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Smoking and Drinking Levels Down in Kids

by Kathy Jones on Jul 23 2010 8:22 PM

 Smoking and Drinking Levels Down in Kids
A welcome report released by the NHS reveals that the number of school children indulging in smoking, substance abuse and drinking alcohol has fallen down.
According to the report, the number of children between 11 to 15 years of age who take drugs has seen a drop of 7 percent, down from 29 percent in 2001 while underage drinking has gone down from 61 percent in 2003 to 51 percent in 2009. However the biggest improvement comes in children admitting to smoking with just 29 percent stating that they have smoked compared to 52 percent in 1982.

Even though the report has been welcomed by health officials across the country, doctors warn that the number of children using at least one of the substances is still high.

“Children in this age group shouldn't really be drinking at all. We need to strengthen the penalties for selling alcohol to under-age children”, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said.




Source-Medindia


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