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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Minister to tackle underage drinking
Rebecca Smithers, education correspondent The Guardian
Tuesday 18 Nov 2003 A crackdown on regular underage drinking by young teenagers is being planned by the government, after new evidence showed that nearly a quarter of all 11- to 15-year-olds had consumed an alcoholic drink in the previous week. Stephen Twigg, the minister responsible for alcohol and drugs education in schools, has expressed shock at the findings on alcohol consumption, which has fluctuated wildly over time but shows no marked signs of decreasing. He admits he is more concerned about alcohol abuse than about about drug-taking among schoolchildren, with figures for the latter showing regular usage has stabilised. In an interview with GuardianEducation today, Mr Twigg says the government needs to make education about alcohol a bigger priority within schools, with the next push focusing on a new programme for secondary pupils. Referring to findings from the Department of Health survey into drug use, smoking and drinking among people in England aged between 11 and 15, he says: "If one in four 11- to 15-year-olds has had an alcoholic drink in the last week, clearly there's a big issue there and paucity of good alcohol education must be part of the explanation." The survey shows that the proportion of pupils who had drunk alcohol in the previous week had risen steadily from 20% in 1988 to 27% in 1996. The numbers then fell to 21% in 1998 and 1999, but rose again from 24% in 2000 to 26% in 2001. In 2002 they dropped back to 24%. In contrast, the survey showed that 18% of pupils had taken drugs in the last year - a decrease from 20% the year before, while 13% of pupils had taken cannabis in the last year, the same as 2001. In addition, 1% of 11- to 15-year-olds said they had used opiates (heroin or methadone) in the last year and 7% had used stimulants (a group of substances including cocaine and crack as well as ecstasy, amphetamines and poppers). Overall, 4% had used any class A drug in the last year - the same as in 2001. Mr Twigg says: "The evidence on the numbers of school-age children who have taken various categories of drugs seems to suggest that it is quite stable now, that the numbers aren't rising. The figures on alcohol go up and down. There was a big increase two years ago and then a bit of a fall-off. "Clearly it is the case that very significant numbers of young people are taking drugs, alcohol or smoking. This is an area that needs to be given far more priority than it has done in the past." The government is committed to producing a national alcohol harm reduction strategy, and the Department for Education and Skills is working with the Cabinet Office and other departments to formulate the basis of a strategy due for publication early next year. Alcohol education is part of the national curriculum, with all children taught about the effects of drinking.
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