I don't recall kids being half as bad as this when i was growing up.
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, Arial] Two-in-five schoolgirls now dabble in drugs[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial] [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial]Major report shows widespread experimentation by 15-year-olds
TWO-IN-FIVE 15-year-old girls are dabbling in drugs, shocking figures reveal.
The huge increase in the abuse of drugs by girls as young as 15, means they have now caught up with the boys.
And Irish 15-year-old girls now also have the dubious distinction of experimenting with drugs more than any of their counterparts in an international study of 36 countries.
The report warns of the serious health consequences of such trends.
It also highlights the social and family disruption arising from such use.
The study confirms that 41pc of Irish boys and 40pc of 15-year-old girls have taken illicit drugs.
That is an 8pc increase for girls in eight years (1995-2003).
And there may be worse to come as another major international study is getting under way amid indications the problem is spreading.
School managers said last night every town and village has been affected.
Michael Moriarty, general secretary of the Irish Vocational Education Association, said: "The older generation is cocooned from the reality of what's happening to our young people."
Another school representative, Ferdia Kelly from the Catholic secondary school managers, said it was sad to think that 40pc of pupils, whether boys or girls, had tried drugs.
He said parents should ask themselves if part of the problem was that youngsters had too much money.
The figures for drug use are revealed in a report called the State of the Nation's Children.
It gives a snapshot young people's and covers 50 different areas ranging from poverty, relationships with parents, education and drug use.
Irish children fare well in areas of education, relationships with family and friends and how they rate their own lives.
They also do surprisingly well in terms of physical activity compared with children from other countries.
But they do badly in terms of poverty, deprivation, health, as well as in their use of alcohol and illicit drugs.
The massive report will be released tomorrow by Children Minister Brian Lenihan.
It draws on 22 different data sources including the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) from 2003.
Overall, Irish children came third in the world in terms of having tried drugs.
Irish boys came sixth highest while Irish girls had the highest levels of having taken drugs.
Two-in-five (40pc) of Irish children aged 15 reported to have used an illicit drug in their lifetime.
This compared with the 22pc ESPAD average for 36 countries.
The lowest percentage was found among Romanian children (3pc) and the highest among children from the Czech Republic (44pc).
A new ESPAD survey is getting under way shortly.
Experts predict a further slight increase illicit drug use by Irish teenagers but a drop in smoking, especially by boys.
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[FONT=Arial, Verdana, Arial] Two-in-five schoolgirls now dabble in drugs[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial]Major report shows widespread experimentation by 15-year-olds
TWO-IN-FIVE 15-year-old girls are dabbling in drugs, shocking figures reveal.
The huge increase in the abuse of drugs by girls as young as 15, means they have now caught up with the boys.
And Irish 15-year-old girls now also have the dubious distinction of experimenting with drugs more than any of their counterparts in an international study of 36 countries.
The report warns of the serious health consequences of such trends.
It also highlights the social and family disruption arising from such use.
The study confirms that 41pc of Irish boys and 40pc of 15-year-old girls have taken illicit drugs.
That is an 8pc increase for girls in eight years (1995-2003).
And there may be worse to come as another major international study is getting under way amid indications the problem is spreading.
School managers said last night every town and village has been affected.
Michael Moriarty, general secretary of the Irish Vocational Education Association, said: "The older generation is cocooned from the reality of what's happening to our young people."
Another school representative, Ferdia Kelly from the Catholic secondary school managers, said it was sad to think that 40pc of pupils, whether boys or girls, had tried drugs.
He said parents should ask themselves if part of the problem was that youngsters had too much money.
The figures for drug use are revealed in a report called the State of the Nation's Children.
It gives a snapshot young people's and covers 50 different areas ranging from poverty, relationships with parents, education and drug use.
Irish children fare well in areas of education, relationships with family and friends and how they rate their own lives.
They also do surprisingly well in terms of physical activity compared with children from other countries.
But they do badly in terms of poverty, deprivation, health, as well as in their use of alcohol and illicit drugs.
The massive report will be released tomorrow by Children Minister Brian Lenihan.
It draws on 22 different data sources including the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) from 2003.
Overall, Irish children came third in the world in terms of having tried drugs.
Irish boys came sixth highest while Irish girls had the highest levels of having taken drugs.
Two-in-five (40pc) of Irish children aged 15 reported to have used an illicit drug in their lifetime.
This compared with the 22pc ESPAD average for 36 countries.
The lowest percentage was found among Romanian children (3pc) and the highest among children from the Czech Republic (44pc).
A new ESPAD survey is getting under way shortly.
Experts predict a further slight increase illicit drug use by Irish teenagers but a drop in smoking, especially by boys.
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