used substance on the Island -- according to an expert.

National Drug Commission chief executive Derrick Binns spoke out yesterday after the release of a survey which shows that the use of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine and tobacco has declined since 1995.

But Dr. Binns said the survey revealed concern in the community about alcohol advertising at sporting and cultural events, although he stressed he was not calling for prohibition of alcohol.

Dr. Binns said: "We asked questions about participants' attitudes towards activities such as advertising alcohol at cultural and sporting events and there was a strong indication that the public is not in favour of this.'' "We have got to take a look at the whole issue of alcohol, everything regarding it: the sale of alcohol, alcohol services, the distribution of alcohol, and alcohol regulations and see what is going to work best for this community,'' he said.

"This is not an idea to see the prohibition of alcohol. Not at all. We are looking at a response to the issue.'' He said the NDC was keen to study how many road accidents and visits to hospital emergency rooms were linked to alcohol.

"We think its time to develop a policy on this,'' he said.

The NDC survey of 1,299 adults, carried out last year found 60 per cent of the population -- the equivalent of 25,200 people -- had drunk alcohol in the past month, a drop of 3.1 percent from 1995.

The proportion smoking tobacco had dropped from roughly one in four adults to one in five.

Marijuana use also declined, from 10.8 percent (4,900) to 7.5 percent (3,400).

Dr. Binns said he believed one reason for the reduction in the use of these substances was the NDC's prevention and education programme.

"Although we hesitate to talk about trends with only two sets of data, the findings are promising,'' he said.

"Alcohol clearly remains the substance used most widely, with no significant change in the extent of use between 1995 and 1999.

"However, the significant reductions in the use of tobacco and marijuana suggest the work of the NDC and other community agencies is likely to be having a positive impact. These results will inspire us to continue our efforts.'' NDC research officer Dr. Julie Dunstan said the figures were reliable, even though there would be a tendency for people to under-estimate substance abuse.

She said respondents were selected randomly to give a scientific cross-section of the adult population, and confidentiality was guaranteed to try to gain an accurate picture.

The use of heroin is thought to have risen, however, from between 243 and 671 people in 1995 to between 342 and 713 people last year.

According to the survey heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine are used by around two in every hundred adults. A range of numbers for use of these hard drugs was given because the numbers responding were so small.

CHART Percentage of respondents reporting us of substance during past month Alcohol, Tobacco and Marijuana.