Jump to full article: Sydney Morning Herald (au), 2008-04-27
Author: Maxine Frith
Intro: SMOKING, drinking and taking outlawed drugs are in decline in Australia - with the worrying exception of teenage girls.
The annual National Drug Strategy Household Survey raises concerns of a growing "ladette" culture in Australia that is putting girls at risk of long-term harm from binge drinking, tobacco addiction and Class A drugs.
The findings come from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, which surveys more than 20,000 people each year to gauge trends.
It found that use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs had fallen between 2004 and 2007.
Smoking rates for all people older than 14 have continued to fall, with 19.4 per cent of the population now saying they smoked daily. . . .
Among 16- to 17-year-olds, girls were almost twice as likely to have a daily smoking habit as boys, with 7.1 per cent of females in that age group using cigarettes.
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