Alcohol and drug use
The Nunavik Inuit Health Survey, conducted throughout the 14 communities of Nunavik in autumn 2004, provides an update of the alcohol and drug use descriptive profile of the population aged 15 and over and identifies the sociodemographic characteristics associated with substance use.
In Nunavik in 2004, the proportion of drinkers was 77%, which is lower than the rate observed in Canada and in Quebec. This rate, however, represents an increase of almost 17% in Nunavik compared with 1992. Globally, the prevalence of drinkers is higher among participants under the age of 45, who are more educated, who have a job and who live in a community that permits the sale of alcohol.
Heavy drinking (five drinks or more on a single occasion) is widespread in Nunavik with close to 9 out of 10 consumers having drunk heavily at least once in the year preceding the survey, a rate that is two times higher than that observed in southern Quebec and in Canada…