Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: 2008 Guardian Newspapers Limited Contact: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175 Author: Polly Curtis, education editor, The Guardian Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom) UK CHILDREN 'MOST LIKELY TO TRY CANNABIS' Children growing up in the UK are more likely to drink, smoke and to have tried cannabis than in many other western countries, according to a study by the World Health Organisation. The report says that young people in the UK are becoming more independent of their families, turning to their friends for support and exposing themselves to higher risks than children and teenagers in other developed countries. The report, Health Behaviour in School-aged Children, based on the experiences of 200,000 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds across 41 countries, says any decline in home relationships could have an impact on children's future relationships. Despite being among the most affluent children - English children are the third richest, Welsh the 15th and Scottish 17th in the study - young people in the UK face significant disadvantages. English schoolchildren are among the most stressed in the world, possibly because of school testing. Teenagers in England, Wales and Scotland are among the most likely to drink regularly at 15. England is third in a league table of teenage drinkers with four in 10 15-year-olds reporting that they drink at least once a week. Only Ukraine and Malta score higher. Children in the UK are significantly less likely to turn to a parent for help if they have a problem than in many other countries. However, the UK rates among the highest in the survey for children's friendships. Children also report liking school, despite relatively high levels of stress. But the report says: "Time spent with friends in the evenings has been strongly linked with adolescent risk behaviour, most notably substance use." Candace Currie, director of the Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit and the report's lead author at the University of Edinburgh, said: "There is something very interesting going on about where young people are getting their support. It's shifting around from their home and parents to their school and peers." Anne Longfield, chief executive of the charity 4Children, said: "We work the longest hours in Europe. The amount of unsupervised time young people have is increasing. Our culture of pushing the working hours and not having support for families is having an impact." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake