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Public perceptions of drugs causing most deaths in Australia 1986-93

journal contribution
posted on 2024-09-12, 05:34 authored by Ron BorlandRon Borland, N Donaghue, D Hill
AbstractDrug use is a major cause of preventable mortality and morbidity in Australia. Tobacco is by far the largest cause of drug‐related deaths. This paper reports changes in public awareness of the relative morbidity risks of different drugs between 1986 and 1993, a period of considerable activity for drug education and control. Broadly representative samples of Australians were surveyed in the two years using the same methods. Results indicate a significant increase in identification of tobacco as the largest cause of death, from a list of six drugs, although only a minority of respondents were correct in 1993. Alcohol was the second most identified drug, consistent with it being responsible for most drug deaths not attributable to tobacco. These results are discussed in the context of other studies. It is concluded that while improvement in knowledge has occurred, it is unlikely to be sufficiently strong to motivate action.

History

Journal

Drug and Alcohol Review

Volume

16

Pagination

131-136

Location

Australia

ISSN

0959-5236

eISSN

1465-3362

Language

English

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

2

Publisher

CARFAX PUBL CO