CONTENTS
Introduction
1. What did the European survey show?
2. The most spread species of drugs.
   a) Cannabis
   b) Cocaine
   c) Heroin
   d) Amphetamines
   e) Ecstasy
   f) Hallucinatory drugs
   g) Tranquillisers & Sedatives
3. A story about Simon Foster.
4. Report of Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence.
5. A new anti-drug campaign & it's help.
Conclusion
Bibliography list
                                INTRODUCTION
       The title of this paper  is  «The  drug  problem  among  the  British
teenagers».  At  present  there  exists  a  big  problem,  concerning   many
teenagers. This is the problem of drug addiction.
       The government of many countries takes  measures  to  eliminate  this
addiction. But even  in  such  developed  country  as  Great  Britain  these
measures aren't very effective. However the police very often arrest  12-  &
13-year-old drug users.
       The aim of my scientific work is to  expose  the  harm  of  the  drug
addiction & to explain it to the Ukrainian youth, because the  drug  problem
is a very big problem. If we don't stop it, the damage to humanity  will  be
irreparable loss. The consequence of the  drug-use  in  many  cases  is  the
death.
                     What did the European survey show?
       Nowadays, there many secret groupings devoted to spreading of  drugs.
There are many kinds of drugs & that's why many teenagers cannot resist  the
drugs' temptation.
       That's why last year, a European survey showed  that  the  number  of
teenagers who had tried drugs was 6 per cent  in  Greece,  15  per  cent  in
France and 30 per cent in Britain.
       Statistics show that drug use by British teenagers has doubled  since
1989. Half teenagers who were interviewed admitted they had tried  at  least
one type of drug. 70 per cent said they had been offered drugs in  the  past
3 months.
       The drugs that the government is most  worried  about  are  stimulant
drugs such as Speed and Ecstasy  (or  'E'  as  it  is  commonly  known)  and
hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD. They are worried that  many  young  people
believe these drugs to be exciting and fashionable. They think that many  of
teenagers will  be  influenced  by  films  such  as  Transporting  and  Pulp
Fiction, which show attractive people taking drugs.
                      The most spread species of drugs.
       It must be noted that the most spread species of drugs are  cannabis,
cocaine, heroin & others. The  following  paragraph  deals  with  the  short
story about every of them
       Cannabis. Commonly found in herbal form, looking like sage  or  dried
herbs, or as a resin, resembling chunks of liquorice  or  a  golden  powder.
Usually smoked by mixing with tobacco; gives off aromatic,  slightly  sickly
smell. Produces feeling of  elation,  relaxation.  Can  cause  psychological
dependence and short-term memory loss;  increases  risk  of  bronchitis  and
other lung problems.
       Cocaine. Fine, white crystalline powder, usually taken by sniffing it
up a use or by injection. Produces state of euphoria.  Prolonged  «snorting»
causes ulceration and perforation of the nasal septum. Crack  cocaine  is  a
smokable  form,  varying  from  yellow/beige  «rocks»   to   white   powder.
Powerfully psychologically addictive. Produces rush of euphoria followed  by
rapid depression.
       Heroin. White or speckled browns powder; can be sniffed, injected, or
heated and the resulting fumes  then  inhaled.  Produces  relaxed  euphoria,
dehydration and lack of appetite. Highly addictive.
       Amphetamines. Commonly a powder found in a variety  of  colours,  but
may be  in  pill  or  capsule  form.  Taken  orally,  injected  or  inhaled,
amphetamines  cause  excitability,  talkativeness,  feeling   of   unlimited
energy. Regular use can lead to weight loss and psychological dependence.
       Ecstasy. Tablet or  capsule  in  a  variety  of  colours  and  forms.
Increases awareness and energy, inhibitions disappear;  causes  dehydration,
increased blood pressure and heart rate; may affect co-ordination. Has  been
linked with fatalities.
       Hallucinatory drugs. LSD—taken by mouth, as tiny coloured tablets, or
impregnated  in  paper  or  gelatine  squares.  Effects  include  heightened
awareness  of   sound   and   colour,   hallucinations;   may   also   cause
disorientation, panic, persecution mania and  conviction  of  invincibility.
Flashbacks can  occur  several  months  after  use.  Psilocybin  is  another
hallucinogen, found in so-called «magic mushrooms»—certain species of  fungi
that grow in the wild.
       Tranquillisers and Sedatives. Tablets or capsules in various  colours
and forms available legally on prescription.  Usually  taken  orally;  cause
drowsiness,   light-headedness,   feeling   of   relaxation.    May    cause
psychological dependence.
                         A story about Simon Foster.
       Next is concern with the story about an English teenager, 15-year-old
Simon Foster.
       At school he felt a misfit, until he fell in with  a  group  of  boys
with whom he began  enjoying  something  in  common:  smoking  cannabis.  «I
thought it was really cool, and that I'd found a niche in life.»
       An occasional adventure became regular routine. But after 18  months,
Simon was caught red-handed. He was expelled from  school  and,  fined  Ј25,
acquired a criminal record.
