Summary - Department of Health and Ageing

severe injuries including gangrene. In Australia, temazepam has recently been placed
on Schedule 8 (controlled drugs) and UK experience suggests this will be successful in
preventing harm. Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) has also been placed on Schedule 8
because of its association with drug-assisted sexual assault, and its availability on the
black market and use by injectors has since declined.
The control of substances used as inhalants, including glue, ‘chrome’, paint and toluene,
varies from State to State. All Australian States have adopted standards for the scheduling of
drugs and poisons but the compounds and products used by young people tend to be
exempt from scheduling or subject to the lowest levels of restrictions. There have been
calls for tighter controls for some substances; however, evidence from other countries
suggests that this can lead to use of other, more dangerous, substances. Working with
businesses appears to hold promise but there is no evidence on how best to do this.
Indigenous communities have used supply reduction strategies to reduce petrol sniffing
and its related harm. In some communities, aviation fuel—which does not have petrol’s
psychoactive effects—has been substituted for petrol. This has been most effective when
introduced in conjunction with other interventions. Locking up petrol or making petrol
sniffing illegal have not been as effective.
PEDs include anabolic and androgenic substances (steroids) and hormone preparations.
Most are available only on prescription and some cannot be imported without a
Commonwealth Government permit, but many are legally available overseas and are often
ordered over the Internet. PED seizures by Customs have been increasing since 1994/5 but
use does not appear to have declined.
Tobacco and alcohol are not ordinary commodities. The prevalence of preventable death,
injury and illness associated with their use means that effective regulation of legal drugs is
essential and widely supported. Limiting cigarette advertising and promotion, and using
taxation to maintain the high price of cigarettes, have been vital and effective parts of
Australia’s tobacco control policies, particularly as they affect young people. Restrictions
on the price and availability of alcohol could be equally effective if implemented in
Australia, particularly in relation to taxes on cheaper products that tend to be used by
high-risk drinkers. There is also a strong case for regulating alcohol’s availability more
effectively through liquor restrictions, both in Indigenous and non-Indigenous
communities. There is strong community support, as well as research evidence, for stricter
enforcement of existing laws relating to service of intoxicated or underage drinkers, in
combination with local self-regulatory approaches. Moves to limit the diversion of
prescribed pharmaceuticals onto the black market have achieved some success but
restrictions on the availability of performance and image enhancing drugs have been less
successful. Control of the supply of volatile substances to young people is very difficult
and cannot be said to have been successful.