The number of 16 and 17-year-olds being treated for drug addiction has soared by 30 per cent in two years.
And cocaine is fast catching up with cannabis as the drug of choice for teenagers, figures out today show.
There were 7,857 youngsters aged 16 and 17 on drug treatment programmes in England in 2007/08 - up from 6,058 the year before.
Worryingly, there was also a significant increase in the number of under-16s receiving treatment, up 17 per cent to 6,840.
The statistics, released by the National Treatment Agency, showed that cannabis was still the most popular drug among the under-18s, with 12,865 of this age group treated for its misuse.
However, there has also been a huge rise in the number treated for cocaine addiction. Some 861 were treated last year for cocaine, up 67 per cent.
Cocaine has now overtaken heroin in the league of drugs, while small numbers were treated for crack, amphetamines and ecstasy.
The figures back up the findings of an international study by the World Health Organisation which showed that British children lead the Western world in both drug addiction and alcohol misuse.
LibDem health spokesman Norman Lamb said: 'The horror is that cocaine is fast becoming a fashionable drug of choice even for the under-18s.
'There is an unfortunate sense that because of the glitterati interest in cocaine, there is a real risk it is being seen as acceptable - More needs to be done to get across the fact that the health consequences are horrific.'
A spokesman for drug charity Addaction said: 'Cocaine is relatively cheap and easily available, so it is not surprising to us that more young people are in treatment for cocaine use.'
The National Treatment Agency figures show that overall the number of people being treated is higher than ever.
Across all ages in 2007/08, a record 202,666 were treated, a rise of 4 per cent on the previous year.
The agency was set up in 2001 to improve the availability and effectiveness of drug misuse treatment. But there are questions over whether the drug treatment programmes it promotes and funds are effective.
The figures show that very few people of all ages entering treatment programmes in England left them cured of their addiction.
Only 11 per cent of the 69,612 discharged from treatment during the year left because they were drug-free. This meant they had overcome their dependency on the drug they were treated for, were not using any other illegal drugs, and some were also meeting demands imposed on them not to use alcohol.
Mr Lamb said: 'The Government is losing the fight against drugs. There needs to be a National Audit Office investigation into the cost effectiveness of current treatment.
'The current record of failure is disastrous both for those in treatment and the wider community, who are placed at risk because of the close links between drug addiction and crime.'
Tory home affairs spokesman Dominic Grieve said the drug treatment budget had risen by £145million since 2004. But despite this, the proportion of addicts going clean had risen by only 5 per cent. continues here
And cocaine is fast catching up with cannabis as the drug of choice for teenagers, figures out today show.
There were 7,857 youngsters aged 16 and 17 on drug treatment programmes in England in 2007/08 - up from 6,058 the year before.
Worryingly, there was also a significant increase in the number of under-16s receiving treatment, up 17 per cent to 6,840.
The statistics, released by the National Treatment Agency, showed that cannabis was still the most popular drug among the under-18s, with 12,865 of this age group treated for its misuse.
However, there has also been a huge rise in the number treated for cocaine addiction. Some 861 were treated last year for cocaine, up 67 per cent.
Cocaine has now overtaken heroin in the league of drugs, while small numbers were treated for crack, amphetamines and ecstasy.
The figures back up the findings of an international study by the World Health Organisation which showed that British children lead the Western world in both drug addiction and alcohol misuse.
LibDem health spokesman Norman Lamb said: 'The horror is that cocaine is fast becoming a fashionable drug of choice even for the under-18s.
'There is an unfortunate sense that because of the glitterati interest in cocaine, there is a real risk it is being seen as acceptable - More needs to be done to get across the fact that the health consequences are horrific.'
A spokesman for drug charity Addaction said: 'Cocaine is relatively cheap and easily available, so it is not surprising to us that more young people are in treatment for cocaine use.'
The National Treatment Agency figures show that overall the number of people being treated is higher than ever.
Across all ages in 2007/08, a record 202,666 were treated, a rise of 4 per cent on the previous year.
The agency was set up in 2001 to improve the availability and effectiveness of drug misuse treatment. But there are questions over whether the drug treatment programmes it promotes and funds are effective.
The figures show that very few people of all ages entering treatment programmes in England left them cured of their addiction.
Only 11 per cent of the 69,612 discharged from treatment during the year left because they were drug-free. This meant they had overcome their dependency on the drug they were treated for, were not using any other illegal drugs, and some were also meeting demands imposed on them not to use alcohol.
Mr Lamb said: 'The Government is losing the fight against drugs. There needs to be a National Audit Office investigation into the cost effectiveness of current treatment.
'The current record of failure is disastrous both for those in treatment and the wider community, who are placed at risk because of the close links between drug addiction and crime.'
Tory home affairs spokesman Dominic Grieve said the drug treatment budget had risen by £145million since 2004. But despite this, the proportion of addicts going clean had risen by only 5 per cent. continues here
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