Many young people believe their parents "did drugs"

According to a new survey carried out in the UK one in five young people think their parents "did drugs".

The survey by the drug and alcohol charity Addaction has revealed that one in ten of those think their parents still take them, but only 1% of parents questioned think their own children take drugs.

The poll found that over half of young people said their parents "understand about drugs" which suggests that the present generation of parents are more familiar with drugs than in the past, because they grew up in the "rave generation" of the 1980s.

Addaction says while this should provide the basis for more realistic discussions between parents and children about drugs, the concern is that the demonisation of such issues often means the debate takes place in a moral panic.

Addaction is launching a £10 million appeal to respond to the scale of drug and alcohol abuse among young people in the UK.

Despite this of the young people polled, 90% described themselves as being "against drugs" and nine in ten also say they feel "little or no pressure" to take drugs when with friends - only one in ten said celebrities taking drugs seem "cool".

Two thirds of parents however are concerned about the impact of this on their children and believe illegal drug use among young people is increasing - 83% said parents "don't take enough responsibility" for their children's behaviour.

However only 8% of young people said they would be likely to tell their parents if they were using drugs, with two in three preferring to confide in friends.

Deborah Cameron the chief executive of Addaction says as many as one in six families are now affected by a family member's problem drug use and a much more open dialogue within families about drugs and alcohol is called for.

Addaction is also appealing for £10m to provide programmes to support young street drinkers, young people at risk of exclusion from school and children who are living with drug- or alcohol-dependent parents.