Lib Dem Children and Youth Front Bench

Children and Young People Now has the details of the Lib Dem team:

David Laws keeps his role as shadow secretary for children, schools and families, but also gets an additional role overseeing public services generally.

Susan Kramer, the MP for Richmond and a former candidate for London Mayor, has been appointed as spokesperson for families.

And Lynne Featherstone, the MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, has been appointed as spokesperson on youth and equality issues.

Filed under: Liberal Democrats, Liberal Democrats

‘Consequence’ of binge drinking: STIs

NHS Choices has a new section called Behind the Headlines
which they say is committed to providing:

an unbiased and evidence-based analysis of health stories that make the news. It aims to respond to news stories the day they appear in the media.

Sir Muir Gray, the chief knowledge officer in the NHS, says this about the concept:

“Scientists hate disease and want see it conquered,” said Sir Muir. “But this can lead to them taking an overly optimistic view of their discoveries which is often reflected in newspaper headlines.

“Our service has more time to examine the science behind the stories. Independent experts check the findings and assess the research methods to provide a more considered view.”

They have had a look at the media reports that we covered here about the link between alcohol and STIs.

As well as looking at the media reporting they give a view about the research that led to the media interest and in this case and say:

This study documents the behaviours of a group of GUM clinic attenders. The authors acknowledge that without using a “control” population of drinkers who did not develop sexually transmitted diseases as a comparison, they are unable to say to what extent heavy alcohol use increases the risk of catching a sexually transmitted disease, currently in the UK.

It is worth bearing in mind some features of this study when interpreting the results:

• The study was based on a questionnaire. The questions asked in the clinic to determine alcohol consumption were not the same as those used by the GHS (the survey used to assess levels of drinking in the general population) and the setting in which the questions were are asked may have determined the responses given. In general, to be strictly comparable, the same questions would need to have been asked by the same researchers in the same way. In particular, the GHS is not designed to assess levels of binge drinking.
• The quantity of alcohol drunk in a population does not fall neatly around an average intake, it follows a “skewed distribution”. This means that while some people may drink a lot, there are many more people that drink small amounts. Although alcohol consumption appears to be higher in the clinic attenders than in the sample from the GHS, it is the pattern of drinking that is different between the two groups and the significance of this difference is not addressed.
• It is not clear where some of the figures in the study come from. For example when the researchers say that 76% of people answered yes to the question “Have you had unprotected sex as a result of drinking?” it is not clear how many people answered this question.

In general, this study highlights a link between two topics of growing concern, the solution proposed by researchers and reported by the newspapers also deserves to be studied rigorously.

It’s good to see the NHS trying to give us this sort of analysis and I hope it’ll become a useful tool for those of us wanting to look behind the headlines.

Filed under: alcohol, NHS Choices

Cannabis Supply and Young People

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have a new paper on cannabis supply and young people.  They say this is a snapshot of “how young people in a large city and rural villages obtain cannabis”.  It is based on interviews with 182 cannabis users aged 11 to 19.

Given they were talking to young people who had used or purchased cannabis in the recent past it’s not that surprising that their first finding is:

Nearly all the young people reported cannabis to be ‘very easy’ or ‘fairly easy’ to get; 79 per cent stated that they could obtain it in under an hour.

They also report that most young people are buying from people they consider to be “good friends”, and where they are involved in selling the drug they don’t consider themselves to be dealers.

Looking at cannabis use in school they find:

Half the young people had taken cannabis into school or college; 43 per cent said they used cannabis while at school or college, but only a minority did so regularly.

And worryingly:

Schools did not appear to be consistent in how they dealt with drug incidents.

It isn’t clear from the paper whether the inconsistency is within schools or between them, but they say that “nearly all the young people who had been caught reported that the incident had not impacted on them”.

This seems to be slightly at odds with their earlier report on heavy cannabis users, which found:

When participants in this study were excluded from school, this was usually on a temporary basis and in questionnaires 13 participants said they had been excluded as a result of their cannabis use. When probed, it became clear that these young people had not usually been excluded from school as a direct result of their cannabis use; rather, their cannabis use had contributed to a range of problematic behaviours that had culminated in exclusion. So, although the young person perceived their cannabis use to be the reason for their exclusion, their cannabis use was indirectly related to their exclusion from school.

