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Today’s teenagers abusing ‘legal’ drugs like glue, stimulants and booze

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04 November 2006

Glue sniffing amongst 11 to 15 year olds has increased sevenfold over the last decade, according to new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) to be published next week. The report says that developing social skills and strong adult role models are crucial in keeping kids off drugs, drink and cigarettes.

The report shows that cannabis remains by far the most common drug amongst young people, with 12 percent of 11 to 15 year olds having taken this in the last year, but that while trends in cannabis and class A drugs use rose only slightly over the last seven years, the use of stimulants - such as poppers - doubled from three percent (84,000 children) to six percent (144,000) and the abuse of glue and solvents increased sevenfold from one percent (28,000 children) to seven percent (168,000).

The reports shows that the numbers of teenagers drinking has shown little change since the late 1980s but that for those who do drink, consumption levels are steadily increasing and children are starting to drink earlier, particularly at younger ages.

In England, the average weekly consumption of alcohol for drinkers aged 11 to 13 more than doubled over the last deacde, from 3.4 units in 1992 to 8.2 units in 2005.
For boys aged 15 the average number of units per week rose from 9.6 to 13.1 between 1992 and 2005.
For girls aged 15 the rise was even greater, from 6.0 to 10.5.
British adolescents are now ranked as the third worst binge drinkers in Europe, coming close behind Denmark and Ireland, with more than one in four British 15 year olds claiming they had been drunk more than 20 times.

Recent reports suggest that crackdowns on shops and supermarkets selling alcohol to children has led to a rise in children ordering drink from dial-a-pizza and other takeaways.

ippr’s report argues that friends and classmates have a significant impact on the use of legal drugs. Evidence shows that moving a teenager from a school where none of her classmates used drugs to one where half used drugs increased the probability that the student would use drugs by approximately 13 percent. Similar effects occur for alcohol consumption (with a nine percent increase in probability) and cigarette smoking (eight percent). The report cites evidence from American high schools which have different hierarchies of cliques: of athletes, druggies, ‘eggheads’ and so on. Where the ‘eggheads’ secure a place high up the hierarchy, he found that children do better academically; where ‘druggies’ reach the top they do less well, indicating the role of peer effects in setting norms of behaviour.

Nick Pearce, ippr Director, said:

“The vast majority of young people are better off than ever before, largely as a result of better diet, higher living standards and medical advances. But this positive picture is undermined by worsening health for many of the most disadvantaged children. The greatest differences can be seen in areas in which personal choice and behaviour are paramount, like drinking, smoking and drug use.”

ippr’s report, Freedom’s Orphans: Raising Youth in a Changing World, which will be published next week (Mon 6 Nov) recommends:

More school ‘house systems’ and more multi-age classes to strengthen children’s self-esteem and help develop their social skills.
Every secondary school pupil (from 11-16 years old) should participate in at least two hours a week of structured and purposeful extracurricular activities – like martial arts, drama clubs, sports, Scouts, and so on. This would take place through extended school hours of between 8am-6pm and would involve a legal extension of the school day. Parents who did not ensure their child attended two hours a week of activities might ultimately be fined, in the same way as parents punished for their child’s persistent truancy.

The report argues that this will help promote educational attainment, develop personal skills and reduce problem behaviour across adolescence and into young adulthood. It would also provide the opportunity to mix with non-deviant peers, to be mentored by adult activity leaders, and work towards clear goals.

Notes to Editors

ippr research shows that at the moment, just one in four young people have access to ‘structured’ youth activities. There are 11,095 youth clubs in England providing for 1.2million 11-16 year olds. There are 4.6million 11-16 year olds in England to be provided for. Examples of national schemes providing structured activities include:

The proportion of 15 year olds who had been drunk 20 times or more in 2003 was: