91Èȱ¬

A record number of young people in England were treated for a drug or alcohol problem last year, a 91Èȱ¬ Radio 1 Newsbeat investigation has found.

Counsellors in England saw 52,294 people aged 13 to 24, a rise of 12% in two years, according to data from the National Treatment Agency (NTA).

However, the data also reveals a shift in drug habits, with a sharp drop in the number of young people addicted to traditional 'hard' drugs like heroin and crack.

Instead under-25s are now more likely to have a problem with booze mixed with 'softer' party drugs, a phenomenon nicknamed ACCE (pronounced "ace") by drug workers, short for Alcohol plus Cocaine, Cannabis and Ecstasy.

The number of under 25s getting treatment for one or more of those drugs has gone up 44% from 21,744 in 2005/6 to 31,401 in 2007/8; 18,597 people aged 13 to 24 were treated for an addiction to heroin and crack last year, down 19% in two years.

"Alcohol is cheaper and more available, cannabis is far stronger, cocaine is half the price it used to be and you can get half a dozen ecstasy tablets for £10," according to Howard Parker, Professor Emeritus at Manchester University, who coined the term "ACCE" last year.

"Put those three together and you've got just as serious a problem for health, family life and society as heroin," he says.

Officials from the NTA say the overall rise in treatment over the last three years does not necessarily mean a record number of young people are abusing drugs and alcohol.

Tom Aldridge from the NTA says: "We had an enormous increase in the number of young people coming on to treatment. That's more to do with drug services being more available and increased investment.

"But what is clear is that there is a more of a focus on cannabis, alcohol, and cocaine powder use and it's a very small minority that are using crack cocaine and opiates."

Campaigners say treatment services aimed at young adults need to change to deal with this shift in drug habits.

Work carried out by Professor Parker and researchers at Liverpool John Moores University shows the average age of a heroin user in treatment in north-west England has risen to 36. The average age of someone with an ACCE problem is just 22.

But while youth services aimed at under-18s can be effective at dealing with an ACCE-type problem, when users hit their 18th birthday they are often forced to switch to an adult-only drug treatment service.

"Those [adult] services are there to deal with heroin and crack users," says Professor Parker. "The real issue is why there are hardly any services for ACCErs when they get to 18. It's just pot luck; it's a postcode lottery."

Adult drug projects are paid twice as much for treating a heroin and crack user as someone with a powder cocaine or ecstasy problem. As a result, those services tend to focus on medical treatment like methadone replacement, a drug used to wean heroin users off their addiction.

But there are no "replacement" drugs to treat a cocaine or cannabis problem. Instead, months, or even years, of therapy and support are needed to get users to manage their drug problem and eventually quit.

The man in charge of young people's drug policy for the National Treatment Agency, Tom Aldridge, explains that adult services focus on heroin and crack users for a reason.

"There are very clear links between acquisitive crime and problematic [heroin and crack] drug use," he says. "We want to prioritise those drugs because they have more of an impact on society in terms of criminal activity and public health.

"But we are very clear that people should be given a service depending on their need, not depending on their age. If you have a 20 or 21-year-old that requires treatment best given by an under-18 service then they should go to that service."

All under-18 services in England combine alcohol and drug treatment so young people can get detox and therapy for both problems at the same time.

But almost all adult services split alcohol and drugs into two completely separate programmes, in different locations with different counsellors, and critics say that can often mean young people drop out.

Tom Aldridge accepts that there may be an argument for combining alcohol and drug treatment for over-18s in England as they have recently decided to do in Northern Ireland.

"We have no responsibility for the alcohol agenda," he says. "If that were the case, there may well be lots of advantages in that. But it's not the case at the moment."

Case Study

Mosaic, a council-run drug scheme for young people in Stockport, is one of only a few treatment services in England that has already changed the way they work to deal with the ACCE phenomenon – including increasing the age range of its patients from 18 to 25.

Heidi Shaw, who runs the centre, said that decision was a direct result of seeing more young people with recreational drug problems come through the doors.

"We knew those young people would not get help elsewhere," she says. ""Their lives are still being devastated by drugs. They are still having problems with crime, housing, training and employment. The same profile of substance misuse is coming through. It's cannabis, alcohol and then cocaine."

Steve (not his real name), a 24-year-old patient at Mosaic, has been getting treatment for his alcohol and drug problems there for four years.

"It first started when I was 15," he says. "Cannabis led to whizz, Es, pills and coke.

"Alcohol and drugs were a major part of my life for five years. When you're young you hate to be the one left out and most of my friends at school were alcohol and drug users."

The specialist treatment he receives is having a positive impact, he explains: "I feel more comfortable because they [Mosaic] seem to understand more about you. They contact you virtually every day to see how you are doing.

"I went through detox. They put you in a dry house for a week and give you medication to counteract the effects of alcohol and the cravings. Since then I've not touched a drop and I've got Mosaic to thanks for that.

"My life's changed because I'm off alcohol completely and I'm working on the drugs. Hopefully, this time next year, I will be off them as well."

Notes to Editors

Any use of the above must credit 91Èȱ¬ Radio 1's Newsbeat.

The Drugs Week campaign on Radio 1 and 1Xtra runs from 7 to 14 June and explores the health risks associated with drug taking and highlights the possible consequences of buying and possessing illegal substances – bbc.co.uk/radio1/drugs.

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