TEENAGE girls are more likely to binge drink and smoke cigarettes than their male counterparts, according to a new report that raises serious concerns about young women's health.
At least once a month, more than 28 per cent of teenage girls down alcohol at levels than can harm their health, compared with 24.5 per cent of males.
And 16 to 17-year-old females are about twice as likely to be daily smokers as males in the same age group.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare will today issue results from its National Drug Strategy Household Survey.
More than 23,000 Australians participated in poll, sharing information about their drug-taking history, behaviour when drunk or high, and attitudes towards drugs.
The economic cost associated with drug use was $56.1billion in 2004-05, with tobacco accounting for 56 per cent of the bill, alcohol 27 per cent and illicit drugs 15 per cent.
Institute spokesman Mark Cooper-Stanbury said the survey showed that tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use had decreased between 2004 and 2007.
The proportion of people who smoked cigarettes had fallen from 17.4 per cent to 16.6 per cent.
"This is one of the lowest daily smoking rates in the world," he said.
About 83 per cent of people had recently consumed alcohol slightly less than the percentage for 2004.
Illicit drug use was less common. About 9 per cent had recently smoked cannabis and 2.3 per cent had taken methamphetamines down from 11.3 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively.
"However since the last survey, the proportion of both men and women reporting recent cocaine use had increased but more so for men from 1.3 per cent to 2.2 per cent," he said.
There was slightly more support for the legalisation of cocaine and heroin for personal use.
But the opposite was the case for cannabis, with support waning from 27 per cent to 21.2 per cent over the three-year period.
About 6 per cent of participants backed the legalisation of ecstasy the first time this question had been included in the survey.
A large majority supported tougher penalties for those who sold or supplied illicit drugs.
Australians now were less likely to drive a car or go to work when under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol.
But the percentage of people who verbally or physically attacked someone, damaged property or stole something when they were intoxicated had remained relatively stable.
Australians aged 14 years or older were more than twice as likely to be victims of alcohol-related incidents such as verbal or physical abuse than drug-fuelled events.
The report states, "There were an estimated 4.4million victims of alcohol-related verbal abuse and a further 2.3million Australians ... who were put in fear by persons under the influence of alcohol in the 12 months preceding the 2007 survey.
"More than three-quarters of a million Australians were physically abused by persons under the influence of alcohol."