Why young people in the capital shun drink and drugs

Sorry to burst the bubble - I think London teenagers are just more likely to be lying. Everywhere in London the stench of stunk billows from hooded faces that are no more than 15.

It is hard to imagine that London is this sober. Especially the youth. Their is money and opportunity to drink and try substances. Although unlikely, if the data are accurate then you can expect all of the country to start sobering up. Diversity may be a huge influence in London's youths lack of abuse, since other cultures are not used to the early age of trying substances.

Londoners were always wimps - more drugs now for the northeners, who can handle it

I think that most people who are using drugs and that are drinking are the students at London's Universities. While drug use and alcoholism can be used throughout people's lifetimes, most of the people using it are in their early twenties. I believe that the people that are in their 30s are moving past this stage in their lives and starting to grow up. The student/college age is where this is found more common and where more people are experimenting rather than when they get to be 30 years old.

The survey seems encouraging, but is somewhat questionable. The article itself stated other surveys were clearly contradictory. It would also be most beneficial to know if the drinks were taken at home with parents or out with peers. And to reiterate previous comments, what area of London? How many youngsters were polled from each area? Were the questions leading? Did they encourage a certain response? Perhaps youngsters were intimidated or scared of the repercussions of a negative answer.

And that has nothing to do with the relative concentration of ethnic groups in your area?

I would say that the trend of higher use among people in their late teens and twenties, but not in their thirties, represents the students who attend London's universities, and also adventurous types from the rest of the country who seek fortune in the capital in things like music, fashion, art or entertainment (finance?) who are probably more likely to engage in drink and drugs. People in their thirties will more likely have either not made it and moved away or cleaned up their act.

Have these results been broken down via boroughs?

That would give a clearer ID of socio-economic and cultural factors.

Islam may forbid it but in the London borough where I live the vast majority of young people who misuse drugs are MUSLIM, the tuition center which educates pupils expelled from mainstream school is full to the rafters with Muslim kids smoking weed on a daily basis and the cannabis dealers are all Somalian Muslims, I feel in Ealing the positive influence is more likely to evolve from the the loving Hindu and Sikh communities

"London represents the future."

Of that I have no doubt. Islam forbids drinking alcohol and smoking, so as that religion spreads out from London to the rest of England, there can be little doubt that the Economist will note the trends of the decline in use of those substances while simultaneously failing to mention the real reason.