A Prevalence Study of Drug use by Young People in a Mixed Suburban Area

This report aims to determine the levels and patterns of drug use, including tobacco and alcohol, among young people in the Kilbarrack area. Questionnaires were sent to students from all primary and secondary schools in the target area, and were also sent to young people in the area who had already left school. The survey showed that 24% of respondents had smoked tobacco at some stage in their lives, with 25% listed as current smokers. Older students reported higher tobacco use, with over 40% of 16-18 year olds currently smoking. Alcohol was the drug most widely used by respondents, with 76% of all students having taken it at some stage in their lives. Prevalence of current alcohol use was higher in older children, with 84% of 16-18 year olds currently drinking as opposed to 61% of 13-15 year olds and 17% for 10 to 12 year olds. Cannabis was the most widely used illicit drug, with 37% of respondents using the drug at some stage. The next most widely used drug was inhalants, with 16% having used them at some stage, with 6% having used cocaine at some stage in their lives; the same proportion had used it within the last 12 months. There little or no significant evidence of heroin use. The report recommends prevention programmes that ensure that young people have other things in their lives other than alcohol/ drugs, such as a comprehensive range of properly resourced sporting and youth work in the community.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Limiting the Exposure of Young People to Alcohol Advertising - Annual Report 2011

Our task as a Monitoring Body is to oversee the implementation of and adherence to Voluntary Codes of Practice to limit the exposure of young people under the age of 18 years to alcohol advertising. As this Sixth Annual Report shows there was overall compliance in 2011 by television, radio, cinema, outdoor advertisers and newspapers and magazines with the obligations set down in the Codes. Click here to download PDF 2.03MB

The Marmot Review: Updated data and information 2 years on

To mark the two year anniversary since The Marmot Review ('Fair Society, Healthy Lives') was published, on the 15th of February the UCL Institute of Health Equity published new data on key health inequalities indicators at local authority level in England.Main Findings:Life Expectancy – this has historically been one of the main indicators of health inequalities.The Marmot Indicators from this year’s charts show the average life expectancy for eachlocal authority and the level of inequality within each authority area (7):-While overall life expectancy at birth in England increased by 0.3 years for both menand women between 2007-9 and 2008-10, inequalities in life expectancy betweenneighbourhoods increased by 0.1 years for men and showed no change for women-Among the 150 upper tier local authorities in England, life expectancy improved inthe majority of cases (133 areas saw improvements for men and 125 sawimprovements for women). However inequalities also increased in the majority ofareas (104 for men and 92 for women).-The largest increase in inequality in life expectancy was in West Berkshire for men(2.0 years) and inMiddlesbrough for women (2 years). The largest decreases ininequality were in Kensington and Chelsea for both men and women (1.9 and 1.1years respectively. To find out more, please read: - The press release, including key figures and main findings. - A blog by Michael Marmot about the data and it's implications. - Press coverage of the data in national and local newspapers and websites. - A powerpoint presentation on the key findings.