Health: Early drugs education works

Children as young as eight should be targeted with warnings about the dangers of illicit drugs and smoking, according to an official report published yesterday.

Home Office research showed youngsters who were given weekly drugs education lessons when they were aged eight to ten were less likely to have used illegal drugs or smoked by the time they were 14. The findings were based on the evaluation of 76 children from Hackney, east London, who took part in Project Charlie (Chemical Abuse Resolution Lies In Education) in 1990-92. They found that the children had more negative attitudes towards drugs and were better able to resist peer pressure.