FALL REPORTED IN TEEN DRUG USE

Illegal drug-taking among British youngsters has dropped for the first time
since the 1960s, according to a survey, writes Jeevan Vasagar.

The authors of the study, published in the British Medical Journal,
describe the result as a startling turnaround since 1995, when research
showed that British teenagers had the highest rates of drug use in the world.

The latest figures, based on answers to questionnaires by more than 2,600
boys and girls aged 15 and 16, show that use of Ecstasy halved among girls
and dropped by nearly two-thirds among boys. One-third of girls and almost
two-fifths of boys admitted having used illicit drugs.

Cannabis was the most popular drug, and more than one in 10 said they had
abused glues or solvents. Scottish teenagers admitted to higher rates of
drug use than those in any other part of Britain.

The report's co-author Martin Plant, director of the Edinburgh-based
Alcohol and Health Research Centre, said one reason for the drop might be
that drug use had reached a "natural saturation point".