Health survey examines

ON THE North Shore. |

|

we don’t wear bicycle
helmets as often as we
should, we tend to
“*binge’’ drink on
weekends, and a lot of us
know someone under 50
years of age who has us-
ed pot, hash and/or co-
caine.

By Elizabeth Collings
News Reparter

ihese are a few of the fin
dings revealed by statistics in a
comprehensive survey on the
health status of North Shore
residents prepared for North
Shore Health and Lions Gate
Hospital by the Social Planning
and Research Council of B.C.
(SPARC).

Based on the responses of
546 local residents, the survey
polled people on a wide range
of Ufestyle factors that could
affect their health — from
bicycle helmet use and exercise
to alcohol, drug and cigarette
consumption

Some findings of the survey
reveal that:
© 45% of Nerth Shore house-
holds are commosed of families
with children, and while 14%
of the respondents with
children were single parents,
44% of the respondents with
children in North Vancouver
City were single oarents;
© 52% of houssholds had at
least one cyclist, but in only
22% of the hou-cholds did all
members who ‘ide wear a
helmet;
© 63% said they eercise three
times per week;
© 49% of the women had good
health practices compared with
24% of the men surveys;
© 77% of the men and 59% of
the women surveyed are in the
labor force;
© 49% of households had two
or more people in the Sabor
market.

In addition to the survey,
North Shore Health has also
compiled a community profile
containing demographic, health
and environmental statistics
about the North Shore.

According to the profile:
©10% of the adult North
Shore population has a drink-
ing problem;

*63% of survey respondents
admitted to driving within two
hours of drinking alcohol;

# 23% of the North Shore
population smokes.

THE MOST difficult
chailenge for children living
in a home where drug or
alcohol-use is predominant
is the task of growing up in
a crazy environment.

By Michael Becker
News Reperter

Alan Podsadowski, | executive
director of West) Coast Alter-
natives Society. a North Van-
couver-based out-patient: counsell-
ing program: dealing with alcohol,
marijuana, cocaine and other
substance-abuse problems, puts it
bluntly:

“You're walking on egyshells.
There’s possibly violence. Your
self-esteem is down in the toilet
somewhere. You're being put
down,” he said.

Podsadowski said) = marijuana
and cocaine are the two most
commonty abused drugs on the
North Shore.

“You've got that same possibil-
ity as with alcohol. The kids are
growing up where mom and dad
are stoned all the time or need a
fix - erratic behavior, inappro-
priate role-modelling, inconsistent
child-rearing practices, no limits
for the kids, potential for abuse
and neglect,*’ he said.

And the child grows up in an
environment where the use of
drugs is considered normal.

Added Podsadowski, **And if
that’s normal, then there are no
boundaries and the kid grows up
thinking it’s perfectly normal to
break the jaw, to use illegal
substances.°’

The counsellor believes a com-
munity awareness campaign is
important, especially with regard
to drugs like marijuana and co-
caine.

“Marijuana, for example, is
considered innocuous by a whole
lot of people. I grew up in the
760s and I know what that’s like.
And it’s not completely harmless.
A lot of people are at least
psychologically dependent on
marijuana. They are lethargic,
they have screwed up relation-
ships.

‘In some cases it’s more insidi-
ous with marijuana because it
isn't as obvious. It doesn’t cost as
much. Usually violence isn’t con.
nected with it. It’s a kind of
laid-back, easy-going, 1’m-just-
going-to-crawl-into-my-shell kind

‘

Friday, August 23, 199% — North Shore News -

lifestyle habits

Kids have a battle in substance-abuse environments
- Pot and cocaine the most commonly abused drugs

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

NORTH SHORE health survey respondents were not asked to reveal personal use of illegal drugs.
instead, the survey asked if ‘they personally knew someone who had used drugs during the past

few years."'

of drug. We see a lot of fathers,
for example, who aren't com-
municating with their wives and
they’re not involved in the whole
fathering process because they’re
not functioning,’” he said.

Podsadowski supports a strate-
gy incorporating television adver-
tising campaigns that would ad-
dress specific substance abuse
issues.

“You would have 30-second
spots that would really educate
and are aimed at changing the
sociai norms. You want to educate
specifically that things like mari-
juana are addictive. Deal with
some of these myths.’’

The wording of the North Shore
Health Promotion Survey question
attempting to gauge the scope of
illegal drug use in the community
leaves it open to broad conclu-
sions.

Survey respondents were not
asked to reveal personal use of il-
legal drugs. Instead, the survey
asked if ‘‘they personally knew
someone who had used drugs dur-
ing the past few years.’’

&6 (Marijuana is) not completely harmless. A
lot of people are at least psychologically
dependent on marijuana. They are lethargic,
they have screwed up relationships. 99
— Alan Podsadowski, executive director of West Coast

The statistic causing concern
among local health professionals
shows that 54% of respondents in
families with infants and
Preschoolers personally know
someone who has used marijuana
or hashish during the past few
years.

Said Carole Wood, family
counselling program coordinator
with North Shore Family Services,
“It's a funny question in a way
because it deperds on what deerce
of usage. t expect they're talking
about middle-class people using
drugs recreationally. And what's

‘Disturbing’ link found between young
families and illegal use of narcotics

A COMPREHENSIVE study prepared for the North
Shore health services community reveals a ‘‘disturbing”’
connection between young families and people who use il-

legal drugs.

The North Shore Health Pro-
motion Survey, a study of health
practices and attitudes of residenis
of the North Shore, was con-
ducted by the Social Planning and
Research Council of B.C. for
Lions Gate Hospital and North
Shore Health.

The survey, based cin 546 inter-
views conducted throughout the
three North Shore municipalities,
was commissioned in part (0 pro-

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

vide a broadened understanding of
social, community and individual
behavioral factors that have an
impact on the ‘good health’’ of
North Shore residents.

Of those surveyed, 45% of
households were composed of

families with children. The fin-
dings show that 14% of respon-
dents with children were single
parents; 44% of respondents with
children living in) North Van-
couver City were single parents:
just 5% of houscholds in West
Vancouver had children under six
years of age.

Survey respondents were not
asked to reveal personal use of il-
legal drugs. Rather, the survey
asked respondents if ‘*they per-
sonally knew someane wha had
used drugs during the past few
years."*

The statistics causing concern

among tocal health professionats
shows that 54% of repondents in
families with infants and
preschoolers personally know
someone who has used marijuana
or hashish during the past few
years.

in comparison, 57% of single
survey respondents under 65 know
someone who used marijuana or
hashish during the past few years.

The survey report notes ‘that a
healthy promotion campaign
about these drugs and their poten-
tial impact on young children
should be a priority in future
health promotion planning.””

Alternatives Society

the effect of that if all the
children’s other needs are met
adequately and they are ap-
propriately cared for?

“Probably the effect is not all
that great. If there’s dope being
smoked around them all the time,
well then there’s probably some
medical effect,’? Wood said. ‘If
the parent is stoned all the time
and not there for them either
emotionally or physically then
there certainly is an effect. But it
would depend on the degree of
usage.”"

KNEW SOMEONE WHO USED
COCAINE BY AGEAND SEX OF
RESPONDENT

50 — 48 co

PERCENT
@SRsRs a

UNDER 30 30-49 50-6a 65 OR OVEA
AGE GROUP
Source. North Shore Health Survey