The available information is set out in the following tables.
Age group data were collected in the years before 2007-08 but this was not of sufficient quality to publish National Statistics.
Data for the years before 2007-08 are only available for age groups under or over 18 years of age and exclude alcohol treatment.
Under 12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 Persons (18 and under) Heroin and other opiates 10 1— 16 21 46 172 382 1— Amphetamines 1— 1— 12 32 69 88 140 346 Cocaine 1— 1— 7 60 164 226 344 806 Crack 1— 1— 5 6 25 33 85 1— Ecstasy 1— 1— 18 47 100 146 123 438 Cannabis 102 230 745 1,884 3,114 3,035 2,911 12,021 Solvents 22 23 49 75 71 32 33 305 Alcohol 57 169 565 1,244 1,970 2,131 2,453 8,589 Other 1— 1— 15 30 44 61 85 241 Total (clients) 202 436 1,432 3,399 5,603 5,924 6,556 23,552 Missing or inconsistent data 25 31 44 67 55 63 68 353 Total including missing data 227 467 1,476 3,466 5,658 5,987 6,624 23,905 1 ‘—’ represents numbers less than five. A total number is replaced by ‘—’ if its inclusion would allow the number less than five to be calculated. Source: National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) report ‘Getting to grips with substance misuse among young people’.
Aged less than 18 years at triage Aged 18 years or over at triage All persons Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Median age at triage Heroin 773 5 122,749 66 123,522 61 31 Methadone 15 0 10,097 5 10,112 5 34 Other opiates 43 0 5,404 3 5,447 3 34 Benzodiazepines 59 0 2,029 1 2,088 1 36 Amphetamines 383 2 5,320 3 5,703 3 32 Cocaine 861 5 11,752 6 12,613 6 27 Crack 168 1 10,826 6 10,994 5 32 Hallucinogens 58 0 344 0 402 0 24 Ecstasy 490 3 569 0 1,059 1 18 Cannabis 12,865 78 13,422 7 26,287 13 18 Solvents 321 2 178 0 499 0 15 Barbiturates <5 0 <39 0 39 0 35 Major tranquilisers <5 0 <39 0 39 0 36 Antidepressants <5 0 <171 0 171 0 37 Other drugs 65 0 1,631 1 1,696 0 41 Poly use; no details 65 0 153 0 218 0 29 Drug free at triage 273 2 745 0 1,018 1 28 Total (clients) 116,450 100 1185,460 100 201,907 100 — Missing/inconsistent data 34 — 725 — 759 — — Total including missing/inconsistent data 116,485 — 1186,185 — 202,666 — — 1 Totals rounded to nearest five as indicated. Source: ‘Statistics from The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) 1 April 2007-31 March 2008’. Published September 2008.
Aged less than 18 years at triage Aged 18 years or over at triage All persons Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Median age at triage Heroin 965 6 117,305 66 118,270 61 31 Methadone 30 0 10,822 6 10,852 6 34 Other opiates 41 0 5,428 3 5,469 3 34 Benzodiazepines 47 0 2,117 1 2,164 1 36 Amphetamines 375 2 5,477 3 5,852 3 32 Cocaine 716 5 10,078 6 10,794 6 28 Crack 181 1 10,664 6 10,845 6 32 Hallucinogens 35 0 205 0 240 0 24 Ecstasy 477 3 575 0 1,052 1 18 Cannabis 11,582 75 13,087 7 24,669 13 18 Solvents 317 2 189 0 506 0 15 Barbiturates 0 0 22 0 22 0 30 Major tranquilisers <5 0 <22 0 22 0 42 Antidepressants <5 0 <301 0 301 0 37 Other drugs 44 0 755 0 799 0 32 Poly use; no details 77 1 313 0 390 0 31 Drug free at triage 463 3 1,005 1 1,468 1 28 Total (clients) 115,355 100 1178,360 100 193,715 100 — Missing/inconsistent data 52 — 1,697 — 1,749 — — Total including missing/inconsistent data 115,410 — 1180,060 — 195,464 — — 1 Totals rounded to nearest five as indicated. Source: ‘Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) 1 April 2006-31 March 2007’.
Aged less than 18 years at triage Aged 18 years or over at triage All persons Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Median age at triage Heroin 1,039 8 108,112 67 109,151 63 30 Methadone 30 0 10,136 6 10,166 6 33 Other opiates 42 0 4,595 3 4,637 3 34 Benzodiazepines 49 0 1,972 1 2,021 1 36 Amphetamines 354 3 4,848 3 5,202 3 31 Cocaine 517 4 7,787 5 8,304 5 28 Crack 209 2 9,328 6 9,537 5 31 Hallucinogens 28 0 158 0 186 0 26 Ecstasy 378 3 533 0 911 1 19 Cannabis 9,516 74 11,585 7 21,101 12 18 Solvents 235 2 176 0 411 0 16 Barbiturates <5 0 <25 0 25 0 28 Major tranquilisers <5 0 <20 0 20 0 36 Antidepressants <5 0 <225 0 225 0 35 Other drugs 28 0 601 0 629 0 31 Poly use; no details 91 1 479 0 570 0 30 Drug free at triage 286 2 1,069 1 1,355 1 32 Total (clients) 112,805 100 1161,64 100 174,451 100 — Missing/inconsistent data 161 — 2,443 — 2,604 — — Total including missing/inconsistent data 112,970 — 1164,085 — 177,055 — — 1 Totals rounded to nearest five as indicated. Source: ‘Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) 1 April 2005-31 March 2006’
Aged under 18 years at triage Aged 18 years and over at triage Total2 Median age at triage Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Years Heroin 1,048 14 79,061 67 80,274 64 29 Methadone 29 0 6,460 5 6,500 5 33 Other opiates 29 0 3,950 3 3,980 3 33 Benzodiazepines 32 0 1,759 1 1,793 1 36 Amphetamines 219 3 3,518 3 3,760 3 30 Cocaine 231 3 5,117 4 5,354 4 29 Crack 144 2 6,909 6 7,061 6 31 Hallucinogens 18 0 109 0 127 0 25 Ecstasy 274 4 479 0 759 1 19 Cannabis 5,033 67 8,312 7 13,408 11 20 Solvents 158 2 138 0 301 0 17 Barbiturates 0 0 28 0 28 0 29 Major tranquillisers 0 0 10 0 10 0 42 Antidepressants 3 0 158 0 161 0 36 Other drugs1 164 2 1,341 1 1,511 1 31 Poly use; no details 126 2 638 1 764 1 30 Total 7,508 100 117,987 100 125,791 100 — Missing or inconsistent main drug data 83 — 1,594 — 1,710 — — Total including missing and inconsistent main drug data 7,591 — 119,581 — 127,501 — — 1 Excludes clients treated in the north-west region. 2 Includes 329 clients for whom age at triage unavailable. Source: ‘Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) 1 April 2004-31 March 2005’. Published 29 September 2006.
The NDTMS started collecting these data in 2004-05. The data for 2003-04 are not available centrally.
The increase in the numbers of young people in treatment for drugs misuse reflects both the growth in treatment services for young people, and the success in getting more young people into treatment, rather than any increase in the actual incidence of substance misuse.