Education Programmes
Thursday 14th September, 2006 12:44 Comments: 0
There are claims the Government's efforts to teach children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol are almost completely ineffective. And there are even fears that policies could be causing more harm than good. Whitehall's official drug policy advisers says Britain has one of Europe's highest levels of tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse amongst children.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs noted that up to a half of 15-year-olds are drinking alcohol at least once a week and 20% to 25% have used illegal drugs in the past month. About 20% to 25% of 15-year-olds are regular smokers, with girls outnumbering boys, it added.
The council's report said current drug-education programmes had "little if any impact" on children's future drug abuse.
"Indeed many studies showed no effect at all and some programmes were found to be counter-productive."
The Council's proposals also include raising the legal smoking age from 16 to 18, lowering the drink drive limit for under-25s and a ban on alcohol advertising on TV and at most cinemas.
I must admit, I don't agree with lowering the drink drive limit for under-25s. If you're going to lower the limit, you should lower it for everyone. If people want to argue that younger people are less experienced and could be more dangerous with the same amount of alcohol in their system, I'll just point them towards that other study that suggests a 20-year-old blabbing on a mobile phone while driving has the reaction time of a 70-year-old (who isn't using a mobile). Seeing as 70 year olds (and over) aren't banned from driving (although they do have to renew their licence at 70, but that doesn't appear to mean a retake of their test), does that mean we can allow 20 year olds (and younger) to use a mobile?
Does admitting that some drug programmes are counter-productive also suggest that some of the other programmes are also counter-productive? Just look at how many kids are having underage sex (and I don't mean "underage" by a few weeks or months, we're talking years), how many of them aren't using protection and have sexually transmitted diseases/infections, and how many young single mothers we have. And is it also failing for alcohol? Mind you, the education system itself appears to be failing, as basic punctuation and accurate spelling have been abandoned by even the brightest GCSE English students. The slip in standards was previously exposed by Harrow School which introduced a basic literacy test after teachers noticed pupils were still making glaring errors, despite achieving high grades. Nearly two-thirds of those who failed the test on entering the sixth form had scored either an A or A* in GCSE English.
PS They can't ban alcohol advertising at the cinema (and what do they mean by "most cinemas?"! Firstly, you could easily allow alcohol advertising in the trailers for 18 rated movies, as only 18+ people should be in their for the movie (or is that what they mean by "most"?). Secondly, we all know that the best adverts are the alcohol ones (e.g. Guinness, Smirnoff). Get rid of them and we're stuck with... nothing really. Trailers for other movies, adverts telling us not to buy or download dodgy copies of movies, and the odd Orange promo.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs noted that up to a half of 15-year-olds are drinking alcohol at least once a week and 20% to 25% have used illegal drugs in the past month. About 20% to 25% of 15-year-olds are regular smokers, with girls outnumbering boys, it added.
The council's report said current drug-education programmes had "little if any impact" on children's future drug abuse.
"Indeed many studies showed no effect at all and some programmes were found to be counter-productive."
The Council's proposals also include raising the legal smoking age from 16 to 18, lowering the drink drive limit for under-25s and a ban on alcohol advertising on TV and at most cinemas.
I must admit, I don't agree with lowering the drink drive limit for under-25s. If you're going to lower the limit, you should lower it for everyone. If people want to argue that younger people are less experienced and could be more dangerous with the same amount of alcohol in their system, I'll just point them towards that other study that suggests a 20-year-old blabbing on a mobile phone while driving has the reaction time of a 70-year-old (who isn't using a mobile). Seeing as 70 year olds (and over) aren't banned from driving (although they do have to renew their licence at 70, but that doesn't appear to mean a retake of their test), does that mean we can allow 20 year olds (and younger) to use a mobile?
Does admitting that some drug programmes are counter-productive also suggest that some of the other programmes are also counter-productive? Just look at how many kids are having underage sex (and I don't mean "underage" by a few weeks or months, we're talking years), how many of them aren't using protection and have sexually transmitted diseases/infections, and how many young single mothers we have. And is it also failing for alcohol? Mind you, the education system itself appears to be failing, as basic punctuation and accurate spelling have been abandoned by even the brightest GCSE English students. The slip in standards was previously exposed by Harrow School which introduced a basic literacy test after teachers noticed pupils were still making glaring errors, despite achieving high grades. Nearly two-thirds of those who failed the test on entering the sixth form had scored either an A or A* in GCSE English.
PS They can't ban alcohol advertising at the cinema (and what do they mean by "most cinemas?"! Firstly, you could easily allow alcohol advertising in the trailers for 18 rated movies, as only 18+ people should be in their for the movie (or is that what they mean by "most"?). Secondly, we all know that the best adverts are the alcohol ones (e.g. Guinness, Smirnoff). Get rid of them and we're stuck with... nothing really. Trailers for other movies, adverts telling us not to buy or download dodgy copies of movies, and the odd Orange promo.