       His horrified parents found it hard to talk to him about the problem;
their anxiety all too often turned  attempts  at  discussion  into  shouting
matches.  They  took  the  view  that  Simon  should  face  up   to   life's
difficulties as they had done when young.
       Simon promised never to touch drugs again—but after he won a place at
a London sixth-form college, he soon made contact  with  local  pushers.  He
did so badly in his A levels that university was out  of  the  question.  He
began drifting through life, taking  short-lived  reporting  jobs  on  local
newspapers and trying just about every drug, from  Valium  and  amphetamines
to LSD and even heroin. But cocaine became the main love  of  his  life.  «I
never forgot the first 'high' it gave me. From then on it was as  if  I  was
forever chasing that wonderful buzz of total euphoria.»
       As he came to rely on cocaine, his life spiralled into nightmare.  «I
kept telling myself that I was just a 'recreational' user. But I spent  more
and more time behind closed curtains in  my  flat,  gripped  by  loneliness,
fear and paranoia. Yet I was terrified of giving up the drug that seemed  to
help me cope with those feelings.»
       At 25, realizing at last that he could no longer ignore the  problem,
he sought help from a group therapy programme. Now drug-free and  trying  to
make a living as a freelance writer, he concludes: «My addiction  wasted  my
time, money and opportunities. Understanding that was a major  step  towards
recovery.» Thousands of other young people risk going down  the  same  route
as Simon Foster.
            Report of Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence.
       A 1993 report by the Institute  for  the  Study  of  Drug  Dependence
estimated that by the age of 20, up to one person in three has tried  drugs,
mainly cannabis. About one  in  ten—around  half  a  million  youngsters—are
thought to have tried amphetamines; another  half-million  are  believed  to
use Ecstasy regularly. In 1992, there were  2,754  under-17s  convicted  for
possessing drugs—a 264 per cent increase since 1988.
       Children are trying drugs earlier and earlier. An annual  countrywide
summary of the experience of children aged 11 to 15, by  Exeter  University,
found that in 1992 the percentage at  each  age  that  had  used  drugs  had
almost doubled since 1990.
       In December 1992, Scarborough police charged or cautioned 26 children
between 12 and 16 about use of LSD. In Dorset, police arrested  children  of
12 and 13 for possession of LSD and Ecstasy.
                         A new anti-drugs compaign.
       In connection with this  problem  the  government  of  Great  Britain
decided that it needed a new anti-drugs compaign.  However,  before  it  did
this, it studied young people's attitudes. The survey showed that  teenagers
knew that drugs were bad for them but  they  could  not  actually  name  any
health risk associated with particular drugs. It also  showed  that  61  per
cent of teenage drug-users would  consider  stopping  using  drugs  if  they
thought they were a serious danger to their health.
       It was also understood that many teenagers ignored drugs warnings  in
schools because they thought they were childish.  In  fact,  it  was  proved
that in some cases, the  reason  for  taking  drugs  was  to  rebel  against
warnings from adults.
       Using the results of the survey, a new campaign has been started. The
new campaign hopes to treat teenagers like adults. It informs  young  people
of the health risks associated with particular  drugs.  It  does  this  with
photos of teenagers. On the advertisements, the parts of their bodies  which
can be damaged by drugs, are indicated by biological  diagrams  showing  the
health risks.
       Many teenagers try drugs as a 'dare' to show their friends that  they
are not scared. Often their friends insist until the person says 'yes'.  The
health authority hope that the advertisements will  help  teenagers  to  say
'no' to this and be able to have good reasons to  say  it.  In  addition  to
posters, the health authority has also made  radio  advertisements  and  put
the number of their drugs helpline (a telephone number that  can  be  called
confidentially for help) in a lot of places.  The  people  at  the  helpline
advise people what  to  do  if  they  have  a  drug  problem  or  need  more
information about the dangers of drugs.
                                 CONCLUSION.
       In this work the problem of drugs has been  disclosed.  We  see  that
drug addiction brings incorrigible harm to humanity. Still there is  more  &
more people fall for its temptation. We know that medicine-drugs  are  given
to seriously ill people to alleviate their suffering.  But  these  medicines
have one insidious property: organism gets  accustomed  to  them  quickly  &
wants new doses.
       Drug addiction is our enemy. And if we  don't  struggle  against  it,
it'll bring many losses. In addiction I want to say that drug  addiction  is
as a white storm cloud, which isn't seen on the horizon, but  unfortunately,
many young people have already been caught in its big, terrible rain.
       Take care of this white storm cloud!
                             BIBLIOGRAPHY LIST.
1. New Anti-drugs Compaign for Young People// Team.
1.a New Anti-drugs Compaign for Young People//  English  learner's  «Digest»
– 1998. – №10. – p.7.
2. Kids and Drugs// David Moller.
2.a Kids and Drugs// Readers «Digest» – 1994. – №2 – p. 118-123.