Youthhealthtalk.org has launched an online resource designed to educate young people, their parents, teachers and health professionals about the experience of binge-drinking and taking drugs, through audio and video clips of detailed interviews with 33 young people in their teens and 20s.
The new site, funded by the Department of Health, is a unique, evidence-based qualitative study of young people's experience of drugs and alcohol and shows the benefit of being properly informed about alcohol and drugs.
The stories reveal the dangers faced by young people engaging in these behaviours but finds that binge drinking or drug taking is "a rite of passage" for many young people today and that by their mid-20s, most are living far more moderately.
Radio 1 DJ, Tom Deacon, said: "It's cool to be well-informed. The site is a great way to give you the facts and information you need to make the right decision for you. I wish there was a website like this when I was growing up and going to house parties and nights out. It would have been amazing."
