The risk of harm is high when some drugs, either illicit or prescribed, eg cannabis or diazepam, are combined with alcohol. Similar proportions of high school students also report using tobacco. Although levels of smoking among teenagers have fallen in recent years, the number of female teenagers who smoke still exceeds that of males. There has been a greater decline of smoking among males than females in the past 15 years. This represents no statistical difference between male and female smoking rates for the first time.
Alcohol continues to play a major role in domestic violence.
There is no reliable evidence to demonstrate authoritatively patterns or trends in the use of pharmaceutical products such as sedatives, minor tranquillisers and analgesics. There is some concern about the use of psychotropic drugs because of their ability to alter a person's mood, behaviour or perception. Minor tranquillisers, particularly benzodiazepines, are the most commonly used psychotropic drugs in the Australian community. The overuse of this drug, particularly by women and the elderly, has been an area of concern for some time. The use of benzodiazepines for long or continuous therapy, in particular for night time sedation, is an undesirable practice.