Drug abuse among children on the rise

CHILDREN are now more likely to have taken drugs than to have smoked a cigarette, NHS figures show.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of surveyed pupils, aged between 11 and 15, said they had used drugs at least once, while around one in five (19 per cent) had smoked tobacco, according to a report by NHS Digital covering 2016.

The number of pupils reporting drug-taking rose from 15 per cent in 2014 to 24 per cent in 2016, which NHS Digital said may partly be fuelled by the addition of new questions about nitrous oxide and new psychoactive substances, formerly known as legal highs.

The findings further showed three per cent of pupils were regular smokers, while 10 per cent had drunk alcohol in the last week and 10 per cent had used drugs in the past month. Almost half (44 per cent) said they had drunk alcohol at least once.

The total number of pupils who said they had smoked tobacco appears to have declined steadily over the past 20 years, falling from 49 per cent in 1996 to 19 per cent in 2016. Meanwhile, a quarter (25 per cent) said they had inhaled an e-cigarette, but just two per cent of pupils use one regularly. The survey found seven per cent of 15 year-olds were regular smokers – the lowest level on record, the charity said, adding that the figure was 20 per cent in 2006.

Measures like a ban on displaying tobacco, prohibiting its promotion and sponsorship, and making the substance more expensive contributed to the decrease, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) added.

Deborah Arnott, ASH’S chief executive, said the report showed England was heading in the right direction, but said more action was needed on adult smokers. She said: “It is the higher rates of adult smoking in poorer communities that are the main reason for lower life expectancy.

“The Tobacco Control Plan must be fully implemented and adequately funded if we are to succeed in tackling the burning injustice that those born poor die on average nine years earlier.”

Some 12,051 pupils from 177 schools across England were asked about their lifestyles and substance use by Ipsos Mori for the report: Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People, England: 2016.

The fall in smoking levels was welcomed as “good progress” by the charity ASH.