Pupils take stock of risks

Most of Us, a social influence initiative between schools and NHS Forth Valley, challenges perceptions of activities like smoking, taking drugs and drinking.

Pupils from across the area, including those from Denny High and Falkirk High, asked their classmates if they had been involved with risky behaviour in the last month while also recording how many of their peers they thought had taken part in the activities in the same period.

The results showed young people tended to overestimate how many of their classmates were taking part in risky behaviour and proved the majority were not actually smoking, drinking alcohol or taking drugs.

Theresa Campbell of NHS Forth Valley, said: “This is a simple yet effective way of preventing youngsters from involvement in risky activities.”