Drug Education News

Via They Work For You:

Mr. Jim Cunningham:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government have taken to educate young people about the long-term effects of alcohol abuse since 1997.

Kevin Brennan:

I have been asked to reply.

The Government are committed to reducing substance misuse among young people, including that relating to alcohol. Educating young people about the long and short-term effects of alcohol misuse is a vital part of this.

Since 1997, efforts have been made to continually strengthen our approach to alcohol education in schools. The Department has issued several guidance documents to schools on drug (including alcohol) education. This includes ‘Circular 4/95: Drug Prevention and Schools’ and, in 1998, ‘Protecting Young People: Good practice in Drug Education in Schools and the Youth Service’. In 2002, curriculum guidance on drug, alcohol and tobacco education was produced and issued to schools by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Most recently, in 2004, the Department refreshed all existing guidance for schools by issuing a single document, ‘Drugs: Guidance for Schools‘. This made clear our intention for pupils to be educated about alcohol and its effects in primary school before drinking patterns become established and for this to be revisited in secondary school. It is important that our approach to alcohol education in schools is robust and, for this reason, next year, my Department will undertake a review into the effectiveness of alcohol education and we will strengthen our approach if necessary.

It is clear, however, that young people need more than drug education in school to inform them about the health harms associated with alcohol misuse. As part of the updated Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy: Safe. Sensible. Social. (2007), the Department for Children, Schools and Families has convened a panel of paediatricians, psychologists and epidemiologists who will produce authoritative, accessible guidance about what is and is not safe and sensible in the light of the latest available evidence from the UK and abroad. This guidance will be issued to young people and their parents to help them make informed decisions about alcohol. Next year, we will also deliver a social marketing campaign in order to foster a culture where it is socially acceptable for young people to choose not to drink and, if they do, to do so later and more safely.

Strangely no mention of the NICE guidance on School based interventions on alcohol which was published recently, or the work they are about to start on PSHE focusing on sexual health and alcohol