A Scottish Executive survey of tobacco, alcohol and drug use by schoolchildren found a marked increase in drinking in the past two years, although rates of smoking and drug taking changed little.
Despite the increase in alcohol consumption, the Scottish Schools' Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey 2002 found that smoking among 15-year-old boys had dropped from 25 per cent in 1998 to 16 per cent. However, smoking among girls remained steady at 24 per cent.
Scotland's deputy health minister Tom McCabe said: "This report gives us some signs of encouragement but also causes for concern."
Meanwhile, statistics released by NHS Scotland revealed that teenage pregnancy levels in 2002 were the lowest for six years, with 42 teen pregnancies per thousand.
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