Post on 19-Jun-2015
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