Substance abuse amongst children and teenagers

A significant proportion of parents are currently unaware of the prevalence of substance abuse amongst children and teenagers. Based upon the statistics, prevention is clearly the key here, but often parents delay the discussion of drug abuse issues with their children, unfortunately assuming that they won’t be exposed to drugs until they are older. As the statistics below demonstrate, drug abuse can often occur very early on in today’s drug abuse and binge drinking culture. So please don’t make the common mistake of putting off your discussion about drug and alcohol awareness with your children. 9% of 13 year olds and over a quarter (27%) of 15 year olds reported that they had used an illicit drug at some point in their lives. 7% of 13 year olds and 23% of 15 year olds reported that they had used an illicit drug in the year prior to the survey.4% of 13 year olds and 14% of 15 year olds reported that they had abused an illegal drug in the month prior to the survey which is perhaps indicative of more frequent recreational drug use.
There was only minor difference between boys and girls in the statistics of those who reported that they had used illegal drugs in the last month (13 year olds, boys 4%, girls 3%: 15 year olds, boys 14%, girls 12%). 4% of 15 year olds admitted abusing illegal drugs at least once per week (including those reporting use on most days). An additional 4% of 15 year olds reported that they often abused illegal drugs once or twice per month and 4% a few times a year.