Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic - London

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Interventions in adolescent drug use
Prevention of drug misuse is one of the Secretary of State for Health’s 13 priorities and is subsumed within
the NHS Plan. 100
The government’s 1998 10-year strategy for tackling drug misuse Tackling drugs to build a better Britain
announced significant new investment in drugs education and prevention. The strategy had four
main aims:
• helping adolescents to resist drugs misuse
• protecting communities
• improving treatment
• stifling the availability of drugs. 101
When launched in 1998, the 10-year drugs strategy aimed to reduce ‘last year’ and ‘last month’ use of
cocaine and heroin among adolescents under 25 by 25 per cent by 2005 and 50 per cent by 2008. 101
All local public agencies including the NHS, social services, police, probation, youth offending teams and
education, are required to work together in planning drug misuse services. Each area has a Drug Action
Team (DAT) coordinator to facilitate this work and provide substance misuse education for all adolescents
and their families, advice and support for vulnerable groups, early identification of need and tailored
support to those that need it. 102
In 2001 The young person’s substance misuse plan set out to ensure that drug
interventions for adolescents are part of the provision of mainstream children’s services. 81
In 2002 the government launched the Updated drug strategy 2002. 103
This modifies the targets established by
the 1998 drugs strategy to reduce Class A drug use to a set of vaguer promises. In addition, the Updated
drug strategy 2002 will:
• aim to increase participation of problem drug users in treatment programmes by 55 per cent by
2004 and 100 per cent by 2008
• launch a new communications campaign
• expand drug education and prevention programmes
• improve services for parents and carers
• expand substance misuse treatment within the youth justice system.
The Updated drug strategy 2002 also aims to improve treatment and support. This involves, among other
measures, increasing the involvement of GPs and other primary health care professionals working with
drug users. Drug prevention takes place in the context of the Health Advisory Service four-tiered model
of service interventions for adolescents where Tier 1 targets the general population, Tier 2 identifies the
vulnerable, Tier 3 responds to those in need and Tier 4 provides specialised and intensive forms of therapy
and other interventions for young drug misusers with complex needs. 81
The government’s current strategy focuses early interventions on people in vulnerable groups including
the homeless, children in care, truants and children excluded from school, young offenders and children
of drug users. Non-school services such as ConneXions and Positive Futures are intended to play an
important role in ensuring vulnerable adolescents have access to education, diversions and support. 102
NHS funding has been allocated for primary healthcare professionals to offer support to teachers in
delivering drugs education as part of Personal Social and Health Education. These schemes have been
piloted and interesting case studies and guidance are available. 102
During these pilot interventions GPs
have worked in primary school lessons to assist with drugs education. Under similar future schemes,
schools will be encouraged to work in partnership with other primary healthcare professionals, police,
drugs agencies and the youth service. 102
British Medical Association Adolescent health