Status
- Survey initiated in December 2003
- Fieldwork was completed in May 2004
- Preliminary data analysis was completed in August 2004
- Highlights of the CAS: Prevalence of Use and Related Harms: Highlights was released on November 24, 2004.
- Detailed CAS Report: Prevalence of Use and Related Harms: Detailed Report was released on March 23, 2005.
- Further results from the Canadian Addiction Survey (CAS) will be presented through a forthcoming series of reports and research papers.
- Provinces who participated in the CAS are also expected to conduct detailed analyses within their jurisdictions.
- The CAS microdata files were released for academic purposes on June 7, 2005.
- The Yukon Addictions Survey (YAS): Preliminary Results 2005: A Survey of Yukoners' Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs, Yukon's portion of the CAS, was released in June, 2005.
- The Northwest Territories Addiction Survey, based on core content from the CAS survey questionnaire, was released in January, 2006.
- Patterns of Risky Alcohol Use in British Columbia - Results of the 2004 Canadian Addictions Survey was published by University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research of BC in December 2005. Additional details can be found in the Appendix to this document.
- The Canadian Addiction Survey 2004: Alberta Report, Detailed Report, Alberta's portion of the CAS, was published in January, 2006.
- Toward a Policy-Relevant Typology of Cannabis Use for Canada was published in March, 2006. Analysis presented in this report is intended to supplement the original CAS detailed report.
- Risks Associated with Tobacco Use in Youth Aged 15-19 was published in October, 2006. Analysis presented in this report is intended to supplement the original CAS detailed report.
Background
The CAS is the first national survey dedicated to alcohol, cannabis and other drug use since Canada's Alcohol and Other Drugs Survey (CADS) in 1994. It is one of the most detailed and extensive surveys of its kind ever conducted in Canada.
The CAS is a collaboration of Health Canada; the Canadian Executive Council on Addictions (CECA) [which includes the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC), the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM), the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Prince Edward Island Provincial Health Services Authority, and the Kaiser Foundation/Centre for Addictions Research of BC (CAR-BC) ] and the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia.
CAS objectives
The primary objectives of the survey were:
- To determine the prevalence, incidence and frequency of alcohol, cannabis and other drug use in the Canadian population aged 15 years and older;
- To measure the extent of harms that are associated with those individuals who use alcohol and other drugs;
- To assess the context in which alcohol and drugs are used, and to identify the risk and protective factors related to that use, as well as the consequences of use;
- To measure the public's opinions, views and knowledge regarding existing and potential addiction policies, and to identify emerging policy issues; and,
- To provide baseline data for future evaluations of the effectiveness of Canada's Drug Strategy and other efforts to reduce the harm associated with alcohol and other drug use
The CAS provides a detailed picture of how Canadians aged 15 years and older use alcohol, cannabis and other drugs, and the impact that use has on their physical, mental and social well-being.
This information, when compared with past studies, indicates trends in drug use and harms associated with use. Researchers, addiction specialists and policy-makers need this information to determine where financial and human resources are most needed.
The participation of Health Canada in the CAS is an important initiative under Canada's renewed Drug Strategy, announced in May 2003.
Current plans are to repeat the CAS in the future.
Survey design and methodology
Data were collected in a telephone survey between December 2003 and April 2004.
The survey was developed using selected or adapted questions from past surveys and polls that were dedicated to alcohol and other drug issues, as well as national general population health surveys. Addictions expertise was coordinated by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA).
A sample of 13,909 Canadians 15 years of age and older living in Canada was compiled from a random selection of telephone numbers with a minimum of 1,000 respondents sampled in each province. Telephone interviews were conducted between December 16, 2003 and April 19, 2004 by the research firm Jolicoeur et associés.
Some of the new or unique content areas in the CAS include the following:
- An extended section on public attitudes, opinions and policy issues
- Newly developed health-related quality of life indicators (HRQoL)
- Occasion-based drinking characteristics
- World Health Organization Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (WHO AUDIT) to measure high-risk drinking
- Detailed items related to cannabis use opportunities, reasons for use and market factors
- World Health Organization Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (WHO ASSIST) to measure hazardous or harmful drug use
- Extended detail on personal and contextual factors for illicit drug use
- An extended section on drug use harms and victimization
- New national estimate of drug use and driving
- New material assessing unmet treatment needs
- New material allowing researchers to further study economic cost issues.