Teens on P.E.I. are likely using more prescription painkillers than a new student drug survey suggests, says the report's lead author.

'In the comments they were telling us about the use of Advil and regular Tylenol.'— Dr. Linda Van Til

The study reported about six per cent of the 3,000 junior high and high school students surveyed said they used  prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet and Tylenol 3.

That differs dramatically from the results of a similar survey in Ontario that were also released this week. It suggests 21 per cent of students in that province used those drugs to get high.

The P.E.I. and Ontario surveys used the same question, leaving Island officials trying to explain why their published figures are so much lower.

"They did report about 20 per cent use, but in the comments they were telling us about the use of Advil and regular Tylenol which made it difficult for us to be definitive about just what kind of painkillers they were talking about," Dr. Linda Van Til, who headed the study for the P.E.I. Department of Health, told CBC News Wednesday.

After considering the issue, the authors of the P.E.I. study concluded many students were confused between prescription drugs and those sold over-the-counter.

Van Til said she thinks the real number is somewhere in the middle, which would make the Island numbers higher than what's being reported. She said it's likely smaller surveys will be taken to try to come up with an accurate number.

Officials who conducted the Ontario student drug survey are standing behind their numbers.