S.TRUEMAN PhD THESIS 2016

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substance use disorders treated in 2010–2011 in Australia, accounting for almost half of all treatment episodes (47%). The high prevalence of alcohol in substance use disorders is also reflected in the literature (Teesson, Hall, Lynskey & Degenhardt, 2000). Alcohol is directly related to mental health. Table 2.3 Lifetime and Single Occasion Risk in People Aged 14 Years or Older, by Remoteness (as Percentage of Total Population According to Remoteness Classification Index), 2010 (Source: AIHW, 2011)

Major Cities

Inner Regional

Outer Regional

Remote/ Very Remote

Lifetime risk Abstainer/ ex-drinker

20.4

17.7

17.5

15.3

Low risk

61.0 18.6 41.3 23.4

60.3 22.0 40.2 25.0

57.9 24.6 39.9 24.1

54.2 30.5 33.4 25.6

Risky

Single occasion risk

Low risk At least yearly At least weekly

14.9

17.0

18.5

25.8

2.3 Summary of Remote Drugs and Alcohol Use

None of the data or tables, considered individually or in combination, can demonstrate that the generally poorer health of remote Australia is caused by drugs and alcohol. What they do illustrate is that, compared to other areas, rates of consumption are high, and this is consistent with a contributing role in the poorer health status of these communities. Under each of the aforementioned drugs, the researcher has referred to the effects of excessive use of the drug in relation to mental illness. In each case, research has