Campaign to encourage parents to talk with children about drugs

10/10/96

Premier Richard Court has announced a major new public education campaign aimed at urging parents to talk to their children about drugs.

The Drug Aware campaign, which will be co-ordinated by the Health Department of Western Australia, is an initiative of the Task Force on Drug Abuse.

"Illicit drug use is increasing in Western Australia, following similar world-wide trends," Mr Court said.

"Last year, 81 people died due to opiate drugs, mainly heroin in this State.

"Analysis of heroin seized by police shows that the strength of the drug has been increasing, with a quarter of recent samples being more than 60 per cent pure compared with an average of around 10 per cent only a few years ago.

"In the 10 years to 1995, the number of male deaths each year from drug overdose has increased five-fold, while the number of female deaths for the same period has doubled.

"But while injecting drugs often takes our attention, other drugs must also be considered when we talk about the issue of illicit drug abuse."

Mr Court said the proportion of the population that has ever used cannabis increased in the 10 years to 1994 from 30 per cent to 34 per cent.

Beginning next week, a series of press advertisements would appear in the daily and weekend newspapers in the first stage of the three-year Drug Aware campaign.

These advertisements would provide information about illicit drugs and urge parents to talk with their children.

Further information would be available by telephoning the newly established parent drug information service and a Drug Aware parent booklet would also be available free of charge.

"The campaign will be supported by other prevention initiatives including expanded drug education in schools and drug education courses for parents," Mr Court said.

"The first phase of the campaign will not try to solve all the problems, but rather put the issue of drug abuse on the public agenda."

Media contact: Casey Cahill 222 9475