Pubdate: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 Source: Age, The (Australia) Copyright: 2005 The Age Company Ltd Contact: http://www.theage.com.au/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5 Author: Carol Nader, Health Reporter Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) SOME USING HEROIN AT 12 AUSTRALIAN children as young as 11 are experimenting with drugs. Among 12-to-15-year-olds who have taken drugs, the average age when they first used pain-killers -- for recreational rather than medical reasons -- is 11 years and five months. An analysis of the 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey also reveals that some children in that age group are first trying steroids, inhalants, heroin and cocaine -- all before they turn 13. Most of the teenagers obtained their first cigarette from a friend or acquaintance, while more than one in five said they had obtained their first cigarette by theft. Friends and acquaintances were also the most common suppliers of illicit drugs. But when it comes to alcohol, almost 60 per cent were given their first drink by a relative. The findings are part of an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report released yesterday. Overall, 7.6 per cent of 12 to 15-year-olds said they had used an illicit drug. But more than 95 per cent in that age group had never smoked and almost two-thirds had never had a full alcoholic drink. The author of the report, David Batts, said older teenagers engaged in more drug-taking than those aged 12 to 15. More than 20 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds and more than 30 per cent of 18 and 19-year-olds had taken illicit drugs in the preceding 12 months. "When you compare the 12 to 15-year-olds to the 16 and 17-year-olds the comparison is most interesting, because 16 and 17-year-olds are smoking, drinking and trying illicit drugs to a much greater extent than the 12 to 15-year-olds," he said. Turning Point Drug and Alcohol Centre director Nick Crofts said the figures were "a great worry" but had been for some time. "Some people will start using drugs at a very young age, but they're people who have all the predictable risk factors ... that decrease the ability of children to resist drugs," he said. "It's not about the drug, it's about the social circumstances in which kids find themselves because normal life is not fulfilling their needs." Professor Crofts said the underlying social causes needed to be looked at, rather than just drug use. Better social services needed to be provided, schools needed to be better resourced to help teenagers and there needed to be more support for children who came from broken families, "rather than allowing them to slide into the scrap heap". - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman