SURVEY OF ALCOHOLISM-TREATMENT SERVICES IN VICTORIA - RELATIONSHIP OF ALCOHOLICS DRUG-USE TO THEIR USE OF MEDICAL FACILITIES

A cooperative survey of 370 individuals presenting for treatment at nine Victorian alcoholism treatment centres showed that men and women in this population of alcoholics did not differ significantly in indices of their lifetime consumption of alcohol or tobacco per kilogram of body weight, despite considerable difference in their present use of these drugs. Physical disability was associated with extended tobacco consumption both in men and in women. Little relationship existed between use of medical services and the extended use of alcohol, though high present consumption was associated with increased general hospital admissions in men.