Smoking, drinking and drug use by young people in England

What do we know?

20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Ever taken drugs

Drank alcohol in the past week

Regular smoker

Smoking, drinking and drug use are falling: trends among 14 year olds 1

We know smoking is falling among adults as well 2

16-19 20-24 25-34 35-49 50-59 60 and over

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%20012011

That binge drinking is falling among young adults (16-24) is less well known 2

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20110%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Men who drank more than 8 units on at least one day in past weekWomen who drank more than 6 units on at least one day in past week

What about illegal drugs?

Cannabis is by far the most common illegal drug among young people 1

Heroin

Tranquillise

rs

Ketamine

Amphetamines

Cocaine

Magic mush

rooms

Ecstasy

Poppers

Volatile substa

nces

Cannabis0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

12 years13 years14 years15 years

Used in past year

Illegal drug use has been falling (% using in past year, 11-15 yr olds)1

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

20110%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

Cannabis

Any stimulants

Glue, gas, aerosols or solvents

Any Class A drug

A similar pattern is seen among 16-24 year olds (past year use)

2001

/02

2002

/03

2003

/04

2004

/05

2005

/06

2006

/07

2007

/08

2008

/09

2009

/10

2010

/11

2011

/12

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Cannabis

Any stimulant drug

Any Class A drug

But many young people are still risking their health

1 in 7 13 year olds say they have been drunk at least twice.4

1 in 10 15-16 year olds have had unprotected sex after drinking.5

1 in 5 15 year olds smoked cannabis in the past year (and 1 in 20 took a Class A drug). 1

Ambulance services recorded 44 call outs each week to underage drinkers in London alone in 2009.6

Future wellbeing can also be affected Early drinking, particularly frequent drinking and binge

drinking increases the risk of alcohol problems in adulthood.7

The earlier someone starts smoking, the less likely they are to have successfully given up smoking in later life – and they are more likely to die earlier from a related condition or disease.8

Drinking once or twice a week has been associated with total GCSE scores around 20 points lower (equivalent to the difference between an A and an D in one subject).9

Drank in past

week - 28%

Used drugs in past month -

12%

Smoked in last week -

16%

All 15 year olds

No recent substance use - 64%

Smoking, drinking and drug use overlap1

Which young people are most at risk?

Risk factors7,10

Environmente.g. easy access to drugs; friends use drugs, smoke or drink frequently

Familye.g. family conflict;

parents don’t monitor activities; parents

smoke, drink heavily or use drugs

Personalitye.g. impulsive

personality; depression or stress; aggressive

personality

Own lifee.g. starts smoking,

drinking at early age; sexually active at early

age

Educatione.g. low

achievement; absence, truancy

and drop-out; little formal support

Protective factors7,10

Environmente.g. friends that

don’t drink or use drugs; positive

adult role models

Familye.g. good

relationship with parents; parents

supervise and monitor activities

Personalitye.g. thinks before

acting

Own lifee.g. starts smoking and

drinking at later age; religious values

Educatione.g. does well at school; gets on

well with teachers

What can schools do to help pupils stay safe? Find out more on http://mentor-adepis.org

References1. Fuller, E. (2012) Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England

in 2011. HSCIC2. Office for National Statistics (2013) General Lifestyle Survey, 20113. Home Office (2012) Drug misuse declared: findings from the 2011/12 Crime

Survey for England and Wales. Home Office4. WHO (2012) Health behaviours in school-aged children5. ESPAD (2009) The 2007 ESPAD report6. Alcohol Concern (2010) Right time, right place. Alcohol harm reduction strategies

with children and young people. Alcohol Concern7. Donaldson, L. (2009) Guidance on the consumption of alcohol by children and

young people. Department of Health8. Jit, M. et al. (2009) School-based interventions to prevent the uptake of smoking

among children and young people: cost-effectiveness model. NICE9. Green, R. and Ross, A. (2010) Young people’s alcohol consumption and its

relationship to other outcomes and behaviour. National Centre for Social Research10. Dillon, L., et al. (2007) Risk, protective factors and resilience to drug use:

identifying resilient young people and learning from their experiences. Home Office