The selected drugs of concern—nicotine, ecstasy and cocaine—were more likely to be reported as an additional drug of concern rather than a principal drug of concern (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.8). For example, in 2019–20 nicotine was reported as a principal drug of concern in only 1.1% of treatment episodes, but was listed as an additional drug of concern in 13.1% of episodes.
Table AODTS Selected drugs.1: Summary characteristics of other selected drugs of concern, 2019–20 (%)
|
Nicotine |
Ecstasy |
Cocaine |
Client data |
Sex(a) |
Male |
57.1 |
74.9 |
87.6 |
Female |
42.7 |
25.1 |
12.3 |
Indigenous status(a) (b) |
Indigenous |
15.5 |
5.1 |
5.1 |
Non-Indigenous |
80.9 |
92.3 |
92.4 |
Age(a) |
10–19 |
21.1 |
38.9 |
6.9 |
20–29 |
20.0 |
52.7 |
50.4 |
30–39 |
22.3 |
6.2 |
29.3 |
40–49 |
17.0 |
1.6 |
11.1 |
50+ |
19.6 |
0.6 |
2.4 |
Closed treatment episodes |
Drugs of concern |
Principal drug of concern |
1.1 |
0.6 |
1.0 |
Additional drug of concern |
13.1 |
1.6 |
1.5 |
Referral to treatment |
Self/family |
19.8 |
16.3 |
39.1 |
Health service |
33.6 |
17.8 |
23.0 |
Corrections |
4.0 |
4.3 |
7.0 |
Diversion |
31.8 |
49.4 |
15.2 |
Other |
10.8 |
12.3 |
15.7 |
Main treatment type |
Counselling |
23.1 |
26.2 |
44.8 |
Information and education |
10.9 |
39.4 |
12.2 |
Assessment only |
43.2 |
16.0 |
18.2 |
Withdrawal management |
9.2 |
3.3 |
4.4 |
Other(c) |
13.5 |
15.1 |
20.3 |
Treatment setting |
Non-residential treatment facility |
71.0 |
71.9 |
77.3 |
Residential treatment facility |
1.3 |
3.6 |
9.2 |
Other(d) |
27.7 |
24.1 |
13.6 |
Treatment completion |
Expected cessation |
77.6 |
79.4 |
63.7 |
Unexpected cessation |
8.9 |
10.7 |
19.2 |
Other(e) |
13.5 |
79.9 |
17.1 |
Median duration (episodes) |
1 days |
1 day |
36 days |
(a) Based on valid SLK client data.
(b) The proportion of clients for Indigenous status may not sum to the total, due to missing or not reported data.
(c) Includes support and case management, pharmacotherapy, other and rehabilitation.
(d) Includes where treatment is delivered in the client’s own home or usual place of residence or in an outreach setting.
(e) Includes administrative cessation.
Sources: Tables SC.6–8, SD.9, SD.66, SD.69, SD.73, SD.76–79, SD.117–118, SD.121–127, SD.130, SD.133–134, SD.137–143.
The proportion of episodes with nicotine, ecstasy or cocaine as the principal drug of concern has remained stable at around 1%–2% for each drug each year since 2014–15 (Table SD.9). Typically, these 3 principal drugs of concern have together contributed around 2%–3% of the total number of treatment episodes each year since 2014–15.
In 2019–20, nicotine was reported in 14% of all closed treatment episodes, either as a principal or additional drug of concern:
- nicotine was a principal drug of concern in just 1.1% (2,379) of treatment episodes (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.9). Since 2010–11, the proportion of episodes with nicotine as the principal drug has remained stable at 1–2% (Table SD.9).
- nicotine was listed as an additional drug of concern in 13% (28,535) of episodes
- most treatment episodes with nicotine as an additional drug of concern occurred when the principal drug of concern was alcohol (34%), amphetamines (33%), or cannabis (22%) (tables SD.7–8).
The low proportion of episodes in which nicotine was the principal drug of concern likely relates to the wide availability of support and treatment for nicotine use within the community. For example, general practitioners, pharmacies, helplines, and web services all offer support for nicotine use. Additionally, people might view AOD treatment services as being most appropriate for drug use that is beyond the expertise of general practitioners. However, therapy to quit smoking is becoming an integral part of some AOD services as a parallel treatment with other drugs of concern.
Client demographics
Where nicotine was the principal drug of concern:
- 57% of clients were male and 15% were Indigenous Australians
- over 3 in 5 clients were aged under 40 years (63%) and 17% were aged 40–49 (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SC.6–8).
