PROGRAMME customised to individual schools was described at the EU conference by Wolfgang Arnhold, of the Ministry of Education in the German state of Schleswig Holstein. It has been going successfully since 1994.

The Transparent School programme is designed especially for each school, based on the actual addiction behaviour of pupils, teachers and, partly, parents. Up to now 28 schools with 6,400 pupils and 420 teachers have taken part.

It is set up only in schools which ask for it and begins with a questionnaire, which is completed anonymously by all pupils and by all teachers. The answers are analysed by external experts and the results are then discussed by representatives of all pupils and all staff. A special addiction programme for the school is then prepared with all groups in the school sharing responsibility.

Most problem areas are found to be gender specific. Individual risks of addiction are variable according to personal development. Each target group can be divided into sub groups according to risk of addiction. The type of school and ages of pupils would indicate specific risks to addiction.

Evaluation of this programme is still going on, but some results have been established. Television and smoking are problem areas which can be influenced by parents. In some schools there appear to be certain groups which need secondary measures against hashish, tobacco and alcohol.

Other results show that activities to do with alcohol, smoking and drugs are meaningful only after the age of 15 years. Alcohol and drugs seem to be areas of substance abuse where boys are more active.