ISSUES
: Drugs
Chapter 1: Drug issues
13
More young people turning to teachers
for drugs advice
Seven in ten 11- to-15-year-olds cite teachers as helpful sources of information on drugs,
up since 2009.
A
survey published today
which was carried out by
NatCen Social Research
finds that 69% of 11- to 15-year-
olds say that teachers are a helpful
source of information about taking
drugs, up from 63% in 2009. Almost
as many pupils (68%) said their
parents were also helpful sources.
However, young people today are less
likely to think that their peers will give
them helpful information about drugs;
42% mentioned friends and 33%,
siblings.
The 2013 survey
Smoking, Drinking
and Drug Use Among Young People
in England
was carried out with 5,187
11- to 15-year-olds in 173 schools and
explores pupils’ experiences, beliefs
and attitudes.
Between 2003 and 2011, drug use
amongst 11- to 15-year-olds declined,
but levels have stabilised over the last
three years. In 2013, 16% of the age
Two million people misusing prescription
drugs to get high, survey reveals
A
lmost two million people
across England and Wales
are abusing prescription
painkillers either to get high or
relax, according to a survey.
The Office for National Statistics
(ONS) found more than 500,000
under-25s misused painkillers in
the past year.
The painkillers being misused
include
codeine,
morphine,
tramadol and oxycodone, said the
ONS crime survey of England and
Wales.
This is the first time the annual study
has asked about prescription-
only painkillers and the question
was included at the request of the
Home Office.
Alistair Bohm, from Addaction, a
charity for addiction, said there was
growing evidence that painkiller
misuse in the UK was a serious
issue.
He said: “Most prescriptions are
fully warranted, but should only
ever be taken as instructed, as
stronger opioids such as codeine
or dihydrocodeine can be misused
and lead to dependence.
“For many people though,
painkillers are just one part of a
more complex picture of drug use.
They can be bought on the streets,
through increasingly common
online pharmacies or diverted from
prescriptions and are also often
used to supplement other drugs,
like heroin,” he added.
A report by DrugScope earlier
this year found pregablin and
gabapentin (used to treat epilepsy,
pain or anxiety) were changing
hands for as little as 50p a capsule
for recreational use. Prisoners and
opiate users were the main users of
these drugs, said the
Street Drug
Trend Survey
.
Home secretary, Theresa May has
asked the Advisory Council on the
Misuse of Drugs to investigate the
abuse of prescription drugs. The
report is due before 2016.
27 August 2015
Ö
Ö
The above information is
reprinted with kind permission
from
the Pharmacist
. Please
visit
for further information.
© the Pharmacist 2016
group said that they had tried at least
one drug.
Could do better?
Even though teachers are seen as a
key information source about drugs,
a third of pupils would like to know
more. Pupils were less likely to say
that their school had given them
enough information about drugs
(66%) than about alcohol (70%) or
smoking (73%).
And while more than four in five
schools say that they provide lessons
about smoking, drinking and drug use
at least once a year, just three in five
pupils recalled any such teaching in
the last year.
TV tops other media
TV was consistently the most
mentioned media source of helpful
information about drugs over the
last five years. In 2013, 59% of pupils
mentioned TV as a source of helpful
information about drugs, ahead of the
Internet (53%). However, the impact
of the government-funded website
FRANK has fallen in recent years,
from 36% in 2009 to 18% in 2013.
Elizabeth Fuller, Research Director at
NatCen Social Research commented:
“The findings confirm the importance
of teachers as a trusted and credible
source for young people about
drugs. However, there is still scope to
improve. Fewer pupils than expected
can recall receiving lessons about
smoking, drinking and drug use,
and a significant minority of young
people still don’t feel that their school
gives them enough information about
drugs.”
24 July 2014
Ö
Ö
The above information is reprinted
with kind permission from
NatCen. Please visit
ac.uk for further information.
© NatCen 2016
