|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: UK teenagers hit drugs and alcohol harder
The Guardian
Tuesday 20 Feb 2001 British teenagers are more likely to have taken drugs, drunk alcohol or smoked than most of their European counterparts, says a survey released today. The findings, from the European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs, found that nearly 30% of the sample of 15- and 16-year-olds said they had been drunk at least 20 times in their life - a quarter said they had been intoxicated three or more times in the past month. There has been a slight decline in illicit drug use since the last survey of this kind in 1995, but UK teenagers are still more likely than most Europeans to have taken a variety of illicit substances. More than 35% of 15- to 16-year-olds said they had tried cannabis, which was the most popular drug by far. Other abused substances include aerosols, glue or other "volatile substances" (15%), amphetamines (8%) and ecstasy (3.3%). Harder drugs such as crack cocaine and heroin were less common. More girls than boys admitted smoking, and in total, 34% of children said they had smoked during the past month. The report's author Dr Martin Plant, said: "I would like to see a sensible approach to this because it is the legal drugs such as cigarettes and alcohol which lead to the most deaths and illnesses with young people in this country. "If the government wants to crack down on drugs dealers it should be looking at the shop keepers who are selling the drink and cigarettes to the children." The survey questioned 15 and 16-year-olds from schools in 30 European countries. In Britain 223 schools participated out of a random sample of 302. Other countries where a high number of teenagers admitted taking drugs were the Republic of Ireland, France and the Czech Republic. Countries with low levels of drug use included Finland, Sweden, Malta and Cyprus. The report come just a day after a World Health Organisation (WHO) report said that 33,000 people a year in England and Wales alone are dying from drink-induced causes. And in a European conference on young people and alcohol, WHO director general Gro Harlem Brundtland yesterday attacked alcohol companies for aggressively marketing products such as alcopops to young people with advertising that focuses on youth lifestyle, sex, sports and fun.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!