Drug use rife among children

BBC

Friday, 15 March, 2002, 13:25 GMT

One in five children aged 11-15 have used drugs in the last year, a government-commissioned survey has found.

The number of pupils who admitted abusing glue, gas, aerosols or other solvents has also jumped sharply.

The National Centre for Social Research and the National Foundation for Educational Research quizzed more than 9,300 pupils in 285 schools in England and Wales last year.

Preliminary findings show that 12% of pupils had used drugs in the last month and 20% had used drugs in the last year.

In 2000, the figures were 9% and 14%. However, they are not directly comparable because of changes in the way the data was collected.

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