CECA launches the first national survey of alcohol and drug use since 1994 OTTAWA, Dec. 16 /CNW/ -



The Canadian Executive Council on Addictions (CECA), in partnership with Health Canada, will launch this week the first national general population survey of licit and illicit drug use by Canadians since 1994. The Canadian Addiction Survey (CAS) is designed to provide a detailed assessment of how Canadians use alcohol and other drugs, and the impact of that use on their physical and mental health. The survey will also poll Canadians on their attitudes toward measures to control drug use, and on their beliefs about the availability of drugs and the risks associated with use.



The CAS is a collaborative effort sponsored by CECA, the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia (in partnership with UVic's Centre for Addictions Research of BC), and Health Canada. Data will be collected using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) between December and March. For the purposes of the survey, the general population is defined as people 15 years of age and older living in Canada. Data collection will be completed by March 31, 2004, and initial results are expected by June.



Once completed, a comprehensive dataset will be made available to survey sponsors and subsequently to Canadian addiction researchers. CECA is a national non-governmental organization established in April 2002 to influence public policy on addictions. Its members include the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC), the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM), the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Prince Edward Island Provincial Health Services Authority, and BC's Kaiser Foundation. CECA provides a forum for the development of common positions on addictions issues in Canada, and a means of strengthening the capacity and knowledge of addictions executives at the federal, provincial/territorial and municipal levels.



"This survey is an ideal opportunity for CECA, as a new organization, to work on a national partnership initiative with provincial addiction agencies, and federal and provincial governments," said CECA President John Borody. "We hope this will be the first of many such projects as we begin to support the nationwide implementation of Canada's renewed Drug Strategy." Health Canada is a major sponsor of the survey and is part of the team that worked collaboratively on its development. This is the first national survey dedicated to alcohol and other drug issues since the Canada's Alcohol and Other Dugs Survey in 1994 and it will be followed by a series of surveys that Health Canada will conduct every 3-5 years.



The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse managed and coordinated the addictions expertise needed to develop the study and to disseminate the eventual results. "The survey is critical to the success of Canada's efforts to reduce or eliminate the harms associated with drug use," said CCSA's Chief Executive Officer Michel Perron. "The results will help to determine where we can most effectively invest precious financial and human resources at the national, provincial/territorial and local levels." For further information: John Borody, President, Canadian Executive Council on Addictions, (204) 944-6237; Karen Cumberland, Policy Officer, Canadian Executive Council on Addictions, (613) 282-2839