UK CHILDREN TOP DRUGS LEAGUE

Cannabis Is The Drug Of Choice For Teenagers

Teenagers from the UK are more likely than most of their European
counterparts to have taken drugs, drunk alcohol or smoked.

The findings, from a survey by the Alcohol and Health Research Centre, fuel
the debate over the "culture" of drinking, smoking and taking drugs in this
country.

There has been a slight decline in illicit drug use since the last survey
of this kind in 1995. But UK teenagers were still more likely than most
Europeans to have taken a variety of illicit substances.

UK teenagers' drug and alcohol use

Ever been drunk: 75.8%

Cannabis: 35.4%

Amphetamines: 7.7%

Magic mushrooms: 5.1%

Ecstasy: 3.3%

Cocaine: 3.2%

Heroin: 2.7%

They were also well ahead of other most European nations in terms of binge
drinking, and regular daily smoking.

The principal drug of choice for UK children was cannabis, with just over
35% of 15- to 16-year-olds having tried it.

Just under 65% had smoked conventional cigarettes, while more than 75%
confessed to having been drunk at some time.

Other drug use was far less frequent: 15% had abused aerosols, glue or
other "volatile substances", 8% had taken amphetamines and 3.3% ecstasy.
Harder drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine were less common.

But the report's author Dr Martin Plant, from the Edinburgh-based centre,
said: "One of the problems we have is that drug taking has now become so
commonplace that it is widely regarded as socially acceptable."

Brian Idden MP, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drug
Abuse, called for a "complete rethink" of anti drug and alcohol policy in
the UK.

He said: "We need to have a national strategy in Britain for alcohol,
tobacco and drugs." He said that he had heard of children as young as eight
in his constituency of Bolton who were drinking and using cannabis.

"We can point out the health risks to young people - and I don't think
these are pointed out enough in this country."

Drunken children

The results were also worrying reading for charities trying to stem the
tide of teenage drunkenness in the UK.

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.

The charity Alcohol Concern said the findings backed their own experience,
and they called for tighter enforcement of anti-underage drinking laws.

A spokesman said: "Drinks such as alcopops are targeted at young people
because they're sweet, and often young people don't realise how much
alcohol is in them.

"We just want to see the existing laws enforced properly when they have
been broken by people selling alcohol to underage drinkers.

"This group of young people is drinking more and drinking more frequently,"
he said. The results are to be presented to the European conference on
alcohol taking place in Copenhagen this week.

World Health Organisation director general Gro Harlem Brundtland has
already condemned alcohol companies for aggressively marketing their
products to young people.

Smoking figures

UK teenagers are also among the most prolific smokers in the 30 European
countries surveyed. More girls than boys admitted smoking, and in total,
34% of children said they had smoked during the past month.

Clive Bates, of Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), said the key to
stopping teenagers smoking was to reduce adult smoking.

He said: "The danger for these children is that they will completely
underestimate how difficult it is to give up smoking."