Jan 06 Vol. 4 No. 1
Petrol sniffing is a major health problem faced byboth urban and rural/remote communities alike, yetthere is no doubt that the Indigenous communitiesof Central Australia are some of the worst affected.
In the May 2005 Federal Budget, the governmentannounced increased funding for the roll out of Opalgas, a non-sniffable fuel alternative. In this issue, weexplore the background to this strategy, and speakto a range of people working directly with petrolsniffers and their communities to find solutions.
As we go to press, the Australian ProfessionalSociety on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD)conference has just ended. We are privileged toinclude convenor Dr Alison Ritter’s conferencehighlights in this issue, plus the latest Australianresearch data on alcohol and other drugs (AOD)usage from the adjunct Drug Trends Conference.We will have further coverage of some of APSAD’smany presentations in our April issue.
Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)communities make up a significant portion ofAustralian society, yet our AOD services focus mainlyon the needs of the Anglo-Australian population. Inour first feature coverage of this topic, Of Substanceexplores the need for better education and servicesto CALD communities, and highlights a rangeof resources currently available.
The ‘Echo’ television commercial campaign,which ran in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania in 2005,featured a range of smokers’ excuses for notquitting, juxtaposed by sufferers of lung disease.We cover a recent evaluation of this campaign, plusdiscuss the history of anti-smoking campaignsin Australia.
As usual, we provide a run-down of the latest newsand recent releases from the AOD sector. Our letterspage continues in this issue, and we encourageyou to send us more contributions to make forlively debate. 
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