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Tobacco, Alcohol And Young People

Keynote speech for the Target 10 Seminar, Swindon, Wiltshire

Good morning

We hear a lot about the need to educate young people about drugs, and this usually means illegal drugs. That’s why I’m pleased that this Conference is about the legal, and even socially acceptable, drugs – alcohol and tobacco – as they are often forgotten. I am sure there will be no disagreement here about the problems caused by tobacco and the misuse of alcohol. Views may differ on how best to educate young people about the dangers, but not about the fact that smoking kills - and that misuse of alcohol is a massive and a multi-faceted problem. It harms individuals and it harms society at large.

Obviously, smoking and the misuse of alcohol are health problems. We know about the long-term dangers of smoking for the smoker, but children whose parents smoke are more likely to suffer from health problems as well. Alcohol causes or contributes to a range of diseases and accidents causing distress to individuals and their families - and costing the NHS billions of pounds. Drinking and driving is the leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds. Alcohol is involved in 20-25% of all industrial accidents and is involved in over 20% of all facial injuries and almost half of facial fractures.

Misuse of alcohol is an education problem too. Children whose parents drink too much are more likely to suffer from neglect and abuse, and not achieve well at school. We hear too from teachers of young people with hangovers who either stay at home or come into school in no condition to work. They cannot concentrate. They cannot learn. Their potential is wasted.

Misuse of alcohol is an economic problem: nearly 15 million working days a year are lost through alcohol misuse, at a cost of £1 billion. 46% of large companies have reported alcohol misuse to be a problem at work. The damage is significant and it hits the individuals involved, who are more likely to lose their jobs, and it hits the rest of us too.

Misuse of alcohol is a law and order problem as well. Over 80% of young victims of city centre violence are assaulted in, or shortly after leaving, a bar. Aggression and violence are clearly linked to heavy drinking, particularly with young men.

And that means that misuse of alcohol is a social problem too. I don’t know what it’s like in Swindon, but the centre of Bristol is not a pleasant place to be when people are pouring out of bars. A very common complaint of constituents who come to my advice surgeries is of neighbourhood noise and vandalism – often exacerbated by too much drink. Alcoholism can destroy families and relationships. Again, hurting individuals and hurting society.

Evidence on whether the problem of teenage drinking is growing or not is mixed. The average amount drunk by 11 to 15 year olds has doubled in the past ten years. But the proportion of pupils of that age who said they had drunk alcohol in the previous week declined slightly last year. Welcome as that is, it is only a small step and it is still the case that young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are more likely to be hazardous drinkers than their elders.

So, what is the Government doing about it? I hope I don’t have to convince you that the Government is very concerned about alcohol misuse among young people – it has the potential to have a devastating effect on their health, as well as on their life chances. It is committed to tackling this problem and in finding ways that work to educate young people about the dangers of smoking and of misusing alcohol.

As you know, the Government is currently developing a National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy a job for the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit - and their long awaited Interim Analytical Report came out last week. We are assured that the strategy itself will be published towards the end of this year and implemented from 2004, in line with the commitment given by the Government in the NHS Plan.

The interim report received a fair amount of publicity and it highlighted the dangers of binge drinking. I don’t know if you heard some of the interviews with young people going out for an evening’s drinking. Even allowing for a bit of boasting, it was worrying to hear what they expected to drink on what they thought of as “a good night out”.

The report also said that young people have not been receptive to the sensible drinking message. I hope your work in Swindon will feed into their search for the most effective interventions to get the message across.

Although the Interim report has been rather a long time coming, the Government has not been idle.

There is an Education and Prevention Team - a partnership project between DrugScope and Alcohol Concern, funded by the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Employment.

The DfES has made available £17.5 million this year to support drug, alcohol and tobacco education in schools. There are Schools Drug Advisors to help schools deliver the sort of drug education that suits their pupils and some opportunities for professional development for teachers sp that they can teach effectively about drugs.
The DfES, the Home Office and the Department of Health are supporting a national five-year research programme called "Blueprint" which will test the effectiveness of drug education initiatives in schools.

