rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

Situational analysis of drug and alcohol issues and responses in the Pacific
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Cannabis
In contrast to other Pacific Island nations,
there was an absence of anecdotal reports
of cannabis use, even where no official data
are collected.
Other
No reports of other substance use were identified
for Tokelau.
14.4 Licit drug trends
Research on alcohol consumption in Tokelau
was undertaken in 1968, 1971 and 1976,
showing that 34 per cent of males and 0 per
cent of females consumed alcohol. The
research suggests increasing consumption
over the decade in question, but is perhaps
too remote from the current day to provide
insight into current use patterns. However,
the significant increase in toddy consumption
from around 5 per cent to 21 per cent is
worth mentioning. 795 A 2004 estimate from
WHO suggests that up to 50 per cent of
males and 0.8 per cent of females consumed
alcohol. 796 There are strict social and religious
prohibitions on alcohol consumption,
in addition to a lack of frequent access to
imported goods, which have shaped alcohol
consumption patterns in Tokelau. 797 The fermented
sap of the palm tree (kalaeve or
fa’amafu), which Tokelauan people, especially
males, have made and consumed for at
least several generations, does not appear to
have been an important ceremonial drink. 798
People who identified as being of Tokelauan
descent were included in the 2002–03 Pacific
Drugs and Alcohol Consumption Survey. 799 A
total of 1103 randomly selected Pacific peoples
were surveyed, with approximately 79
per cent of interviews conducted in English.
The survey was not translated into Tokelauan.
No specific trends were reported for
Tokelauans. However, a general trend was
identified whereby Pacific people, compared
with the general New Zealand population,
were less likely to drink, but those
who did drink consumed greater amounts. 800
795 WHO above, fn.782.
796 Ibid.
797 Ibid.
798 Ibid.; Inu Pia (1997), The Place of Alcohol in the Lives of Tokelauan People Living in Aotearoa
New Zealand. Report prepared for the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand. ALAC Research
Monograph Series no.3. Wellington: ALAC.
799 J. Huakau et al. (2005), New Zealand Pacific peoples’ drinking style: too much or nothing at all?
New Zealand Medical Journal, 118(1216).
800 Ibid.