Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse providing national leadership to reduce drug- and alcohol-related harms
Ottawa, October 29, 2010 – The abuse of illegal drugs and alcohol is costing the Canadian economy nearly $23 billion annually. To put this number in perspective, it is equivalent to the amount the federal government wants to reduce its deficit by this fiscal year.
The biggest impact of alcohol and illegal drugs is felt in our already beleaguered health care system ($4.4 billion a year), followed by the cost of law enforcement (about $5.4 billion for crimes related to alcohol and illegal drugs) and the many indirect costs, including productivity losses.“Not all these costs are avoidable,” says Michel Perron, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), an internationally respected non-governmental organization working to reduce alcohol- and drug-related harms. “But with the right combination of public policy, education and prevention programs based on sound evidence, many of these costs can be reduced or eliminated. Ultimately, we want all Canadians to live in a society free of the harms associated with alcohol and drugs.”
The national voice for alcohol and drug issues in Canada
CCSA was created by an Act of Parliament, which was passed with all party support on August 31, 1988. Its mandate is to be the national focus for Canadian efforts to address substance abuse and addictions. Through its 20-plus year history, CCSA has established itself as the national voice for substance abuse in Canada.
“Our mandate is to reduce alcohol- and drug-related harms, to provide leadership on national priorities, foster knowledge-translation within the field, and create sustainable partnerships that maximize collective efforts,” says Perron. “No other organization in Canada is uniquely positioned to address the issue of substance abuse on a national scale. We’ve been able to move the yardstick of knowledge and action substantially over our 20 year history,” he adds.
In 2001, CCSA released the first ever guidelines for the estimation of costs of substance abuse. These guidelines were adopted and published by the World Health Organization and have subsequently been used for two Canadian cost study reports—the most recent being The Costs of Substance Abuse in Canada (2002).
As we head into the next decade, much of CCSA’s focus will be to address three growing and concerning trends: drug-impaired driving (statistically, alcohol-related driving is decreasing while drug-impaired driving is increasing), drug use and abuse among youth (Canada has the highest rates of cannabis use in the world), and pharmaceutical abuse (21 percent of Ontario students in Grades 7 to 12 admit to taking a prescription drug for non-medical purposes; 75 percent say they get it right from their own home).
Working collaboratively
“Critical to CCSA’s effectiveness is its unique approach to working with partners: subject-matter experts, practitioners, community representatives and others who collectively contribute, share and drive action on substance use issues,” says Don Sinden, Acting Director of Partnerships and Priorities at CCSA.
“By working collaboratively with diverse groups to find common ground for action, CCSA is developing practical, relevant solutions that reduce the burden caused by addictions and improve the quality of services available,” he says.
CCSA: Science at work
“Before we can make any impact, we focus first on research and facts,” says Cheryl Arratoon, Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange at CCSA, who leads a team of researchers and knowledge brokers devoted to this field. “We are continually fostering an environment where evidence and best practices inform policy, practice and action.”
For example, more than 60 percent of illicit drug users are 15 to 24 years old, with the average age of first use as young as 11 among high-risk youth. So, in 2010, CCSA and its partners developed Canada’s first-ever national standards for substance use prevention to help the country’s educators, community health professionals and family-skills program coordinators deliver more effective programs. The School-based Standards resource provide research-informed prevention and intervention tools to some 500,000 educators to benefit Canada’s more than five million elementary and secondary students.
“With national standards, every Canadian school will be able to deliver a substance abuse prevention program that is based on evidence of what works, reducing use by meeting the specific needs of youth,” says Bill Tucker, Eastern Vice President of the Canadian Association of Principals.
CCSA has also created an innovative and award-winning drug-prevention website, www.Xperiment.ca, which features an animated eyeball named ‘URL’. The site provides a safe zone for youth to learn about the effects of drugs by participating in simulated experiments to see the effects of drug use without having to experience any of the negative physical or social consequences of actual use. Launching on October 31, Xperiment.ca will also be home to URL-TV, a new online healthy lifestyle channel for youth that complements drug facts and effects with entertaining shows that help youth develop coping and life skills.
The site is part of A Drug Prevention Strategy for Canada’s Youth, an initiative led by CCSA in collaboration with key partners and funded by the federal government’s National Anti-Drug Strategy.
National priorities
Children and youth are just one of eight national priorities CCSA is spearheading. Others include:
• Impaired Driving:
The number of alcohol-related driving incidents has declined in the past 20 years, but driving after smoking marijuana is on the rise (10 percent of drivers tested in the 2008 B.C. Roadside Survey tested positive for drugs). CCSA is studying this issue and developing guidelines for roadside drug evaluation programs.
• National Treatment Strategy: In 2008, CCSA and several other key partners developed the National Treatment Strategy to provide direction and recommendations to strengthen the services and supports we offer to Canadians with substance use problems. This strategy aims to close the gap between need and response.
• Canada’s North and First Nations, Inuit and Métis:
In 2008, CCSA established an Elder Advisory Council made up of indigenous Canadians to help guide the organization in its efforts to reach out to northern, First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities.
• Concurrent Disorders: Since more than half of all Canadians who seek help for an addiction also experience mental illness, CCSA published the latest research on concurrent disorders in 2010. This report is intended to spur practice and policy changes, and increase cooperation among the country’s health services, social services, education and justice systems to improve the quality of care provided to those struggling with addiction and mental health issues.
• National Alcohol Strategy: Alcohol is a contributing factor in more than 65 different medical conditions, ranging from acute injuries to long-term health conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and a variety of mental illnesses. In 2002, illness attributed to alcohol accounted for approximately 1.6 million days of acute care in hospital, with costs totaling some $1.5 billion. To address the issue of alcohol-related harms in Canada, CCSA, Health Canada and the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, in partnership with subject-matter experts from across Canada, jointly led the development of the National Alcohol Strategy (NAS)—a comprehensive, collaborative strategy that provides direction and recommendations to reduce alcohol related harms in Canada.
Looking ahead
No organization is better equipped to tackle these issues head-on than CCSA. Unique in its legislated mandate and in its national leadership role, CCSA is a real catalyst for mobilizing action towards a common purpose. It has a remarkable ability to leverage partnerships and investment to deliver action-oriented results.
“We have laid the groundwork to see widespread adoption of the tools we and our partners have created together,” says Perron. “Looking ahead, it’s all about uptake; ensuring these strategies and tools are implemented and used across the country.”
About CCSA
With a legislated mandate to reduce alcohol and other drug-related harms, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse provides leadership on national priorities, fosters knowledge translation within the field, and creates sustainable partnerships that maximize collective efforts. CCSA receives funding from Health Canada.
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For more information, please contact:
Donna Lindell Playbook Communications donna@playbookcommunications.com
416-690-5777 ext. 166
Enid Harrison Communications Director, CCSA eharrison@ccsa.ca
613-235-4048 ext. 237
