Editor’s notes: “In Local Health Area 72 (Campbell River), which includes Cortes and Quadra Islands, 13.5 litres of absolute alcohol are sold per person. This is considerably higher than the Island Health average of 10.9 and the provincial average of 9.0. Given that one litre of absolute alcohol is equivalent to 58 standard drinks, residents of LHA 72 are consuming 783 alcoholic beverages annually, on average” – from the the Cortes Island and Quadra Island profiles
“In Vancouver Island North, which includes Campbell River, Cortes and Quadra Islands, 52% of youth have tried alcohol, compared to 45% provincially. Similarly, 37% of Vancouver Island North youth have tried marijuana, compared to 26% provincially. Tobacco sees a similar trend, with 29% of Vancouver Island North youth trying tobacco, compared to 21% of youth provincially” – from the Cortes Island and Quadra Island profiles
By Michelle Gamage, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
About 40 per cent of Canadian teenagers drank alcohol in the last year and one in five used cannabis, according to a bi-annual Health Canada survey that asks kids about substances.
The 2021-22 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey was filled out by 61,096 kids from Grade 7 to 12 — typically 12 to 17 — in all provinces except New Brunswick, which opted out. This is its 11th year collecting data on tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and drug use.
Continue reading For Teens Who Drink and Do Drugs, Here’s How to Reduce the Harm
