Subj: Call for drugs education for children aged five

Date: Apr 21, 1998

Source: The Guardian

Call for drugs education for children aged five

(Government backing for report despite widespread criticism )

By Duncan Campbell, Crime Correspondent

The Government yesterday backed a report which calls for
children to be given education about drugs from the age of five.

The report came under fire from conservative groups who claimed
it was unnecessary for such young children to be told about
drugs.

The report from the Standing Conference on Drug Abuse (Scoda),
published yesterday, recommends:

* Drug education for children starting at age five to become an
integral part of a personal, social and health education curriculum;

* A sustained programme of education for parents about drugs;

* An increase in services for young people with drug problems.

Roger Howard, chief executive of Scoda, said: "When deaths from
drug misuse are increasing among young people, it is time to bite
the bullet and invest in approaches known to work. Government
research has demonstrated that drug education programmes with
primary school children can reduce experimentation with drugs."

The chairman of Scoda, Lord Newton, the former Conservative
cabinet minister, added: "Young people already know a lot about
drugs from their friends and the media. We must ensure that this
incomplete and often inaccurate information is not their only
source of knowledge. Improving drug education, far from
glamorising drug misuse, is a sensible response to a significant
problem."

The report was criticised for suggesting that such young children
should receive education about drugs. A spokeswoman for Family
and Youth Concern said: "Five is far too young. It is robbing
children of their childhood to be telling them about drugs at that
age. There are a lot of children who wouldn't be aware of drugs at
all at that age."

Adrian Rogers of the Conservative Family Institute, called for
Scoda to be abolished. "Introducing drug education to
five-year-olds is a desperate measure, which is at best
well-intentioned and at worst is simply going to open up appetites
and desires as they get older. Drug education is unsuccessful, it
is a waste of school time, and for some children it will encourage
drug use. Scoda has singularly failed to come up with any
measures that do anything to reduce drug abuse in this country.
It should be abolished."

A spokesman for the Cabinet Office, which oversees the work of
the national drugs co-ordinator, Keith Hellawell, welcomed the
report. "We support the emphasis on early intervention, including
drug edcation at primary school and work with parents," a
spokesman said.

Mr Howard responded to criticism by saying: "We can't put our
heads in the sand and pretend it's not there."

The plan also suggests a campaign to use the power of the media
to encourage realistic strategies, that the Police Foundation
inquiry into drug legislation should be supported, and that local
employment services work more closely with drug action teams
to help recovering drug misusers get back to work.