Record number of young get drug aid
Updated on 08 June 2009
A record number of young people in England were treated for a drug or alcohol problem last year, an investigation by the BBC has found.
The study by the Radio 1 Newsbeat programme found that counsellors in England saw 52,294 people aged 13-24, a rise of 12% in two years, according to data from the National Treatment Agency (NTA).
The figures revealed a shift in drug habits, with a drop in the number of young people addicted to traditional "hard" drugs such as heroin and crack.
Instead, under-25s are now more likely to have a problem with alcohol mixed with 'softer' party drugs, a phenomenon drug workers call ACCE (pronounced "ace"), which stands for alcohol plus cocaine, cannabis and Ecstasy, the programme said.
The number of under-25s getting treatment for one or more of those drugs has gone up 44% from 21,744 in 2005-06 to 31,401 in 2007-08.
Treatment for addiction to heroin and crack among people aged 13-24 fell by 19% over the same period to a figure of 18,597 in 2007-08, the programme said.
Howard Parker, Professor Emeritus at Manchester University, who coined the term ACCE last year, tells the programme: "Alcohol is cheaper and more available, cannabis is far stronger, cocaine is half the price it used to be and you can get half a dozen Ecstasy tablets for £10.
"Put those three together and you've got just as serious a problem for health, family life and society as heroin."
Officials from the NTA told the programme that the overall rise in treatment over the past three years does not necessarily mean a record number of young people are abusing drugs and alcohol.
NTA spokesman Tom Aldridge said: "We had an enormous increase in the number of young people coming on to treatment. That's more to do with drug services being more available and increased investment. But what is clear is that there is more of a focus on cannabis, alcohol and cocaine powder use, and it's a very small minority that are using crack cocaine and opiates."
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