Last spring, the Department for Education and Skills put out guidance for LEAs, and a document on guidance for schools on drugs education went out for consultation in April. The responses to the consultation are being worked on now and the final document should be ready in December. I am sure many of you responded to that consultation and perhaps you have accessed the online help for schools.

You will also be aware of the Government’s National Drugs Strategy aimed at reducing the harm that drugs cause to society and preventing young people from becoming ‘tomorrow’s problematic drug users’.

80% of primary and 96% of secondary schools have adopted drug education policies. By March 2004 all primary and secondary schools will have drug education policies.

80% of England is covered by the new Connexions Service which, as part of its wider role to support all young people, will identify young people with drug problems and arrange for specialist help. The Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Education Training Package for teachers is funded by the DfES for three years from 2001-2004.

Alcohol education is already included in the National Curriculum for Science. Children from the age of 7 learn that alcohol can have harmful effects, from the age of 11 they learn how misuse of alcohol affects our health, while 14 – 16 year olds learn about the other effects alcohol has on us.
But factual knowledge is not enough. Education about alcohol also forms part of the Personal Social and Health Education curriculum and Citizenship, particularly with regard to helping children to make informed choices and not be swayed by peer pressure.

As all parents and teachers know, just telling young people something is bad for them and that they shouldn’t do it, rarely works. It is important to listen to young people themselves and find out the ways in which they want to receive information. As a member of the House of Commons Health Select Committee I was involved in preparing a report on Sexual Health. We met groups of young people who told us what they wanted from sex education – what worked and what didn’t. I was very impressed by the way they took on a group of ageing politicians and told us what was what! The young people we spoke to liked getting information and help from people their own age or a bit older, in a style and language they could relate to. So instead of seeing peer pressure as something negative, we found it was something that could be used to good effect. Well-trained peer educators were an important supplement to more formal sex education.

Another thing that came out of that study was that they want accurate information given in relaxed, non-judgemental way. One school, the Paignton Community College, has a project called Tic Tac - a teenage information and advice centre in a small building in the school grounds. It has a drop in lounge area where young people can pick up information leaflets, relax or talk to the Tic-Tac co-ordinator or arrange to see a health professional. It isn’t just a sexual health clinic, so pupils are not embarrassed to be seen going in. It also gives information about health, fitness, diet, stress, bullying and so on, and, I am sure, about alcohol and tobacco as well.
In our report, we urged the Government to promote this kind of venture and make funding available for centres like Tic Tac in every LEA.

I’ve talked mainly about alcohol. Probably because its adverse effects are more obvious to the whole community rather than to individuals or small groups. Having a half dozen cigarettes does not usually make someone start a fight or shove a bottle in your face. Nevertheless it is anti-social, dangerous and expensive - for everyone, and I believe the Government has a good record on tobacco - Bernie Ecclestone notwithstanding! So far the Government:

• Has banned tobacco advertising – all billboard, newspaper and magazine adverts went last February and sponsorship went in July
• Is bringing in new, bigger health warnings on cigarettes, compulsory from next month;
• Is highlighting the dangers of second hand smoke, running the UK’s first TV campaign on the health risks to children. This will continue.
• Launched an Enforcement protocol with local authorities to ensure that existing legislation on under-age sales is properly enforced;
• Supports proof of age schemes which protect shopkeepers and children;
• Launched the Tobacco Education Campaign to persuade and help smokers to give up.
• Not least, they tax tobacco more highly than most countries do, something which can cause problems with smuggling but is a deterrent for children.

Also, though not immediately relevant to young people, it is encouraging employers and employees to cut down smoking in the workplace. The Department of Health buildings are, by the way, now completely smoke free.

So, the problem is a big one, but the Government knows that. It has brought in some useful legislation and it has started some worthwhile initiatives. But we all know that Government’s can’t actually DO anything by themselves. They set up the framework, but the work has to be done in schools all over the country, supported, of course, by the local authorities, so it’s over to you now. I’m looking forward to hearing about what’s happening in Swindon.

Incidentally, I know it is easy to roll out statistics and lists of achievements – but it often seems quite different on the ground. I will certainly stay around for an hour or two – so please let me know what you think about this – and I shall try to relay it to the appropriate ministers, either next week in Bournemouth or when Parliament re-convenes in October. Thank you for listening.