Children have their say: drugs and alcohol
Young people are always being warned about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. But the truth is they're a part of our lives and there is very little we can do about it.
Here young journalists from Children's Express, the UK's only news agency, speak openly about their views on alcohol and drugs:
| It's so hypocritical that adults condemn young people for drinking. |
We see images and reminders of them everywhere we look. On big billboards in the street, in the television programmes and music videos we watch and in the glossy full-page advertisements in the magazines we read. It's not surprising then, that a lot of young people drink and take drugs.
According to the 2002/2003 British Crime Survey around 47 per cent of 16-24 year olds in England and Wales have used an illicit drug, with an estimated 17 per cent said to have used a Class A drug at least once in their lives.
Like adults young people have different thoughts on drugs and alcohol. Some of us think drinking alcohol is ok but taking drugs is not. Others wouldn't touch either but however mixed our opinions are, one thing is certain and that's that we all have something to say.
Jennifer Matthews, 17, Sheffield
There's very little adults can do for us when it comes to alcohol and drugs. You can pour your millions into adverts on TV, you can show us photos of tar-clogged lungs, and you can continually tell us how bad heroin is for our fragile brains. It won't work!
We know they're bad. We know! Like I know I should do my homework and eat more fruit and vegetables. It doesn't mean I will.
There are not many things I can think of that would make me not take drugs, smoke or drink. Not until I fall down every night. So let me. Let me make my own mistakes. Let me try it for myself.
But if you enforce punishment for the things I'm not meant to do and make them harsh enough, I won't want to ever do them again. What's more, you should inform me, not just tell me. Let me know what the effects might be and what the punishment could be and then let me make the decision myself.
Don't tell me what to do and you never know, I might get it right.
Charlotte Lytton 12, London
Alcohol is fine in moderation but I definitely don't believe in taking drugs. To me taking drugs is just a pathetic waste of money and a desperate cry for help.
It seems that people who do lots of drugs or drink excessively always have a problem. But I don't think this is the best way to deal with your troubles - drugs don't solve anything. The few moments of enjoyment you get out of it only result in debt, hangover and illnesses. Drugs don't help people deal with their problems and they don't solve problems.
In my opinion taking drugs is just a useless thing to do and it would be better if they were banned!
Holly Gillway, Sheffield, 15
Some young people enjoy going out and drinking and that's just how it is.
People like to analyse this and say young people drink because of pressure, that they come from broken homes or they're trying to escape. I'm sure there are cases where this is true but the fact is, most young people drink because they enjoy it! Shock! Horror!
Drinking makes the atmosphere you're in more relaxed and allows you the opportunity to do things you usually wouldn't. Alcohol is popular for the same reasons as the Internet - it gives the chance to become a different person for a while. But the Internet isn't illegal.
As with everything, there's always a small percentage of young people who take it to the extreme, but most people just enjoy small amounts of alcohol as adults do.
Young people have the same ability to control themselves when they're drinking as adults do, if not more! It's because we've had the message "thou shalt not drink" drummed into us right from the beginning of school.
It's so hypocritical that adults condemn young people for drinking and yet it's socially accepted as a way of celebrating. How can young people respect the rules of not drinking when it's happening everywhere?
Dean Russell, 16, London
On my estate in London quite a lot of young people take drugs. I'm not really sure what kinds of drugs they are doing but I do know they stand around and smoke weed a lot.
It was never girls in the group, just boys. I used to avoid the group because I wasn't interested in taking drugs but I think there's a lot of pressure on young people to do it.
Some young people think it's good to get drunk or out of it on drugs because they read about celebrities or see them on television doing it and want to be just like them. If you see someone you look up to doing drugs, you might end up thinking 'if they can do it, why can't I?'
I think drinking alcohol is dangerous but I don't think it's as serious as taking drugs because they can really affect your whole body and sometimes even make you depressed.
We definitely need more information on the risks involved if you drink or take drugs. I never really see posters of advertising campaigns about the dangers. If young people were educated about it, perhaps they'd think twice about doing it.
Phillip Clark, 16, Newcastle
To stop young people using drugs and alcohol, more needs to be done to show us that it's "un-cool" and an anti-social thing to do. The best way to do this is to use shock tactics.
Instead of just saying what might happen, prove the effects through photos and examples. It would make a difference if there was a person visiting schools who is or has suffered from the problems drugs and alcohol cause. It would really help some young people to hear them talking about their experiences.
Schools could make a significant difference to the way we think about alcohol and drugs, so they should drop the laid back approach that they seem to have adopted. Advertising campaigns need to be straight to the point, they need to stand out and get young people talking in order for it to be noticed and considered.
Young people who get into drug abuse should immediately be helped to talk about their problem and I think punishment should come in the form of community service as I think this is probably quite a humiliating experience for young people and hopefully will deter them from doing it again.
Gabriella Gay, 17, London
Young people should be educated more effectively about the consequences drugs and alcohol.
I think this especially true for drinking because a lot of teenagers don't realise that abusing alcohol is just as dangerous as the abuse of drugs.
A lot of older teenagers think that getting drunk and being high is a cool thing to do. They don't think they can have fun without it, which is not surprising considering that we're constantly bombarded with images of stars and idols using both drugs and alcohol.
The media, particularly television, has a powerful influence on what young people do, so it would be a good place to run an advertising campaign to put into perspective the effects drinking can have on people.
About the team
This story was edited by Benjamina Avro-Owiriwa, 15. It was published in Magistrate Magazine.
