School exclusion drug use and delinquency in adolescence

The Journal of Adolecence (paid subscription) has a report on School exclusion drug use and delinquency in adolescence. Here’s the abstract:

Fifty-one young people aged 14–15 years considered to be at a high risk to substance abuse and exhibiting antisocial behavior, primarily because they longer attended mainstream school, participated in this research by completing a questionnaire to measure drug use and delinquent behaviour. The findings suggest that many of them may have already developed a high propensity to drug abuse and antisocial behaviour compared with their peers in mainstream education. As they were all excluded from school, they were not accessing school based prevention programmes delivered to their contemporaries at school suggesting that additional and specialized resources are required to fully meet their needs.

Filed under: PRU

NCB Seminar on Normative Education

Peas in a Pod:
Using Normative Approaches to promote children and young people’s health and well-being

A pioneering approach from the USA offers a new way of preventing children and young people engaging in high risk behaviours: The Normative Approach. Co-founded by leading Social Norms expert Dr. Wesley Perkins, the Normative Approach works on the basis that children and young people seriously overestimate the risky behaviours of their peers and uses different methods to put right these negative misconceptions and promote the true facts.

The National Children’s Bureau are delighted to welcome Dr. Perkins who will be running a masterclass and a seminar on the Normative Approach in December 2006.

The Seminar: 6 December 2006, Rich Mix, London

At this one-day seminar, developed with the Sex Education Forum, and the Drug Education Forum, delegates will learn about the Normative Approach directly from Dr.Perkins. The programme will also address the relationship of the Approach to current policy and will include facilitated round table discusions. Delegtaes will also hear direct from young people on their views and experiences about their health and taking risks.

The semiar will be of interest to all those who work with children and young people on all aspects of health, well-being and emotional and social development and the masterclass has been designed for practitioners in particular.

For more information and to book your place please visit: http://www.ncb.org.uk/conferences or contact Natasha Din-Gabisi on 020 7843 6441, fax: 020 7843 6039, e-mail: ndin-gabisi@ncb.org.uk

The Training Course: 8 December 2006, National Council for Voluntary Organisations, London

This one day masterclass offers a unique opportunity for 20 participants to work with Dr. Wesley Perkins to identify how the Normative Approach can be used in their own context to support the health and well being of young people. Participants will be introduced to the Approach looking at it in realtion to case studies, relevant research and there own experiences.

For more information and to book your place please visit: http://www.ncb.org.uk/trainingor contact NCB Training on tel: 020 7843 6084/1906, email: training@ncb.org

Filed under: drug education, NCB

David Cameron’s drug tears

The Sun covers a recent meeting between David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, and a number of young people who have had drug problems. They quote Mr Cameron as saying:

“I have seen speeches from great leaders and presidents but this is by far the most inspiring.”

and:

“It took me six times to quit smoking but your task is infinitely more difficult.”

Mr Cameron, before he became the leader of his party, argued that drug education should involve the direct voice of those who have had problems with drugs. This is something, that current policy argues should be approached very cautiously by schools. The guidance says:

Without sensitive handling they may arouse interest or glamorise drug use or describe experiences which young people may find it hard to relate to. In some instances they may unwittingly imply that their own drug use represents a ‘safe limit’ that can be copied. If they are to be involved, this should be because they are skilled in facilitating pupil learning and not simply by virtue of their status as a former user.

Filed under: Conservatives

Drinks industry ‘fighting abuse strategy’

The BMJ (subscription required) have a report alleging underhand tactics in relation to the European strategy on alcohol:

This month the European Commission must decide whether to adopt a strategy to deal with the adverse health consequences of alcohol. The strategy has been awaited eagerly by Europe’s public health community since it was first mooted five years ago, but it could fall at the last hurdle. It may be the victim of a carefully planned attack by representatives of the alcohol industry, using tactics associated with tobacco manufacturers.

The Times picks up the story and has spoken to the author’s report:

Professor McKee, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that the strategy now being debated, although not yet in the public domain, was expected to have five main themes.

These were protection of young people and unborn children; reduction of deaths from alcohol-related traffic accidents; reduction of alcohol-related harm among adults, especially as it affects their work; increasing awareness of the impact of harmful consumption; and the creation of a better evidence base for future policies on alcohol in Europe.

