Baby boomers love drugs and booze
Australian baby boomers are continuing their enthusiasm for both illicit drugs and alcohol with people in the 50 to 59 age group, leading consumption figures markedly compared to younger Australians.
One in 11 men and one in 18 women aged over 50 are using illicit drugs and the figures are expected to increase over the next 20 years. By comparison, between 2004 and 2007, the use of illicit drugs fell in every group except the 50 to 59 group.
The editor of Substance magazine, Jenny Tinworth, said that “illicit drugs were around during most of their childhoods so they have a different set of beliefs about them than their parents did. There is every possibility we will see a generation of older people using ecstasy and amphetamines in years to come”.
The report using figures from the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household survey also found that 16% of baby boomers over 60 were drinking alcohol daily compared with only 3% of people under 40 and 8.5% of those aged 40 to 49.
Ms Tinworth said that “it’s not that older people are drinking to excess. They are having a glass of wine with dinner but one or two a night can easily become three or four. Then we have a whole cohort of people with alcohol-related diseases such as cancers and liver damage”.
