"Cocaine floods the playground." According to the front page of The Times there has been a "surge" in cocaine use among 11- to 15-year-olds leading to a "doubling" of those using the drug. Technically, a one per cent to two per cent rise is a doubling (although the actual increase was from 1.4 to 1.9 per cent, but let's not quibble).

Any increase in drug use is a matter for concern but, by any standards, the report - subsequently repeated by other media - was alarmist and well over the top. Evidence of drug use remaining stable or falling is ignored: last year when the same survey revealed that fewer pupils were using drugs there was barely a flicker of interest. Sections of the media seem to have an obsession with cocaine - the fact that three times as many young people are at risk of inhaling volatile substances such as glue or aerosols goes unreported.

Countering sensationalism matters because drug use is not in fact "normal".

When young people's estimates of drug use are challenged drug use can be delayed or prevented. Many young people believe drug use is far more common than it is, but is that surprising? In the wake of Kate Moss's reported cocaine use several media commentators and radio presenters claimed that "everyone was using cocaine" or that it was "popular" and increasingly common at dinner parties. The price of cocaine has fallen and it is losing its image as a drug exclusively for celebrities and the rich, but only six per cent of 16- to 59-year-olds have ever used it (too high, but far from "everyone") and prevalence has remained fairly stable since 2000.

Quite why a drug snorted in toilets is still considered to be "glamorous" escapes me, but I digress.

Emphasising that drug use is a minority pursuit is not complacency, nor is it belittling the seriousness of the problem. Indeed, the Government's drugs strategy needs a greater focus on children and young people and also on families. Recent cases in Scotland of children harmed by parental drug misuse are an overdue wake-up call for us all. An estimated 20,000 young people a year become problem drug users, with vulnerable groups such as school truants and those in care at greater risk of harm.

Drug education has an important role, but effective prevention requires us to address the causes of problem drug use - child poverty, school failure, poor mental health - and mistaken perceptions about prevalence.

- Got something to say in Soapbox? steve.barrett@haynet.com or 020 8267 4707.