The importance of peer 'pressure' as a major causal factor in the onset of illicit drug use is reviewed. Most of the data adduced in support of this hypothesis are associational and therefore no basis for the inference of causality. While there is evidence to show that peer factors are associated with illicit drug use this evidence has, in many cases, been inappropriately interpreted or cited as support for peer pressure when it should have been more appropriately interpreted as evidence for peer preference. The operational definition of peer pressure or peer influence in many research reports is such that it is clear the researchers were only addressing one factor, amongst others, in a dynamic and reciprocal relationship between individuals and peers. There is a need to reassert the role of the individual in their own development, with a particular need to reassert the role of choice and motivation in relation to drug use and social interaction with peers, without assuming that motivation for drug use arises solely out of personal or social inadequacy. Some implications for educational interventions and health promotion are discussed.Drugs Edu Prev Pol Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University of Otago on 07/14/15For personal use only.

Considerable drug education activity has taken place over recent years. Yet the use of illicit drugs appears to be increasingly accepted by young users and non-users alike as an integral part of youth culture. There is a need to avoid dogmatic approaches to drug education by not placing undue reliance on any single approach. Moreover, several theoretical and empirical factors need ,to be considered in developing and implementing interventions; including developmental factors, mismatches between theo y and practice, the cultural meanings of dwg use and targeting of interventions; as well as reappraising the putative role of peer pressure and self-esteem deficits. Failure to understand and address the role of such factors impairs the efectiveness of interventions. This paper draws upon published reports, reviews and mefa-analyses of drug educafion evaluations to identijj the implications for delivery of health education through three key channelslsettings-mass media, community and schools.0968-7637/95/030211-14 01995 Journals Oxford Ltd

Ten years after publication of the UK Government's strategy for drug misuse in 1995, Tackling Drugs Together, the impact of drug education and prevention programmes remains less than desired. The 1995 strategy envisaged a new emphasis on education and prevention and there have been developments since then in drug education, especially with universal programmes delivered in schools. This paper considers the extent to which progress has been made in drug education and prevention since the 1995 strategic focus on young people and prevention of drug misuse was set out by government.In 1995 the government of the day published its white paper Tackling Drugs Together, its strategy for drug misuse 1995-98 (HM Government, 1995). Along with a focus on crime and public health, this strategy focused on young people and the need to deter and prevent drug misuse. A key aim of the strategy was to co-ordinate government departmental efforts across the Departments of Education and of Health as well as the Home Office. Drug Action Teams were to adapt the national strategy to local circumstances. The aim of the focus on young people was to discourage drug use among young people and to make sure that schools provided effective drug education, including provision of drug-related facts, information on risks, and assistance in the development of skills to refuse Correspondence: Niall Coggans,

Outcome evaluation of the impact of drug education on a representative sample of 1197 pupils revealed no effects of drug education on drug-related behaviour or drug-related attitudes. However, drug education raised levels of drug-related knowledge. The long term implications of these findings would require further study. Comparison of process and outcome measures indicated that, with the exception of knowledge, teachers' positive views of drug education were misplaced. Critical aspects of good practice are discussed, both at the level of the individual teacher and in terms of whole-school factors.

There is growing evidence that cannabis can have negative effects on health. While the ongoing debate about the nature and duration of these effects recognizes mild cognitive impairment, the evidence for irreversibility of cognitive impairment and causal links with psychiatric illness is not conclusive. There is undoubtedly potential for impairment of respiratory functioning, but that will depend on lifetime load and in most cases is confounded with tobacco smoking. There is a lack of data that addresses the long-term cannabis user's perspective. How do long-term cannabis users perceive the impact of their cannabis use on their own lives and what are the policy implications of their experience and perceptions of cannabis use? A recent study of long-term cannabis users explored a number of issues that have relevance for policy in relation to health education interventions. Quantitative data gathered from 405 long-term cannabis users provide insights into the impact of different levels of cannabis use over ten or more years on a range of issues: health; dependence; cannabis-related beliefs and attitudes; and preferred sources of cannabis-related information. Implications and the need for innovative approaches to cannabis-related health education are discussed