Professor McKee said some would argue that the strategy should go much further, yet even these “modest proposals” might now fail, after disingenuous information from the alcohol industry such as a recent report commissioned by a trade organisation, The Brewers of Europe, which argues there is no need for Europe-wide action.

Filed under: alcohol

Taxing Alcohol

Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, has given an interview to First News in which she says:

I am asking Gordon Brown, as the Chancellor, when he comes forward with the budget next year, to really increase taxes (extra charges that go to the government) on alcohol. And particularly things like alcopops and some of the stuff that quite a lot of teenage boys and girls are drinking. Because, you know, we’ve got a real problem with binge drinking amongst young people.

The BBC follow up and include a quote from the head of the Portman Group, David Poley:

I think it is a superficially attractive solution but it is not necessarily the right solution. Sure, if we increase taxes we are likely to reduce the population’s overall consumption of alcohol but that is not really the problem. The problem is more to do with how much certain individuals drink and the pattern of their drinking. High taxation is a relatively blunt instrument to deal with this complex problem.

Martin Plant, the Professor of addiction studies, University of the West of England, wrote to The Guardian to welcome the proposals:

Alcohol has been becoming steadily more affordable (as a proportion of household income) for more than 25 years. This has been accompanied by escalating per capita alcohol consumption and alcohol-related deaths. Teenagers, for example, now drink twice as much as they did in 1992. The implications of this have been noted by the government’s advisers and by numerous scientific and medical experts. They have also been studiously ignored by successive governments.

The Times says that the suggestion has been given short shrift by officials in the Treasury:

The Treasury pointed out swiftly that after a decision by Mr Brown in his 2002 Budget, alcopops were now taxed at the same rate as spirits. It said that since the alcopops duty was put in line with spirits, raising the duty per bottle by 11p, there had been a 25 per cent fall in the sale of the drink…

… To deliver a similar reduction in consumption, via another 10p increase in the duty on a bottle of alcopops, would mean an increase in the duty by approximately 30 per cent.Under the current taxation structure, that would translate into a duty increase of £1.70 for the average bottle of whisky.

Treasury sources said that to unravel the current taxation structure to allow alcopops to be taxed more heavily than spirits would take at least two years and have to involve discussions with the European Commission.

The report from the Downing Street Lobby Briefing when the Prime Minister’s Spokesperson was asked about the issue by lobby correspondents says:

Asked if the Prime Minister backed Patricia Hewitt’s calls for an increase in taxation on alcohol and in particular alcopops the PMS first checked that there were no First News journalists in the room. She then went on to say that Patricia Hewitt had raised an important issue but that taxation was a matter for HM Treasury. Asked again if Patricia Hewitt was backed by the Prime Minister the PMS again replied that an important issue had been raised and taxation was a matter for HM Treasury.

Here’s some additional resources for those wanting to think about this issue further:

• The Institute of Alcohol Studies, Alcohol: Tax, Price and Public Health (from January 2006)
• WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Health Evidence Network, What are the most effective and cost-effective interventions in alcohol control? (from June 2006)
• The government’s Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England (March 2004)
  

Filed under: alcohol

Noise reduction campaign gives students a mouthful – Belfast

The Guardian look at the way that a student union in Belfast (off our patch, but of interest none the less) is trying to create a more neighbourly environment:

Gone are the days when lollipops were given to children as a reward for good behaviour; now the sweets are the secret weapon in a campaign to stop rowdy behaviour by drunken students.

The students’ union at Queen’s University, Belfast hopes that handing out lollies at the union bar will stop its members creating havoc and waking neighbours when they head back to their digs after a night’s drinking.

The lollipops are part of a new Sshh! campaign aimed at encouraging students to reduce late-night noise levels. Standing for “Silent Students Happy Homes”, it has the backing of Belfast’s lord mayor, Pat McCarthy, and is supported by the Get Home Safe partnership.

The piece doesn’t say what alcohol education the students are able to draw on.

Filed under: alcohol, Belfast

University asks landlords not to sell cheap drinks – Reading

The Times has a story from Reading

LANDLORDS have been asked not to sell cut-price drinks to undergraduates in an effort to curb drunken behaviour.

Reading University has accused some bar staff of serving drinks to students who are “patently drunk” and called on landlords to exercise a degree of responsibility.

Tony Downes, the university’s pro vice-chancellor, wrote to all bars in the area to tell them that they were banned from advertising discounts on campus or giving away free alcohol. The students’ union supported the move.

