KEY POINTS:
A survey into ethnic differences in drug and alcohol use show Maori are more likely than other ethnicities to use drugs or drink in a "hazardous" way.
The analysis from the New Zealand Mental Health Survey by Dr Elisabeth Wells from Otago University investigates ethnic differences in drug and alcohol use and disorder in New Zealand.
The results are being presented today at the combined APSAD (Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs) and Cutting Edge Addiction conference in Auckland.
The survey carried out face-to-face interviews with 12,992 New Zealanders on a range of behaviours and conditions relating to mental health and is part of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative.
Key findings on alcohol use in the past 12 months and ethnicity:
* Maori (82 per cent) and others (80 per cent) are more likely to be drinkers than Pacific Islanders (56 per cent).
* Among those who consume alcohol, hazardous drinking occurs in 36 per cent of Maori, 33 per cent of Pacific people and 23 per cent of others.
* Among those who consume alcohol, alcohol disorder prevalence is 6 per cent for Maori, 4 per cent for Pacific and 3 per cent for others.
Key findings on drug use in the past 12 months and ethnicity:
* Drug use occurs in 20 per cent of Maori, 13 per cent of others and 9 per cent of Pacific people.
* Drug disorder is most common in Maori at 13 per cent of users, followed by Pacific Islanders at 10 per cent and others on 9 per cent.
* Pacific people are often protected from substance use by abstinence, but are at greater risk than others if they do use drugs.
* Treatment contact is low in those with a substance disorder: 4 per cent for Pacific, 12 per cent for Maori, and 14 per cent for others.
- NZPA
