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Child drugs and drink toll
MORE than 2,900 children and teenagers aged 11 to 16 in Sheffield are using alcohol or illegal drugs "on most days", according to Sheffield Council.
More than 160 young people are on rehabilitation courses and dozens have required hospital treatment, adds a new report.
The authority has also revealed the overall proportion of under 18s "getting drunk, smoking cannabis or taking other drugs more than twice a week" was 10.1 per cent in 2009/10, compared with the national average of 9.8 per cent.
Between March 2008 and October 2009, 56 youngsters needed treatment at Sheffield Children's Hospital for substance abuse.
Figures for the amount of youngsters abusing drink and drugs have come from surveys carried out among young people in the city by the council.
A report by officials in its Children and Young People's Service said: "Substance abuse by young people contributes to a range of problems. Risk of overdose and future dependency as adults are also evident."
The report added that children and teenagers in care were viewed as particularly vulnerable to substance misuse, along with youngsters born into families of drug users - who account for 40 per cent of names on the Child Protection Register, where parents are being watched by social services.
Around 140 cases on Sheffield's Child Protection Register "at any one time" are associated with parental substance misuse, mainly for neglect.
The report reveals work is ongoing to address the number of young people abusing alcohol or drugs - and that the number misusing substances has reduced.
Last year, some 3,300 11 to 16s were using alcohol or drugs on most days and the overall proportion of young people regularly getting drunk or using drugs is down from 11.5 per cent in 2008/9.
The number of young people who have received drugs advice and support has increased from 1,600 in 2008/9 to 2,500 in 2009/10, with courses targeted at 'vulnerable groups' such as young offenders, homeless young people, those in care or truanting from school and youngsters whose parents misuse drugs or alcohol.
Under 18s in Sheffield receiving rehabilitation rose from 133 to 168 between the two years. Admissions for rehabilitation treatment are mainly for alcohol or cannabis use - almost 90 per cent of the total - although a small number of cases include heroin, solvents and cocaine.
Sheffield Council added that its number of hospital admissions for young people due to substance misuse was the lowest among 11 comparable cities around the UK.
The council said there is no waiting list for young people seeking help from substance misuse services and there are spare places on its treatment programme - which costs 338,500 a year to run, funded by the Department of Health.
Jon Banwell, Sheffield Council assistant director, children and families said: "Although the number of young people who misuse substances in Sheffield is falling, there is still a clear need to make sure these individuals get help to change their lifestyle.
"We also have to raise greater awareness of the very real dangers of substance abuse amongst young people so that they are armed with the facts from an early age. We are always on hand to help if people want to pick up the phone."
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