UK CHILDREN 'MOST LIKELY TO TRY CANNABIS'

Children growing up in the UK are more likely to drink, smoke and to
have tried cannabis than in many other western countries, according to
a study by the World Health Organisation.

The report says that young people in the UK are becoming more
independent of their families, turning to their friends for support
and exposing themselves to higher risks than children and teenagers in
other developed countries.

The report, Health Behaviour in School-aged Children, based on the
experiences of 200,000 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds across 41 countries,
says any decline in home relationships could have an impact on
children's future relationships.

Despite being among the most affluent children - English children are
the third richest, Welsh the 15th and Scottish 17th in the study -
young people in the UK face significant disadvantages. English
schoolchildren are among the most stressed in the world, possibly
because of school testing.

Teenagers in England, Wales and Scotland are among the most likely to
drink regularly at 15. England is third in a league table of teenage
drinkers with four in 10 15-year-olds reporting that they drink at
least once a week. Only Ukraine and Malta score higher.

Children in the UK are significantly less likely to turn to a parent
for help if they have a problem than in many other countries.

However, the UK rates among the highest in the survey for children's
friendships. Children also report liking school, despite relatively
high levels of stress. But the report says: "Time spent with friends
in the evenings has been strongly linked with adolescent risk
behaviour, most notably substance use."

Candace Currie, director of the Child and Adolescent Health Research
Unit and the report's lead author at the University of Edinburgh,
said: "There is something very interesting going on about where young
people are getting their support. It's shifting around from their home
and parents to their school and peers."

Anne Longfield, chief executive of the charity 4Children, said: "We
work the longest hours in Europe. The amount of unsupervised time
young people have is increasing. Our culture of pushing the working
hours and not having support for families is having an impact."