Children drink, smoke and take drugs less shock

Children are drinking, smoking and taking drugs less now than they were five years ago, according to a report from the Information Centre for Health and Social Care. The percentage of pupils between 15 and 11 who had drunk alcohol in the previous week fell from 26% to 21% and the proportion of pupils who had never drunk alcohol rose from 40% to 46%. The percentage taking drugs in the last year fell from 19% to 17% and the percentage taking drugs in the last month fell from 11% to 9%. The level of smoking remained unchanged at 9% although the proportion of pupils who had never smoked rose from 47% in 1982 to 61% in 2004.