§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of people aged under 25 was estimated to be using illegal drugs in each year since 1997, and if he will make a statement. [66288]
§ Mr. Bob Ainsworth[holding answer 4 July 2002]Results from the 1998 and 2000 British Crime Surveys estimate that 29 per cent. of adults aged between 16 and 24 reported to have used an illegal drug in the previous year.
Results from the 2001 survey on "Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England" (published in a Statistical Press Notice by the Department of Health on 15 March 2002) estimates that 20 per cent. of school children aged between 11 and 15 reported to have used an illegal drug in the previous year. A revised and more detailed method for measuring the prevalence of drug use was introduced in 2001. The questions used in 2001 provide new estimates on drug use and are not comparable with results from previous sweeps. Estimates from previous years were 12 per cent. in 1999, 14 per cent. in 2000 and 20 per cent. in 2001.