Background: Current survey data that could be used to identify and prioritize interventions to reduce drug harm often focus on prevalence of substance use (and use disorders) rather than measurement of harms.
Objectives: To assess the extent of drug harms measurement in a New Zealand cohort study and estimate prevalence of specific harms from alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and other drugs.
Methods: Survey data came from the Christchurch Health and Development (CHDS) birth cohort. We used data from age 18-40 regarding drug use and DSM-IV criteria for abuse and dependence of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and 9 other drugs. We classified survey items into relevant harm criteria categories (e.g., drug-specific damage to heath, loss of tangibles) then generated substance-specific prevalence estimates for harm.
Results: The most common harms were alcohol-related loss of tangibles (e.g., loss of employment) as reported by 37.0% of the cohort, tobacco withdrawal-related impairment of mental functioning (28.0%), alcohol-specific health damage (27.3%), alcohol-related loss of relationships (27.8%). Cannabis-related health damage was reported by 20.4% of the cohort, followed by cannabis related impairment of mental functioning, loss of tangibles, loss of relationships (11.8%, 11.6%, 10.2%, respectively).
Implications: Harms from alcohol were more common as compared to harms from other drugs. Though drug-related mortality was not considered, these data nonetheless support a need to better align drug policy with the specific types of harm that drugs contribute at a population level.