Cocaine use among women rises steeply
Aussies fail to change risky drinking habits
Smoking rates have fallen, big win for health



WE'VE got the message about smoking but we're refusing to change our risky drinking habits and we have an increased appetite for drugs.
The mixed picture of drinking and drug use is revealed today in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's National Drug Strategy Household Survey, which shows that cocaine use among young women has shot up in the last three years.

According to the survey, one in twenty women aged 20 to 29 have taken cocaine recently.
The number of women who have used a dealer to buy cocaine has increased since 2007, which suggests that women are actively seeking out the drug.
The study also found that cocaine use was still higher among men but the increase in their use was less steep.
Ecstasy use declined for the first time since 1995, with cocaine now the drug of choice among educated, high-earners.
Drug use was up, with 14.7 per cent of Australians aged 14 and over having taken something in the past 12 months - a jump from 13.4 per cent in 2007.
Encouraging news

Health organisations failed to make a dent in the number of people drinking more than four alcoholic drinks in a session at least once a month. One in five drank an average of more than two standards drinks in a day - that figure hasn't changed in three years.
But alcohol consumption dropped among teenagers aged 12 to 17.
The survey of 26,000 people did provide encouraging news for anti-smoking campaigners.
The proportion of people aged 14 and over smoking daily is 15.1 per cent, down from 16.6 per cent three years ago and 25 per cent in 1993.
The biggest declines in daily smoking are among people in their early 20s to mid-40s, but for over-45s the proportion remained relatively stable, and for some age groups increased slightly.

"This . . . is encouraging, as tobacco smoking is the single most preventable cause of ill-health and death," AIHW spokesman Brent Diverty said yesterday.
With The Australian and AAP