The government’s guidance for schools is clear that schools should have a drug policy which should ensure consistency within a school.

Filed under: cannabis, research, cannabis supply and young people, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Alcohol: Price, Policy and Public Health

There’s a new report from Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems. I’m only going to look at one paragraph from the report which looks at the alcohol strategy – although I have to wonder if they’ve been reading the same document as me.
SHAAP say:

A strategy which just targets young people’s drinking as a problem without addressing the wider drinking culture and environment ignores the fact that young people do not form their views and attitudes towards alcohol use in isolation.

Which maybe why Safe. Social. Sensible. promises:

Sustained national campaigning will challenge public tolerance of drunkenness and drinking that causes harm to health.

And:

The Government will raise awareness of young people’s alcohol use and will – through a social marketing campaign – work to create a culture where it is socially acceptable for young people to choose not to drink and, if they do start drinking, to do so later and more safely.

While we can’t be sure whether the government will meet their ambition, of changing both young people’s and the wider drinking culture, you can’t honestly say they aren’t aware of the links between the two.
Back to SHAAP, it’s their view that:

as a stand-alone measure, educational approaches have not been proven to be effective or cost-effective in reducing alcohol use in young people.

I’ve never heard anyone suggest that education should be the stand alone measure to prevent young people from the harms that alcohol can cause.
Indeed, no one who has read the guidance to schools could be under the illusion that drug and alcohol education shouldn’t be linked to wider work both within and beyond the school gate.
It’s also worth pointing out that the government are in the process of publishing the findings from the Blueprint research, an explicitly multi-component attempt at drug prevention – which includes classroom teaching, work with parents, the wider community and media as well as an enforcement element.
I think it’s also fair to point out that Safe. Social. Sensible. barely mentions alcohol education; preferring point of sale measures, information aimed at parents, and public health and safety campaigns over educational inputs. Something, we were pleased to see redressed in the Children’s Plan, and NICE’s guidance (more on the latter in a moment).
SHAAP say:

A recent comprehensive review, carried out for the National Institute of Clinical Excellence, found that there was a lack of clear, long-term evidence for the effectiveness of school-based interventions.

Having brought NICE in to pray-in-aid to the view that alcohol education “doesn’t work” I do find it strange that they don’t mention NICE’s first recommendation from that guidance:

Ensure alcohol education is an integral part of the national science, PSHE and PSHE education curricula, in line with Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) guidance.

Ensure alcohol education is tailored for different age groups and takes different learning needs into account (based, for example, on individual, social and environmental factors). It should aim to encourage children not to drink, delay the age at which young people start drinking and reduce the harm it can cause among those who do drink. Education programmes should:

• increase knowledge of the potential damage alcohol use can cause – physically, mentally and socially (including the legal consequences)
• provide the opportunity to explore attitudes to – and perceptions of – alcohol use
• help develop decision-making, assertiveness, coping and verbal/non-verbal skills
• help develop self-esteem
• increase awareness of how the media, advertisements, role models and the views of parents, peers and society can influence alcohol consumption.
• Introduce a ‘whole school’ approach to alcohol, in line with DCSF guidance. It should involve staff, parents and pupils and cover everything from policy development and the school environment to the professional development of (and support for) staff.

Where appropriate, offer parents or carers information about where they can get help to develop their parenting skills. (This includes problem- problem-solving and communication skills, and advice on setting boundaries for their children and teaching them how to resist peer pressure.)

And now we can point to the EUDAP findings:

Interventions groups smoked 12% less during past 30 days, 14% less in a regular way and 30% less daily, when compared with controls. The frequency of drunkenness in past 30 days was also reduced by 28% and 31% for at least once and regularly respectively, and the consumption of cannabis was reduced by 23 and 24%, ALO and regularly respectively, The use of other drugs, although rare, was reduced by 11%.

So what do SHAAP think works?

By comparison, regulatory interventions, including controls on price and availability of alcohol, have the strongest evidence for effectiveness in reducing levels of harm in the population, particularly among young people.

I’m not against enforcement measures, but there is reason to be cautious about throwing all our eggs in that basket too. I’m sure you’ll remember the Drug and Alcohol Findings paper that we pointed to a week or so ago, which says:

The first scientific study in Britain in which children attempted to buy alcohol found that the prospect of being caught out by test purchases created a short-term dip in sales to children under 18 (illegal in the UK) which did not outlast the perceived risk period.

