A leading Northern Ireland health agency and a GP last night called for more work to be done to prevent children aged 12 and younger using drugs and drinking alcohol.

The Health Promotion Agency made the comment after statistics from a school survey revealed that almost 20% of pupils in Northern Ireland admit using drugs and more than 50% drink alcohol.

The new research also shows that 12% of children in the province aged 12 or younger and 32% aged 16 and older have tried drugs.

The Young Persons’ Behaviour and Attitudes Survey was carried out on behalf of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.

Dr Brian Gaffney, Chief Executive of the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland said: “The figures are still extremely high and show that there is a continued need to work with young people and increase awareness of the detrimental effects that drugs and alcohol can have on their physical, emotional and mental health so that they can make informed choices about their own health.”

And Dr Brian Patterson, Chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs Committee in Northern Ireland echoed the call for more action to prevent young people abusing drugs.

The GP, who has a surgery in Portglenone, said more emphasis should be put onto education, prevention and targeting the dealers.

“Parents have a role in supervising their children and making sure they understand the risks. I think we also need to root out the sources of these drugs,” he said.

“Frequently they are supplied free to try and hook these young folk and they are vulnerable.”

The main aim of the report was to provide an in-depth understanding of the current behaviour and attitudes of young people with regard to drugs, solvents, drinking and smoking and an examination of any significant changes since the previous survey. It was previously conducted in 2000 and 2003.

Cannabis and solvents were the two most commonly used substances. The percentage of pupils using drugs or solvents has fallen from 23.0% in 2003 to 18.9% in 2007.

The report also showed that 55% of pupils in Years 8 to 12 had consumed alcohol at some point in their lives.