Women and Tobacco - The Bigger Picture

Alcohol and Other Substances

The isolation, poor self image, pain, abuse and poverty, which are so much a part of our daily lives, make us very susceptible to the sense of well being and escape produced by many prescription, over-the counter and "illegal" drugs, as well as tobacco and alcohol. Even when these substances are life threatening, the relief of the moment outweighs the long-term costs.

This is especially true of tobacco and alcohol which are so readily available and are so much a part of socializing for women who are lonely. Young women with disabilities who struggle to be like other young women, who want to be accepted and feel part of the group and have boy friends are particularly vulnerable to using substances just to feel like they belong.

For many women with disabilities, life is very difficult. We are lonely, bored, in pain and/or poor. There is no job to go to, there is no support from coworkers and no worker programs to help us overcome our dependence on substances that seem to offer some relief and/or escape from our daily woes. We need to tell each other our stories and we need to find ways that will work for us. We need to hear from you and at the end of this project we will be sharing our work with you.

Hopefully the needs assessment project that DAWN Canada is doing will help us understand the issues from the perspective of women with disabilities.

We would like to encourage you to submit any comments or suggestions. Your identities will be kept COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact the project researcher at any time.

Please feel free to contact the Project Researcher if you have any questions or comments. Please mail or fax any input to the Researcher at the following address.

DAWN Canada Substance Use/Misuse Project Researcher

Monika Chappell (604) 294-9958

3454 E. Pender Street (604) 294-6842 (V/Fax)

Vancouver, B.C. V5K 2E1