And here’s the key passage from the abstract written by the authors of the study themselves:

Overall, there was no evidence that the police intervention reduced sales of alcohol to 16-year-olds. There was a hint that the intervention may have caused a very short-lasting decrease in sales to 13-year-old girls, but this was contained within an overall increase in sales to this group. Alcohol vendors reported that they rarely encountered underage customers or refused sale though 90% of vendors said that if they became suspicious, they would request ID. Only two vendors believed that they were likely to suffer adverse consequences if they sold alcohol to minors.

Filed under: alcohol strategy, Scotland, Alcohol; Price, Policy and Public Health, SHAAP

Adults ‘don’t know when to stop drinking’

The Daily Mail:

Teenagers and twenty-somethings are being unfairly blamed for the crisis in binge drinking.

Research today reveals that “grown-ups” are no better at knowing when to stop boozing.

Almost 44 per cent of people aged 30 to 50 said they still had not learned to stick to a safe alcohol limit, compared with 40 per cent of 18-to 29-year-olds.

Rueters:

Britons, it seems, are not older and wiser when it comes to drinking — a survey has found that those over 30 are no more sensible than younger boozers.

The survey for the “Know Your Limits” campaign found that a third of people aged 30 to 50 admitted that, on at least one occasion in the last year, drinking too much had ruined a night out or a family event.

Half also said excessive drinking had given them a hangover which left them unable to function properly the next day.

The Telegraph:

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians and chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: “This research shows that binge drinking and hangovers are not just a problem for younger drinkers.

“Many people underestimate the amount of units they are drinking because drinks have been getting stronger, and glasses larger, over the past couple of decades – a small glass of wine can now be two units and large glasses three to four units.

“People over 30 should be aware that their body is less likely to cope with the after-effects of alcohol, think carefully about the weekly amount they are drinking and stick to the safe limits so as to avoid alcohol-related disease.”

The BBC quotes Alcohol Concern:

“As a person gets older, less body water and more fat in the system means alcohol stays in the blood stream for longer, which helps explain why people often experience the effects of heavy drinking more than they might have done if younger .

“However young or old, a hangover is your body’s way of telling you that you’ve had too much the night before.

“The surest way to enjoy Christmas drinks with none of the baggage is to stick to the recommended daily limits.”

The Know Your Limits website doesn’t have any details about the poll that I could see, but they do have some new posters. Here’s their one about pedestrians:

Filed under: alcohol, Know Your Limits

Government misses education goals

The BBC:

A Department for Children, Schools and Families’ report shows 23 out of 53 targets were missed, with “slippage” recorded in a further seven.The goals range from teenage pregnancy, children’s drug abuse rates and obesity to literacy and numeracy standards.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said significant challenges remained.

These would require the government to “change and renew” its strategic direction, he said in the foreword to the report on the performance of his recently merged Children’s department and its predecessor departments.

The same issue covered in the Daily Mail.

While I couldn’t see the report on the DCSF site – I’ll keep looking – I did find a couple of videos about the launch of the Children’s Plan:

Filed under: Government, DCSF

House of Commons Questions to DCSF

The always useful TheyWorkForYou lets me know that Nigel Evans asked the following question to Ed Balls:

Healthy youngsters have a better chance of getting a good education, and school nurses play a vital role in that. As the Royal College of Nursing has pointed out, school nurses are not just about sick bays and nits; they also deal with drug abuse and child abuse, and even give advice on obesity. With all the pressures that children will face over the next few days, having a school nurse to advise them on obesity will be important. Will the Government give the House an assurance that sufficient funds will be not only made available but actually spent to ensure that all youngsters have access to a school nurse?

Mr Balls replied:

It is a manifesto commitment of ours to deliver that. The money has gone to primary care trusts, and I am working closely with the Secretary of State for Health to make sure that that money gets through. We will ensure that we address the matter in detail in our child health strategy in the spring, and I hope that we will do so to the hon. Gentleman’s satisfaction.

Filed under: drug prevention, school nurses

Binge drinking behind sexual health ‘epidemic’

The Telegraph:

Linda Tucker, one of the main authors of the study and a consultant nurse in sexual health and HIV, said: “The link between sexual risk and drinking too much is not the most original idea in he world but we now have clear scientific evidence of the relation ship. The Government needs to reflect this link both in their sexual health and alcohol strategy – which at present seems not to link alcohol and sexual risk behaviour.

