Cocaine is becoming increasingly popular among Maltese youngsters especially due to the glamorous way it is portrayed in the media and because it is used for partying, according to various experts of substance abuse.

The experts were asked for their comments in the wake of a recent EU-wide survey which found that the Maltese are more prone than youngsters in most other countries to consider cocaine easy to obtain and to pose no serious health risk. The results of the Eurobarometer survey were published in The Times last week.

Prof. Richard Muscat, chairman of the National Commission on the Abuse of Alcohol, Drugs and other Dependencies, pointed out that, since drug users defend their drug of choice by downplaying its health risks, the survey's findings could indicate a growth of cocaine use among Maltese youngsters.

"It is a well known fact that in the bathrooms of many nightclubs one can find white powder on the shelves of mirrors," Prof. Muscat said.

Marilyn Clark, a psychologist specialising in addiction and criminality, said that while heroin has a bad reputation, cocaine is considered by many to be a fun party drug without consequences.

"In the last decade, drug use all over Europe has stabilised, but cocaine is still on the increase," she said.

In the survey, heroin too was perceived to be relatively easy to obtain in Malta compared to most other EU member states.

But Dr Clark said that this finding does not necessarily reflect the true accessibility of hard drugs since the study dealt only with the perceptions of young people.

She said many of the respondents would never have tried to acquire the harder drugs so they would not be fully aware of the difficulties involved.

Conversely, when it came to cannabis, the ease of access was perceived to be relatively low but Dr Clark suggested that this was because many of the respondents would have actually experienced difficulties in acquiring the drug.

Both Prof. Muscat and Dr Clark highlighted that cannabis does not seem to be a major problem in Malta since it is not commonly used for partying and since the survey indicated relatively high awareness among the Maltese of its negative effects.

Prof. Muscat called for a drug and alcohol coordination unit to be set up within the Ministry of Social Policy as was promised by the government and outlined in its drug policy.

He added that, since Malta is a small island, better security technology and more surveillance should be able to reduce drug trafficking substantially since drugs can only be brought into Malta by sea or air.

The experts agreed that the infrastructure for drug rehabilitation is of a very high standard in Malta, with enough detox centres to meet the demand, and many users coming forward relatively quickly.

The survey also found the Maltese to be the third most fearless of the consequences of consuming tobacco and alcohol, with only 19 per cent of young people thinking that tobacco poses a high health risk and only 11 per cent thinking the same of alcohol.

Caritas director Mgr Victor Grech expressed his concern that tobacco and alcohol are social habits that the Maltese are all exposed to from a young age.

"Many of us don't know how to enjoy ourselves without alcohol, and this has serious consequences. We have 15-year-olds addicted to alcohol, and a very high rate of teenage drunkenness."

Mgr Grech thinks the key to winning the battle against drugs is to strengthen education through personal and social life skills taught in school, as well as having good parent models.

He also feels that it is important to have more serious penalties imposed on drug traffickers and pushers, whereas users should be given the chance to rehabilitate - especially when it comes to first-time offenders who are underage.

According to Mgr Grech, most young people are very aware of drugs but there is still a subculture of drug and alcohol abuse, instigated by peer pressure. This is very difficult to combat and in fact it militates against the education and awareness programmes.

Sedqa, the government agency handling drug prevention and rehabilitation services, said that other factors can militate against education, reiterating its position against the energy drink Cocaine that it says gives a distorted message to teenagers.

Sedqa proudly pointed out that 59 per cent of Maltese respondents in the survey - the highest percentage among the participating countries - replied that they had received information in the past year about the risks and effects of illicit drug use through media campaigns.

The agency also called for more diverse forms of alternative leisure activities in which young people can participate actively without resorting to substances, including alcohol.

Dr Clark said that alcohol and tobacco are the world's biggest killers and that there needs to be a shift of attention to these drugs because their damage is heavily underestimated.

She added that, when it comes to the other drugs, they cannot all be put in the same basket. When children are told that drugs "kill", and they experiment with a drug that does not kill them, they will become sceptical of all anti-substance-abuse messages.

She, therefore, underlined the need to empower young people with realistic and credible education about each specific drug.