Huge rise in cocaine and ecstasy use by teenagers

THERE has been a "significant increase" in the number of teenagers taking cocaine and ecstasy, a major new study shows today.

Cocaine use in older teenagers has risen since 1994 from one per cent to five per cent, and the number using ecstasy has risen from four per cent to seven per cent.

The findings come as new Department of Health research also reveals that a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds admit to drinking alcohol every week. Today's study, based on interviews with 10,000 pupils across England and Wales, shows that the amount drunk by youngsters aged 11 to 15 has doubled in a decade to more than five pints of lager a week.

But overall, figures show slightly fewer teenagers are drinking, smoking and taking drugs than previous studies showed.

More than a third of all 15-year-olds have used drugs in the past year, with cannabis as the most popular choice.

Among 11 to 15-year-olds, the number taking drugs has fallen from 20 per cent in 2001 to 18 per cent last year, and the number admitting drinking alcohol in the past week has fallen from 26 per cent in 2001 to 24 per cent last year.

But while smoking levels in young teenagers fell during the mid- Nineties, there has been no change since 2000, with one in 10 smoking cigarettes. As in previous years, girls are more likely to smoke than boys.

Amanda Sandford, of Action on Smoking and Health, said: "These figures show we are moving in the right direction, albeit rather slowly. We know it's difficult to tackle youth smoking but the evidence is that the best way to do it is to have comprehensive policies which affect the whole population, such as banning tobacco advertising, banning smoking in public places and helping smokers who want to quit.

"There's a good case for young people to be given support if they need it when giving up smoking. Nicotine addiction kicks in very quickly and there's growing evidence that teenagers should be given the same support as adults."

Today's study shows older teenagers and those in their early twenties are more likely to use drugs, with cannabis still the favourite.

Vivienne Evans, chief executive of Adfam which helps families cope with the effects of drug use, said: "It's comforting to know that drug use overall has dropped among young people.

"But the rise in ecstasy and cocaine use is worrying because government policy is now targeted at a reduction in class A

DRUGS

BOYS take more drugs than girls and cannabis is still the favourite drug in the playground.

Thirteen per cent of children questioned said they had used cannabis in the last year, with older children more likely to try it than younger ones.

Six per cent of 11-year-olds had tried drugs in the past year, compared with 40 per cent of 15-year-olds.

More than 33 per cent of schoolchildren have been offered drugs and one per cent said they had tried Class A drugs such as heroin or cocaine.

DRINK

MORE than half of young teenagers drink spirits regularly and alcopops are more popular than ever.

Beer, lager and cider are still the first choice but the numbers of 11 to 15-year-olds drinking alcopops rose to 68 per cent last year, compared with 55 per cent in 1996.

More than twice as many children said they had drunk spirits "in the past week" in 2002 compared with 1990. Around 61 per cent said last year they had drunk spirits "in the past week".

SMOKING

GIRLS are more likely to be regular smokers than boys and there is little sign of a fall in the numbers experimenting with cigarettes.

A quarter of all 15-year-old girls smoke compared with 21 per cent of boys. However, children are now more likely to be refused at least once when buying cigarettes. About half said they had been questioned about their age and refused cigarettes last year compared with 37 per cent in 1990. Teenage smokers are more likely to play truant than non- smokers.

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