The Licensing Act makes it clear that license holders can face a fine for selling alcohol to someone is drunk. Here’s the relevent section from the Act:

Sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk

(1) A person to whom subsection (2) applies commits an offence if, on relevant premises, he knowingly-

(a) sells or attempts to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk, or

(b) allows alcohol to be sold to such a person.

(2) This subsection applies-

(a) to any person who works at the premises in a capacity, whether paid or unpaid, which gives him authority to sell the alcohol concerned,

(b) in the case of licensed premises, to-

(i) the holder of a premises licence in respect of the premises, and

(ii) the designated premises supervisor (if any) under such a licence,

(c) in the case of premises in respect of which a club premises certificate has effect, to any member or officer of the club which holds the certificate who at the time the sale (or attempted sale) takes place is present on the premises in a capacity which enables him to prevent it, and

(d) in the case of premises which may be used for a permitted temporary activity by virtue of Part 5, to the premises user in relation to the temporary event notice in question.

(3)
This section applies in relation to the supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a club to or to the order of a member of the club as it applies in relation to the sale of alcohol.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

In terms of drug education the recent report Pathways to Problems the ACMD say:

The Government should ensure that young people are repeatedly made aware of the real hazards of using tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. This should be done in ways that are accurate, credible and consistent, using a variety of routes including the
media, the school system and further and higher education.

Filed under: alcohol, Reading

Public Policy Briefing – Random Drug Testing in English Schools

The Drug Education Forum has published a briefing paper setting out the current arguments and evidence on random drug testing in schools:

There is not a single view on using random drug testing in schools. Many are against it believing that testing is not compatible with creating a supportive environment for young people’s learning. Some take the view that this is something that individual schools should be able to employ in trying to reduce the harm that is done by illegal drugs.

The paper looks at the current guidance for schools, points to some questions that policy makers and school leaders may want to address before changing their policy on this issue. We also examine the case that is made for and against this intervention.

Arguments for testing:

Many of the advocates for random testing in England do not claim that testing prevents drug use, but say it can improve behaviour and exam results…

In the United States where schools have been testing young people for longer some research carried out with school principles has concluded that random testing is “effective in reducing the temptation to use drugs and alcohol.”

Arguments against testing:

[American research} showed that there was no effect on either casual marijuana users or heavy users, meaning that it is not helpful for young people with high or low risk of having problems with drugs at a later stage in their lives…

… critics of drug testing have argued that the ethical issues raised by such a regime are incompatible with respect for the human rights of pupils, that there is the potential to damage trust between schools and pupils and that testing is an over-reaction to the scale of the problem that we face.

The paper can be downloaded from here and we’d be interested in your reactions.

Filed under: random drug testing

Brain warning in cannabis TV ad

The BBC on a new campaign by the government aimed at raising the awareness of risks associated with cannabis use:

A TV advertisement warning young people of the damage cannabis can do to the brain is to be screened as part of a drugs awareness campaign.

The advert, by drug helpline Frank, is set in a brain shop in the future where customers can buy new brains when their own has become too addled.

It aims to show that prolonged use of cannabis can lead to mood swings, poor motivation, paranoia and vomiting. But mental health charity Rethink said it did not outline all the risks.

Filed under: advertising, cannabis

Learning unit ‘lets pupils smoke’

The BBC have a report on a PRU that has allowed pupils to smoke on school premises:

A city learning centre has taken a “special approach to a very serious problem” by allowing pupils to smoke between lessons, it has emerged.

Students at Tinshill Learning Centre in Leeds can smoke in an outdoor facility during breaks, as long as they have parental permission.

Education Leeds said the new policy aimed to help pupils stop smoking and reduce
confrontations with teachers.

The DfES Guidance for Schools says (amongst other things):

Schools have an important role to play in raising pupils’ awareness of the health risks associated with smoking. The emphasis should be on providing information and developing attitudes and skills which will help pupils not to take up smoking and supporting those who want to stop. Some secondary schools have set up smoking cessation support groups to help those pupils (and staff and parents/carers) wishing to give up.

They also say:

In line with increasing evidence of the adverse health effects of secondhand smoke, the Department expects to see schools making significant progress towards smoke-free status. This is in keeping with a whole school approach advocated by the National Healthy School Standard.

Filed under: tobacco