Children hospitalised after taking drugs soars by up to 50% under Labour

The number of children taken to hospital because of drug use has soared since Labour took office, figures have revealed.

Hospital admissions to treat overdoses or drug-induced mental problems jumped 43 per cent among the under-16s.

In the population as a whole, admissions doubled from 19,000 to 38,000 in a decade.

Critics said the figures showed startling numbers of younger schoolchildren are drifting into drug use.

Among 15-year- old boys 42 per cent admit having taken illegal drugs  -  including 32 per cent in the past year.

But ministers insisted the figures were proof of success, pointing to slight falls in overall use and record numbers entering treatment programmes  -  up from 85,000 to 195,000 in the past eight years.

NHS data from hospitals in England show a huge rise in admissions where drug abuse was the primary diagnosis or underlying cause, with figures doubling over the past decade to 38,170 last year.

Just over 10,000 cases last year were for overdoses  -  up from 7,000 a decade ago  -  with the remainder dealing with mental or behavioural problems.

Among children aged under 16 admissions reached 1,241 last year, up 43 per cent from 868 in 1996-97. That included 839 youngsters suffering from drug poisoning (up from 596) and 402 needing urgent treatment for mental and behavioural problems (up from 272).

Among 16 to 24-year-olds drug-related hospital admissions rose by almost a fifth to just under 7,000.

In 1996 just 1.3 per cent of 16 to 24-yearolds admitted taking cocaine in the past year. That rose to 6 per cent last year.

The peak age is among 20- to 24-yearolds where 8.3 per cent have used cocaine in the past year. The proportion of over-16s taking cannabis has fallen from 10 per cent to 8.2 per cent, but those using more harmful Class A drugs are up from 2.7 to 3.4 per cent.

The rise in hospital admissions at a time when overall drug use was supposedly falling suggests that more harmful drugs were being consumed.

Mary Brett, of the Europe Against Drugs campaign, said: 'It may be that fewer people are using more drugs or that they are being sold in stronger form  -  such as skunk cannabis, or purer heroin and cocaine.'

She added: 'Cocaine is seen as cool and fashionable by many, and is cheaper than it's ever been. People see wealthy celebrity models and pop stars seemingly getting away with it. I would like to see a zero tolerance approach by the police.'

Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley said the admission figures showed too few drug users were being identified and treated at an early stage, adding: 'Labour should not underestimate how bleak a picture these figures paint.

'As drugs get stronger, the harm they are doing to young people's mental health is increasing.'

Dominic Grieve, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: 'This is a shocking indictment of Labour's failure to tackle the scourge of drugs. They allow drugs to flow in through our porous borders, tie our police up in red tape and then only seek to manage people's addiction as opposed to ending it.'

A Department of Health spokesman said: 'More people than ever before are getting into and staying in treatment, drug-related deaths are down and the level of drugfuelled crime has fallen substantially.'

A Home Office spokesman said the majority of young people were 'on the right track', with overall drug use by 16 to 24-year- olds down, but acknowledged that cocaine use was a serious issue.