More teens try dagga
23/11/2005 08:00  - (SA)  

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Sydney - Australian youngsters aged between 12 and 15-years-old are more likely to use marijuana than smoke cigarettes, according to a government report which also revealed an increase in ecstasy use among youth.

The 2004 National Drug Strategy Survey, released on Tuesday, found that while 4.3% of children aged between 12 and 15 had smoked cigarettes in 2004, 5.2% had used cannabis.

"Still, two in three (64.8%) had never had a full glass of alcohol and almost all (95.7%) had never smoked a cigarette," survey author David Batts said.

The report, which surveyed 30 000 Australians, found a drop in tobacco and marijuana intake among teenagers compared with figures collated in 1998.

About 16% of teenagers aged 14-19 were regular cigarette smokers seven years ago, compared with 10% in 2004.

Cannabis use over the same time period for the 14-19 age group fell from 50% having tried the drug in 1998 to 25% in 2004, the report said.

While illicit drug use in general has fallen, teenagers were more likely to be experimenting with party-drug ecstasy, the report found.

Less than five percent of respondents aged 14-19 used the drug in 1998, compared with more than 6% in the latest study.

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