More young people are beating drug and alcohol problems

New figures from the NTA show more young people are overcoming their problems with drug and alcohol misuse than ever before, according to statistics for England<http://www.nta.nhs.uk/statistics.aspx> released today (8th December 20110. 75% (10,507) of under-18s leaving drug and alcohol services last year successfully completed their programmes, compared to 48% (4,105) five years ago.

The rise suggests that young people are increasingly responding to specialist treatment before problematic drug and alcohol habits became entrenched. As well as this, new data has shown that the majority of youngsters needing help for substance misuse have other emotional or social problems, such as self-harming, offending or not in education, employment or training (NEET). This is the first time we have been able to look at these additional factors alongside substance misuse.

The national statistics and trends are analysed in an NTA report,Substance Misuse among Young People: for 2010-11<http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/yp2011commentaryfinal.pdf>. Cannabis and alcohol continue to pose the biggest demand for treatment and very few young people need help for Class A drugs like heroin, cocaine or ecstasy. The only drug category to see any increase was amphetamines (from 256 to 639). These include mephedrone, now classified as a Class B banned drug.

Overall waiting times remain low, and government funding has remained at £25 million, so any young person who needs specialist help can get it.

Minister of State for Children and Families, Sarah Teather, said:
"It's encouraging to see the number of young people needing help for drug and alcohol problems is continuing to fall. More young people are successfully completing treatment programmes to help get their lives back on track.

"It is important the progress we have seen is maintained. Failure to tackle substance misuse in young people has a serious impact on their future prospects, and can have a high financial cost for society. The Government's Drug Strategy puts a clear emphasis on preventing drug misuse among young people. Local authorities should continue to focus on intervening early to help vulnerable young people confront their difficulties."





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