birthday cakes, almost two thirds of them will have experimented with alcohol.

And almost a quarter will have smoked marijuana.

Even at the tender age of ten, a quarter of those questioned in a recent National Drug Commission School Survey admitted they had tried alcohol.

But although the figures showed drug use among youths had dropped slightly since 1994, NDC bosses called on parents not to tolerate the "dangerous dabbling'' which could lead to lifelong habits.

But they described the improvements as "encouraging''.

More than 3,400 public and private school students participated in the study which included youths from 13 middle and secondary schools.

It found that fewer students were now experimenting with alcohol up to the age of 16.

In 1994, a massive 70 percent of those questioned ticked the yes box but that has now dropped down to 62 percent.

Similarly for marijuana, just 22 percent of 16-year-olds questioned had dabbled with it, less than the 28 percent of youths who had experimented back in the 1994 study.

Nine percent of ten-year-olds had smoked tobacco but that grew to 29 percent by their 16th birthdays.

National Drug Commission prevention officer Calvin Ming said parents should not think dabbling with drugs was a "normal'' part of being a teenager since it could pose serious dangers for children.

"I would like to warn parents that drug experimentation is not just a phase of growing up,'' he said.

"Research shows very clearly now that the earlier young people get involved with drugs, whether it be alcohol, tobacco or marijuana, the more likely they are to have problems with drugs later in life.

"Also, parents and youth need to understand that no drug is harmless.

"It is critical therefore that we take measures to ensure that our youth do not begin to experiment with drugs during the teen years.''