Mental illness more prevalent among youth

A new report on children's health shows that young people's mental health may not be improving, as was previously thought.

The Australia 21 research group says more than 20 per cent of all young people suffer psychological distress and up to 50 per cent display stress-related symptoms.

The report's author, Richard Eckersely, says the sharp increase in mental illness shows that governments have to take a more holistic approach to health.

"We have to stop seeing health as simply a matter of the number of GPs, how our public services are going and recognise these problems have their roots in quite fundamental aspects of our society, from things like family conflict and breakdown, work life pressures, poverty, inequality," he said.

Mr Eckersely says the findings contradict the accepted view that young people's health is improving.

"That relies primarily on declining death rates but you can't rely on those measures any more and when you look much more widely at young people and wellbeing, particularly mental health, then it looks like the picture is one of decline rather than improvement," he said.

School drug leaflet 'not anti-education'

Drug leaflet: Advises young people on the use of drugs like ecstasy. (Get Image)

The Sydney West Area Health Service has denied a leaflet it has published encourages young people to take drugs.

The controversial leaflet is titled "Choosing to use but wanna keep your head together", and advises teenagers on what to do if they choose to take substances like ecstasy and cannabis.

It is being distributed at schools and community facilities, and includes advice for students to wait until they turn 18 before experimenting with drugs, and then to "use only small amounts and not too often".

The director of drug and alcohol services, Kevin Hedge, says the leaflet does not encourage young people to take drugs.

Mr Hedge says the leaflet clearly states that there is no safe drug use, but its advice is based on the realistic view that most young people experiment.

"Our materials were designed originally to be distributed amongst agencies that deal with marginalised young people, homeless young people and people at high risk of drug use," he said.

"From that perspective, the materials are a genuine public health approach to preventing harm."

But Jo Baxter from Drug Free Australia says the leaflet will confuse young people who are looking for guidance from drug use specialists.

"They want to know whether or not these drugs are going to harm them," she said.

"A message like that gives a sort of unintended message that they would condone the use and there is such a thing as safe use, when in actual fact we don't believe there is a safe use of illicit drugs."

Education 'necessary'

Tony Trimmingham lost his son to a heroin overdose 11 years ago and has since founded Family Drug Support.

He supports the leaflet and says people have to be realistic about the common use of drugs and alcohol in society.

"They grow up in a world where drugs are prevalent and every single person in Sydney, and in fact the whole of Australia, will in some point encounter drugs and will be faced with the dilemma of whether to use or not," he said.

"We can't evade that and I believe they do need education on how to deal with those occurrences."

Quote: There is a safe use of illicit drugs with the only difference being that they are illegal by state law. That does not mean that they cannot be experimented and used safely or safer. Under the headings of Moderation, Balance, Limit and Lethal all indulgence must be understood. Why? Because it is there...



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