Research Report: Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People in England in 2014
Charlotte Goddard
Monday, August 31, 2015
This research aims to provide an annual picture of young people's attitudes to and participation in smoking, drinking and drug-taking, including links between smoking, drinking and drug use.
Author NatCen Social Research and the National Foundation for Educational Research, edited by Elizabeth Fuller
Published by The Health and Social Care Information Centre, July 2015
SUMMARY
The emphasis of the 2014 survey was on smoking and drinking while still containing some information on drugs. For the first time it included questions on e-cigarettes, waterpipe tobacco smoking, legal highs and energy drinks. The questionnaire was completed by 6,173 pupils, mostly between the ages of 11 and 15, in secondary schools in England in the autumn term of 2014.
According to the research findings, fewer 11- to 15-year-olds tried smoking in 2014 than in any year since the survey began in 1982. Less than one in five 11- to 15-year-olds - 18 per cent - said they had smoked at least once, compared with 42 per cent in 1982. Three per cent of pupils reported they smoked at least one cigarette a week.
Young people who smoked were most likely to obtain cigarettes from other people (64 per cent) while almost half (46 per cent) said they bought cigarettes in shops despite it being against the law for shops to sell cigarettes to under-18s. The proportion of pupils who tried to buy cigarettes in a shop fell from 10 per cent in 2008 to four per cent in 2014. Young people are less likely to condone smoking than they were in the past. In 2014, 26 per cent thought it was okay to try smoking to see what it was like compared with 48 per cent in 2003.
More than a fifth of pupils - 22 per cent - had used e-cigarettes at least once, rising to 89 per cent among pupils who smoked cigarettes regularly. E-cigarette use was considerably lower among pupils who had never smoked at just 11 per cent. One in 10 pupils had used waterpipe tobacco at least once.
The consumption of alcohol among young people is also falling with 38 per cent saying they had tried alcohol at least once - the lowest proportion since the survey began. Eight per cent had drunk alcohol in the last week. This increased with age. One per cent of 11-year-olds reported they had drunk alcohol in the past week but that was 18 per cent among 15-year-olds. Pupils who drank alcohol were most likely to say they usually did so in their own home (56 per cent), someone else's home (43 per cent) or at parties with friends (46 per cent).
The use of drugs among young people is declining, but more slowly than it did between 2001 and 2010. In 2014, 15 per cent of pupils had taken drugs, 10 per cent had taken drugs in the last year, and six per cent had taken drugs in the last month. As in previous years, pupils were more likely to have taken cannabis than any other drug, with 6.7 per cent taking cannabis in the last year. Six per cent of pupils said they had been offered legal highs while 2.5 per cent said they had taken legal highs, including two per cent who had taken them in the last year.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Pupils were most likely to recall lessons on drugs (59 per cent) than to recall lessons on smoking (55 per cent) or alcohol (53 per cent). The proportions of pupils recalling lessons on smoking and alcohol were lower than in previous years, suggesting lessons on these subjects may need to be rethought. Schools may also need to increase the amount of information they give about drug use and alcohol, as pupils were more likely to think their schools gave them enough information about smoking (60 per cent) than about drinking alcohol (56 per cent) or drug use (54 per cent).
FURTHER READING
Local Variations in Youth Drinking Cultures, Marion Roberts, Tim Townshend, Ilaria Pappalepore, Adam Eldridge and Budhi Mulyawan, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, August 2012. This study explores the lives of young people aged 15 to 24 in two areas where the harm caused by alcohol is markedly different.
Effectiveness of School-based Life-skills and Alcohol Education Programmes: A Review of the Literature, Kerry Martin, Julie Nelson, Sarah Lynch, National Foundation for Educational Research, September 2013. A literature review exploring the impact of alcohol education on children's knowledge and attitudes to alcohol.
Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, February 2015. A briefing paper on the effectiveness of preventative programmes, particularly those aimed at young people.