Department of Health leaders in England are attributing decreases in drug experimentation rates among the nation's young teenagers to a well-financed campaign on drugs' dangers, BBC News reported July 17.

2007 survey data from the National Health Service Information Centre show that 25 percent of England's youths ages 11 to 15 tried drugs at least once last year, compared with 29 percent in 2001. Youth smoking rates also have been declining, with 33 percent of youths having tried cigarettes in 2007 compared with 53 percent in 1982.

Also, the percentage of students in this age group who have never tried alcohol increased from 39 percent in 2003 to 46 percent in 2007, according to the survey, and the proportion of past-week drinking is also on the decline.

A Department of Health spokesman credited a five-year-old campaign known as FRANK, offering confidential advice to young people about illegal drug use, for some of the encouraging drug use trends seen in the latest survey. About 30 million pounds has been spent on the campaign since its launch.

Still, officials would like to see the numbers improve further, citing the aggregate finding that by age 15, 88 percent of youths in England will have tried either alcohol, illegal drugs or tobacco. "While the fall in children experimenting with drugs is welcome, the percentage of children trying drugs is still shockingly high," said Liberal Democrat Health Secretary Norman Lamb.