Drug Use by Prostitutes in Sydney

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We report a comparative study of drug consumption by 277 female prostitutes and 95 women who had never worked as prostitutes, attending the Sydney STD Centre in 1985 and 1987. Marijuana was the drug most often used by prostitutes and non-prostitutes, followed by sleeping pills, amphetamines, cocaine and heroin. About 12% in both groups used intravenous drugs but prostitutes were significantly more likely to share needles and syringes. Prostitutes were also more likely to smoke cigarettes than non-prostitutes, and young prostitutes smoked significantly more heavily than other woman in the study. Although fewer prostitutes than non-prostititues drank alcohol, those who did drink were more likely to do so at a harmful level. We conclude that where differences in drug consumption exist between prostitutes and non-prostitutes, they are mainly work related.

This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit: