Parents booklet - Talking with your kids about drugs
Cover page, table of contents, message from Prime Minister
PDF printable version of Cover page, table of contents, message from Prime Minister (PDF 80 KB)The Australian Government would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Australian National Council on Drugs.
Cover page
Contents
Introduction- The facts about illicit drugs speak for themselves
- What families can do about illicit drugs
- Will your children listen to you?
All about drugs
- Drug information
- What other facts should you know?
Talking about drugs
- The reasons teenagers give for trying drugs and what you can say
- 10 ways to encourage young people to talk about drugs with you
Is your teenager trying drugs?
- How will you know if your teenager is trying drugs?
- What to do if you think your teenager is trying drugs
Tough on Drugs
For more information
The purpose of this booklet is to provide information and guidance to parents on talking with their children about drugs.
‘Drugs’ are any substances that affect someone’s mood, thinking or behaviour, including illicit drugs (where production, sale or possession is prohibited), tobacco, alcohol and some pharmaceutical products.
This booklet, including information about specific drugs and their effects, is a general guide only. Its focus is on illicit drugs and the non-medical use of some pharmaceutical products. The booklet should not be used as a substitute for advice from suitably qualified medical or health professionals.
Message from the Prime Minister
The support of parents is crucial in the fight against illicit drugs.This booklet provides you, as a parent or carer, with practical, up-to-date information to help you talk to your children about drugs - what they are, how dangerous they are and how they can affect your family
A national survey found that 93 per cent of 15 to 17 year olds were willing to talk to their parents about drugs and 92 per cent said that parents could influence them not to use drugs. This is strong evidence that children are willing to talk to you about drugs. It is vital that they don’t hear the wrong messages from others first.
This booklet is being provided for parents to encourage and help you talk with your children about drugs. In 2001, the Government provided all parents with a similar booklet and we know that this was highly successful in getting the message to parents and their children about the dangers of illicit drugs. This booklet has been updated to provide information about new risks that your children face, such as Ice. As role models, I hope you will be encouraged to present the facts about drug use and discuss its consequences with your children.
My Government has committed more than $1.4 billion under the Tough on Drugs initiative to combat illicit drug use. Australians can feel proud of the real progress that has been made. Since 1997, law enforcement agencies have prevented over 14 tonnes of the most serious illicit drugs from reaching our streets. There are also fewer people dying of heroin overdoses and new treatment options are available.
However, the illicit drug market is continually changing and drugs such as Ice pose increasing threats. This is why it is essential for families, communities and governments to unite and work even harder in the fight against illicit drugs.
I firmly believe that your influence as parents will prove invaluable in helping our young people make the right choice.
John Howard
Help with PDF and large files
If your browser opens Adobe Acrobat files within the browser window, it is strongly recommended that the following procedure be used to access all these files: Click the link with the RIGHT mouse button, Choose "Save Target As..." (Internet Explorer) OR "Save Link As..." (Netscape), Select an appropriate folder on a local drive to place the downloaded file. Attempting to open large Adobe Acrobat files within the browser window may lead to system problems.
To view PDF (Portable Document Format) documents, you will need to have a PDF reader installed on your computer. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from Adobe's website.