Cocaine abuse amongst children is blamed on its 'glamorous' image
PRIMARY school children are being treated for cocaine *addiction as shocking figures *yesterday showed a 50 per cent rise in youngsters hooked on the drug.
Damning nhs figures showed that 15 children aged 12 or younger, 14 12-to-14-year-olds and 169 14-to-16-year-olds sought treatment for cocaine use last year.
According to the data released by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, the numbers of under-18s in England seeking help for their cravings went up to 746 in the last four years.
In 2005, the National Treatment Agency for Substance *Misuse recorded 453 users. And the ready availability and ?glamorous? image of the party drug was blamed for the sharp rise.
Overall the statistics reveal nearly 25,000 under-18s needed addiction treatment for drugs and alcohol misuse last year, an increase of 150 on last year.
Half of those were for cannabis and more than a third for *alcohol.
Last year the agency treated 657 crack and heroin users, down from 1,081 in 2005.
Rosanna O?Connor, NTA director of delivery, said the figures show that more youngsters are seeking help. She added: ?Most young people receiving substance misuse interventions cannot be described as addicts in the same way as adults in treatment.
?Addiction is normally the result of regular, consistent use of substances over time.
?Most under-18s who have problems have not pursued drug-taking long enough to result in dependency.?
The Home Office said drug use among young people remained historically low, with less than one in four using *illegal drugs in the last year.
But Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: ?There is a real problem with young people receiving mixed messages because of the alleged glamour associated with drugs like cocaine. We need to get the message across about the dangers of experimenting with a massively addictive drug like cocaine.
?The Government has been *obsessed with trying to look tough on drugs while slashing funding for information services and refusing to listen to scientific opinion.
?Ministers must do a lot more to make people aware of the serious damage that drug use can do to your long-term health.?
The NTA has found a generational shift away from heroin and crack use among young adults, which could indicate that teenagers are getting help before they turn to harder drugs.
Nearly three-quarters of all young people who took drugs last year were treated with counselling to address the underlying causes of their substance misuse.
Over a fifth received a mix of counselling, family work and harm reduction techniques such as the suggestion of using safer substances to help wean them off the Class-A drug.
Children?s Minister Dawn Primarolo said: ?The increase in treatment places means that where young people need help to tackle their drug or alcohol problem they are able to receive it quickly.
?Drug use among young people has seen a continual decline since 2001 and we look forward to seeing this trend continue.?
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