 

The Guardian also carries the same quote, their piece also says :

Condoms should be given away free in taxis, clubs and pubs to help young people protect themselves against sexual diseases and unwanted pregnancy after a heavy-drinking night out, doctors said yesterday.

The suggestion follows publication of the first major study to look in detail at the sexual risks involved in drinking alcohol, particularly for women. It finds binge drinking is fuelling the epidemic of sexually transmitted infections as well as high rates of unplanned pregnancies and abortions.

To be fair to the government the alcohol strategy did explicitly make the link between alcohol and sexual activity. A quick search of the strategy found the government making the following points:

People who become drunk are much more likely to be involved in an accident or assault, be charged with a criminal offence, contract a sexually transmitted disease and, for women, are more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy. [page 3]

Among 14–15-year-olds, those who have drunk in the last month are more likely to engage in sexual activity. [page 20]

There are strong links between alcohol and sexual violence. Approximately one-third of sexual assaults take place when the victim has consumed alcohol, with perpetrators taking advantage of vulnerability caused by excessive drinking. Many perpetrators of sexual violence and abuse also drink alcohol prior to the incident and/or have drinking problems.

Alcohol abuse is also a common mechanism for coping with the effects of sexual violence and abuse. [page 42/3]

They also point to the Sexual Violence and Abuse Action Plan.

Beyond the alcohol strategy the Department of Health have asked NICE to look at personal, social and health education focusing on sexual health and alcohol, which is indicative of a desire to address the issues using the evidence that is available.

On a more practical note I’d also remind you of the NCB/Drug Education Forum/Sex Education Forum resource Sex, alcohol and other drugs which is available through the NCB. You can download the Spotlight briefing from NCB here.

Filed under: alcohol, alcohol strategy, NICE, alcohol strategy, links between alcohol and sexual activity

Drug Education Works

Every so often you hear someone speak with apparent authority about how drug education doesn’t “work”.

It’s usually done in a “more in sorrow than in anger” tone and often there’s a vague reference or two to the evidence base – although I’ve found that it’s almost always difficult to be clear whether the speaker is saying there is evidence that proves drug education doesn’t “work” or they are pointing to the lack of a proper evidence base to work from.

The implication I’ve always drawn from anyone I’ve heard talking this way is that they believe that we ought to forget drug education as a way of preventing young people developing problems with drugs.

Our stance in the Drug Education Forum is – surprise, surprise – slightly different; we start from the position that drug education should be an entitlement for young people.

We believe that first and foremost that drug education should be evaluated against its impact on young people’s knowledge, skills and their attitudes towards their own health, and that while important it is only part of the strategy that needs to be in place to reduce the numbers of young people using and developing problems with drugs.

We understand the limits of what the current evidence base tells us and want to see a bigger emphasis on improving it.

So, having got that off my chest, it’s always nice to see more of that evidence. In this case from the European Drug Addiction Prevention trial (EUDAP) which has been working in schools across seven different EU countries (though not the UK).

They have an evaluation of the programme which they say “demonstrated that the EU-Dap program was effective in reducing the onset of smoking, drunkeness and use of other drugs.”

Filed under: drug education, drug prevention, EUDAP, European Drug Addiction Prevention trial

Working together to meet the needs of children of drug-misusing parents: train the trainers

I’ve been asked to bring the following course to your attention:

Working together to meet the needs of children of drug-misusing parents: train the trainers

Tuesday 29 January 2008
9.30am – 4.00pm
London

The National Children’s Bureau’s project on the children of drug misusing parents identified a range of practice and organisational issues key to addressing the needs of these children. Appropriate training and support for professionals is essential if the needs of children whose parents misuse drugs are to be met. This one-day course, designed for trainers, will increase participants’ own understanding of the key issues and enable them to train and update practitioners to effectively support children and their families. All participants will receive a free copy of the toolkit Adult Drug Problems, Children’s Needs: Assessing the impact of parental drug use – a toolkit for practitioners with content specifically designed for trainers.

For further information, please see the attached booking form, visit our website at  www.ncb.org.uk/training, email training@ncb.org.uk or telephone 020 7843 6084.

Filed under: Conferences, NCB