main treatment type was information and education (85%) (Table Drg.82).
GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate)
In 2024–25, GHB was reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 3.9% of all closed treatment episodes (8,575) (Table Drg.4).
In 2024–25:
- GHB was the principal drug of concern in 1.8% (3,757) of treatment episodes, rising from less than 1% (46) in 2015–16 (Table Drg.5).
- GHB was an additional drug of concern in 2.2% (4,818) of treatment episodes. This has increased since 2015–16 (0.1%, 180 episodes).
Client demographics
In 2024–25, 1,242 clients received treatment for GHB as the principal drug of concern (Table SC.12). Among these clients:
- Half (50%) were female (Table SC.9) (noting 9.3% of client sex was reported as not stated).
- 1 in 3 people were aged 20–29 years (34%) and a further 45% were aged 30–39 (Table SC.10).
- 1 in 10 (12%) people were First Nations people (Table SC.11).
Treatment
In 2024–25, 3,757 treatment episodes were provided to clients for GHB as the principal drug of concern (Table Drg.4).
Among GHB-related treatment episodes in 2024–25:
- The most common main treatment types were ‘other’ main treatment types (24%), withdrawal management (23%) and assessment only (20%) (Table Drg.11).
- The most common source of referral into treatment was a health service (37%), followed self or family (31%) (Table Drg.9).
- Half of treatment episodes took place in non-residential treatment facilities (47%) (Table Drg.8).