Insight into child drug use

More than 30% of preteen children have been exposed to illegal drugs, according to research carried out in Glasgow and Newcastle.

The study, conducted by Glasgow University, also found that nearly 4% of the 2,000 children surveyed had actually experimented with drugs in the past.

In both cities, cannabis was the illegal drug most widely used, but it was estimated that about 60 preteen children in Glasgow had used heroin in the past and 25 in the last month.

The estimate for Newcastle was 34 10 to 12-year-olds had used heroin in the past and 17 in the last month.

Professor Neil McKeganey of the university's centre for drug misuse research said there was a need to develop more wide-ranging education programmes.