Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic - London

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The use of illicit substances, and the likelihood of having been offered drugs, is significantly related to
age. 75
Drug taking is considerably less common during the years of compulsory schooling than in the
young adult years and rates of experimentation with drugs peak at the end of adolescence. In 2002 only 6
per cent of 11 year olds in England had used drugs in the last year, while 36 per cent of 15 year olds had
done so. 66
The British Crime Survey of 2001/2 found that 30 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds in England and
Wales had used drugs in the last year and 19 per cent had done so in the last month. 76
The figure for
Scotland in 2000 was 19 per cent for use over the last year. 77
The pattern for volatile substance use differs
from that of other drugs, peaking in the mid-teens. 78
Cannabis is by far the most likely drug to have been used by adolescents in England, Scotland and Wales.
The 2002 survey found that 13 per cent of 11 to 15 year olds in England had used it in the past year. 66
In
2002 cannabis was used by 27 per cent of English and Welsh 16 to 24 year olds; 76
the figure for this age
group in Scotland was 15 per cent in 2000. 77
Among 11 and 12 year olds however, use of volatile substances
is more common than the use of cannabis. 66
Volatile substance abuse is more common in Northern Ireland
than in the rest of the UK. Though cannabis is the drug most widely used by adolescents in Northern
Ireland, in 1999, 28 per cent of boys and 23 per cent of girls in the 15 to 16 year old age group reported
ever having used volatile substances. 69
Recreational drug use among adolescents – defined as the use of psychoactive substances to ‘have fun’ in
nightlife settings – is increasingly common. 79
In dance settings, stimulant drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy),
cocaine, and amphetamines are frequently used. Hallucinogenic drugs and plants and amyl nitrate
(‘poppers’) are also taken. Cannabis, sedatives, hypnotic drugs and tranquillisers are sometimes used in
conjunction with recreational drugs. 79
In 2002, 4 per cent of 11 to 15 year olds reported using Class A drugs in the last year. 66
The British Crime
Survey of 2001/2 found that, among 16 to 24 year olds in England and Wales, Class A drug use had not
changed significantly since 1994. However, the use of cocaine, crack and ecstasy had increased and,
overall, 9 per cent reported using Class A drugs in the last year. 76
The risks associated with acute and chronic drug misuse are well documented; a comprehensive summary
can be found in the joint Department of Health and National Addiction Centre publication Dangerousness
of drugs. 80
Many associated risks are indirect but nevertheless important, such as the increasing number of
fatalities caused by drug driving and the viral infections which can be transmitted by injecting users. 81
The greatest public health issue regarding the use of recreational drugs by adolescents is the possibility of
long-term impairment caused by regular or ‘binge’ use of amphetamine-type stimulants such as ecstasy. 79
There is also growing interest in the possible links between drug use and psychosis. Recent research has
highlighted links between ecstasy use and long-term mental health problems including memory loss, lack
of concentration and clinical depression. A recent study suggests that frequent cannabis use in teenage
girls predicts later depression and anxiety, with daily users carrying the highest risk. 82
There is also evidence
that about one-fifth of adolescents who smoke cannabis become dependent on the drug by early
adulthood. The risk of young adult cannabis dependence is most likely for regular adolescent users; weekly
cannabis use seems to mark a threshold for increased risk of later dependence, with selection of cannabis
in preference to alcohol possibly indicating an early addiction process. 83
More immediate risks of
recreational drug use include dehydration due to prolonged dancing in poorly ventilated rooms, traffic
and other accidents, and the health risks of tablets taken and sold as ecstasy but containing other
psychoactive substances. 79
British Medical Association Adolescent health