Young Londoners Taking Less Drugs, But Alcohol Abuse Is Rising
Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal DrugsArticle Date: 13 Mar 2009 - 3:00 PDT
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New figures published today show fewer young Londoners are using drugs, particularly cocaine. The report also reveals that while both drug use and alcohol consumption by young people is lower in London than the rest of the UK, the number of 11 - 18 years admitted to hospital for alcohol related illnesses has increased.
Mayor Boris Johnson welcomed the report by the Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance (GLADA) which brings together information from the capital's health service, criminal justice system, and alcohol and drug treatment services.
The Mayor said: "It is encouraging to see a noticeable reduction in cocaine use among young people over the last couple of years. Fewer young Londoners are using drugs but we can't be complacent; substance abuse causes widespread problems across the city. The rise in police arrests for drug offences shows that we are beginning to tackle this problem and that drug possession will not be tolerated. "
Key facts from the report show:
- The proportion of young Londoners between 16 and 24 who reported using any drug in the last year decreased significantly between 2005/06 and 2007/08 - from 20.3 to 17.8 per cent.
- Proportion of young Londoners who reported using cocaine powder is down from 7.1 per cent in 2005/06 to 4.7 in 2007/08
- In London, alcohol-related hospital admissions for 11-18 year olds have increased from 1,171 in 2002/03 to 1,769 in 2006/07. This is a 51 per cent increase over this five-year period. Across England as a whole there was a 39 per cent increase over this same period.
- The estimated numbers of problem drug users (those who use cocaine / drug use has taken over their lives) in this age group dropped by approximately 2,300, from 14,068 in 2004/05 to 11,750 in 2005/06.
The Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance (GLADA) is a partnership bringing key agencies together to analyse trends and share information reducing alcohol and drug related harm in London. GLADA is supported by the Greater London Authority.
Notes
1. To view the report 'London: The highs and lows briefing update' visit here.
2. GLADA is a partnership that aims to improve collective responses to alcohol and drug problems and provide a mechanism to tackle London wide priorities. It is a network of organisations which includes the GLA, London Primary Care Trusts, Government Office for London, Metropolitan Police Service, Regional Public Health Group, London Drug Policy Forum, London Councils, National Treatment Agency, London Probation, HM Prison Service, Adfam and the London Drug and Alcohol Network.
3. The Joint Action Group on alcohol (JAG) was established in January 2009 to support the delivery of London's Regional Statement of Priorities for Alcohol. The JAG is made up of senior representatives in London with the skills and expertise to address particular aspects of alcohol related harm. GLADA provides regular strategic support and direction to the group. The Regional Statement of Priorities for Alcohol can be found here.
Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance
Visit our alcohol / addiction / illegal drugs section for the latest news on this subject.
MLA
13 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/142167.php>
APA
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/142167.php.
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Visitor Opinions In Chronological Order (2)
To Whom Should We Turn For The Truth?
posted by Peter O'Loughlin. on 14 Mar 2009 at 4:05 amOne would be hard pressed to find a less accurate means of measuring the extent of drug use than the British Crime Survey.(BCS) Apart from the fact that it’s findings are based on a relatively small percentage of the population, combined with the fact that the 16-24 year age group are, as any professional marketer would confirm, the most difficult to reach, their findings rely on the notoriously inaccurate and unreliable medium of anecdotal/self reported evidence. Nor does it take into consideration the growth of drug use in the under 16’s.
The fact that police recorded drug offences continue to escalate at an alarming rate is, despite what the report would have us believe, a far more accurate indicator of the growth in drug use. The suggestion in the report that increases in drug offences indicate increased police activity, rather than increases in the level of possession and trafficking defies logic; why else would there be an in increase in drug offences, if more people were not using drugs, in possession of drugs for their own use, or trafficking? If we add to that, the probability that the increase in the number of recorded drug offences, is no more than a small percentage of those who are actually using, or trafficking, one is forced to question not only the accuracy of the report’s claims, but also it’s value in practical terms.
A further contradiction that drug use among the young is reducing can be found in the increasing incidence of blood born disease which as the report shows is relentlessly increasing. it would seem that the report has also overlooked the fact that according to the Health Protection Agency that in London where the presence of HIV is higher than anywhere else in England, 1 in 20 Injecting Drug Users is infected, unless this writer has lost his ability to calculate, that is 5%, not the 3.9% quoted in the report.
I have no doubt that if the report was examined in even more detail that the scrutiny I have been able to give it further inaccuracies and anomalies would become apparent, therefore one can only conclude that principal value of the report is to create a false sense of assurance that drug use in the capital is reducing; how strange, when drug related deaths as defined by the UK official definition, are at their highest for five years, not to mention the increasing levels of drug related crime, especially shop lifting and drug related violence, including fatal knife crimes where the influence of drugs has been concealed.
Increased Drug Use In The 11 To 15 Year Olds.
posted by Mary Brett on 14 Mar 2009 at 11:58 amAccording to the latest available figures from 'Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2007', among the 11 to 15 year olds, the number of those who had ever taken drugs had increased in all ages since 2006. The 11 to 13 year olds preferred solvents while 14 and 15s mainly chose cannabis. A 4% rise in cannabis use was seen in 15 year old girls. I suggest this is the survey we should be concerned about. These children are our future and they are being badly let down.
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