YOUNGSTERS in Lancashire with drugs or alcohol problems are to be offered massages and acupuncture to get them to kick their habits.

The unusual move is all part of a radical overhaul of Lancashire's substance misuse services and will put into practice proven methods of tackling drug abuse.

Bosses at the drugs action team (DAT) hope the new approach will also quadruple the number of under-21s seen by substance misuse workers from 150, in the last 12 months, to 600 a year by the end of 2007.

The shake up, the biggest in a decade, will see £900,000 a year ploughed in to helping youngsters, and is the first time that a consistent approach to tackling youth drug problems in the county.

A spokesman for the DAT said it should end the postcode lottery for teenagers needing treatment for drug or alcohol abuse across the county.

Mark Hindle, chairman of Lancashire DAT, said: "It is a hard fact of modern life that young people, children, will experiment with alcohol and drugs.

"It is up to us and our partners to find new ways to deal with that reality."

Treatment services are planned to include one-to-one counselling and alternative therapies such as massage and acupuncture, he added.

Bosses at DAT said such treatments have been shown to be effective in combating stimulant misuse, alongside drug replacement programmes for serious addictions.

But Mr Hindle added: "Alcohol and drug use in young people is not something that can be addressed without the support of family, friends and the wider community.

"It is vital that we reach out to these youngsters and help them to help themselves before it is too late and they find themselves with addictions, with long term health problems, with criminal records or worse still dead."

He said part of the restructuring will involve building a more accurate assessment of what is being taken in different parts of the county so services can be organised more effectively.

Parents will also be offered support to deal with their child's problems.

The DAT acts as a commissioning body that buys in services from organisations that provide the treatments.