ELEVEN to 15-year-olds in the North-East are the most likely in the country to smoke and drink alcohol, according to a national survey.

North-East youngsters are also the most liable to have tried smoking.

The statistics are contained in a new report from the NHS Information Centre.

But it also shows that the same age group in the North-East are among the least likely in the country to use cannabis.

Young people in the North-West are the most likely to take drugs, closely followed by those in Yorkshire and the Humber and the West Midlands.

The study, called Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People in England, is based on information collected over three years, beginning in 2006.

On smoking, the report shows that 42 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds in the North-East had smoked at least once in their lives, the highest percentage in the country.

At ten per cent, the North-East also had the highest percentage in the age group who were regular smokers.

By contrast, 31 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds in London had smoked at least once in their lives, the lowest percentage of any region in England.

London also had the smallest percentage who were regular smokers – smoking at least one cigarette a week – at five per cent.

Young people in the age group in the North-East were the most likely to have ever drunk alcohol, with 63 per cent admitting they had had a drink.

The North-East also had the highest percentage who had drunk alcohol in the previous week (26 per cent).

The average amount of alcohol consumed by 11 to 15-year-olds who had had a drink in the previous week also varied by region.

It was the highest in the North-East (17.7 units) and lowest in London (11.3 units).

The proportion who had taken cannabis, the most commonly used drug, varied from eight per cent in the North-East to 12 per cent in the North-West.

Professor Stephen Singleton, medical director at NHS North-East, said: “An alcohol and smoke-free lifestyle is by far the healthiest option for children.

It is vitally important parents and carers guide young people appropriately so they understand the health risks of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption and, most importantly, grow up to be responsible for their own health and wellbeing”