More girls drinking

More schoolgirls are hitting the bottle, but they and their male counterparts are taking their first sip at an older age.

This has been revealed by National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) officer attached to secondary schools, Brian Payne, who said the trend, which he called a reflection of society, was causing concern among those charged with formulating plans to tackle drug use and abuse.

“It is not the children that are leading the trend,” Payne explained. “The children are following what is happening. This is a true indicator. Whatever you see in the schools is a true reflection of what is happening in the wider society.”

Admitting that the last time a survey was done in the schools was in 2013 and officials in the field were eagerly awaiting the next one, Payne said marijuana use and alcohol abuse had seen an increase over the previous survey done in 2006. (HLE)

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