Treatment
For treatment episodes where nicotine was the principal drug of concern in 2019–20:
- the most common source of referral was from health services (34%), followed by a police or court diversion program (32%) (Table AODTS Selected drugs.1)
- assessment only (43%), counselling (23%), and information and education only (11%) were the most common main treatment types (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.74)
- 7 in 10 (71%) treatment episodes took place in a non-residential treatment facility (Table SD.76)
- over half (57%) of episodes ended within 1 day, and almost 3 in 10 (29%) lasted 2 days to 3 months (Table SE.25)
- the median duration of episodes was 1 day (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.79)
- over three–quarters (78%) of episodes ended with an expected cessation, while 10% ended due to other reasons (such as court diversion, imprisonment or death) and 9% ended unexpectedly.
- expected cessations were most common where the main treatment type was assessment only (46%), and least likely for rehabilitation (1%) (Table SD.78).
In 2019–20, ecstasy was reported in 3% of all closed treatment episodes, either as a principal or additional drug of concern:
- Ecstasy was a principal drug in less than 1% of treatment episodes (1,255).
- An additional drug of concern in 2% (3,529) of episodes.
- The proportion of episodes with ecstasy as a principal drug has remained stable around 1% of all closed treatment episodes since 2010–11 (708 episodes). When reported as an additional drug of concern, it decreased from 3% (4,754) of episodes in 2010–11 to 2% (3,529) in 2019–20 (additional drugs of concern may not be the subject of any treatment within the episode) (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.9).
- Additional drugs of concern reported with ecstasy include cannabis (39%), amphetamines (30%), or alcohol (19%) (Figure DRUGS1; tables SD.7–8).
Client demographics
Where ecstasy was the principal drug of concern:
- three-quarters (75%) of clients were male and 5% were Indigenous Australians
- half of the clients (51%) were aged 20–29 and 41% were aged 10–19 (tables SC.6–8).
Treatment
For treatment episodes where ecstasy was the principal drug of concern in 2019–20:
- in nearly half (49%) of treatment episodes, the client’s source of referral was from police and court diversion (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.125)
- the most common main treatment type was information and education (39%), followed by counselling (26%) (Table SD.121)
- most treatment episodes took place in a non-residential facility (72%) (Table SD.124)
- over half (55%) of episodes ended within 1 day and over 1 in 3 (35%) ended in 2 days to 3 months (Table SE.25)
- the median duration of episodes was 1 day (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.127)
- 4 in 5 (79%) episodes ended with an expected cessation, while 11% ended unexpectedly
- expected cessations were most common where the main treatment type was information and education only (49%) (Table SD.126).
Cocaine was reported in 3% of all closed treatment episodes, either as a principal or additional drug of concern:
- cocaine was a principal drug in less than 1% (2,086 ) of treatment episodes
- an additional drug of concern in 2% (3,322 episodes)
- though the proportion of episodes with cocaine as a principal drug has remained at less than 1% of all closed treatment episodes since 2010–11, the number of treatment episodes increased by 4-fold from 2010–11 (501 episodes) to 2019–20 (2,086)
- where cocaine was listed as an additional drug of concern, also increased since 2010–11 (2,011episodes) to 2019–20 (3,322 ) (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.9)
- additional drugs of concern reported with cocaine included amphetamines (36%), alcohol (31%), and cannabis (18%) (Figure DRUGS1; tables SD.7–8).
Analysis of AODTS NMDS data from 2002–2003 to 2017–2018 similarly found treatment episodes where cocaine was the principal drug of concern were increasing, the rate was higher among males than females (10 per 100,000 compared with 1.7 per 100,000 among females) across all years and since 2015–16 higher among people aged 20–29 (Man et al. 2021). State/territory, main treatment type and referral sources were investigated to determine whether these factors may be driving increases in treatment episodes; analyses indicated these variables did not drive increases in 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 (Man et al. 2021).
Client demographics
Where cocaine was the principal drug of concern:
- nearly 9 in 10 (88%) clients were male and 5% were Indigenous Australians
- half of the clients (50%) were aged 20–29, and 30% were aged 30–39
- 1 in 14 clients (7%) were aged 10–19 (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SC.6–8).
Treatment
For treatment episodes where cocaine was the principal drug of concern in 2019–20:
- around 2 in 5 clients (39%) were referred by self/family, followed by health service (23%) (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.133)
- the most common main treatment types were counselling (45%), assessment only (18%), (tables SD.137–138)
- treatment was most likely to take place in a non-residential treatment facility (77%) (Table SD.140)
- around 1 in 4 (26%) episodes ended within 1 day and nearly half (46%) lasted from 1–6 months (Table SE.25)
- the median duration of treatment episodes was 36 days, though this varied by treatment type; for example, median duration was 1 day for information and education, and 75 days for counselling (tables AODTS Selected drugs.1, SD.143)
- nearly 2 in 3 (64%) treatment episodes ended with an expected cessation, while 19% ended with an unplanned completion (Table SD.134)
- expected cessations were most common where the main treatment type was counselling (42%) (Table SD.142).
References
See reference list.