§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any new proposals to deal with the problem of alcohol abuse by teenagers.
§ Mr. WhitneyI have been asked to reply.
The Health Education Council is contributing to the production of two sets of health education material for 11 to 18-year-olds which will provide education on alcohol, drugs and smoking for young people, their teachers and parents. In addition, as part of the recent initiatives on drugs misuse, the Department funded the production of a health education video package for 12 to 15-year-olds in school, which covers alcohol misuse and smoking as well as drugs misuse. This is being made available, free of charge, to all secondary schools.
The results of a survey on adolescents' drinking habits, which the Department commissioned the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to undertake, are expected to be published by the end of this year.