Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2004 Headline Figures
The main purpose of this survey was to continue to monitor smoking, drinking and drug use among secondary school children aged 11-15. Just under 10,000 pupils in 313 schools in England completed questionnaires in the autumn term of 2004 (N=9715).
Summary
- Nine percent of pupils aged 11-15 were regular smokers in 2004, the same proportion as in 2003 and a decrease from 10% in 2002.
- The proportion of pupils who drank in the last week was 23% in 2004, a decrease from 25% in 2003.
- Eighteen percent of pupils had taken drugs in the last year in 2004, down from 21% in 2003.
- Ten percent of pupils had taken drugs in the last month in 2004, a decrease from 12% in 2003.
Smoking
The government has set a target in the Smoking Kills White Paper to reduce the prevalence of smoking among young people aged 11- 15 from a baseline of 13% in 1996 to 11% by 2005 and 9% or less by 2010.
Results from this survey include:
- The prevalence of regular smoking (at least one cigarette a week) in 2004 was 9%, unchanged from 2003 and down from 10% in 2002. Regular smoking fell to 9% in 1999 and has remained at between 9% and 10% since.
- The prevalence of smoking increased sharply with age: 1% of 11 year olds smoked regularly compared with 21% of 15 year olds.
- Following the trend found in previous years, girls were more likely than boys to be regular smokers: 10% of girls compared with 7% of boys.
- There was a higher prevalence of smoking among girls than boys for pupils aged 14 and 15. Fourteen percent of 14 year old girls and 26 percent of 15 year old girls said they were regular smokers, compared with 11 percent of 14 year old boys and 16 percent of 15 year old boys.
Drinking
The survey measures the prevalence of drinking in the last week and the amount of alcohol drunk. Key findings include:
- The prevalence of drinking alcohol in the last week declined from 25% in 2003 to 23% in 2004. This figure had previously increased over time from 20% in 1988 to 27% in 1996, and has since fluctuated within this range, showing no clear pattern over recent years.
- For the first time since data has been collected, no difference was found between boys and girls in the prevalence of drinking alcohol in the last week (23%). Previous surveys in this series have shown that boys were more likely than girls to have drunk alcohol in the last week.
- As with cigarette smoking, prevalence of drinking increased with age: in 2004, 4% of all pupils aged 11 had had an alcoholic drink in the last week, while 45% of 15 year olds had done so.
The average weekly consumption among pupils who drank in the last 7 days increased from 5.3 units in 1990 to 9.9 units in 1998, and has fluctuated around this level since then, showing no clear pattern. In 2004, the average weekly consumption among pupils who drank was 10.7 units.
In contrast to previous years, the average weekly consumption of alcohol by girls who drank was at a similar level to that of boys. Among those who drank, girls drank an average of 10.2 units in the previous 7 days in 2004, compared with 11.3 units among boys. As in previous years, the mean weekly alcohol consumption of those who drank was higher among older pupils: 15 year olds drank an average of 12.9 units in the previous 7 days compared with 7.8 units among 11-13 year olds.
Drug use
The individual drugs / categories of drugs covered in the questionnaire are: anabolic steroids, cannabis, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, heroin, LSD, magic mushrooms, methadone, poppers, speed and other amphetamines, tranquillisers, volatile substances such as gas, glue and other solvents, and "other" drugs (not obtained from a doctor or chemist). The survey provides estimates of the prevalence of drug use in 2004. The main findings include:
- In 2004, 10% of pupils had taken drugs in the last month. This was a decrease from 12% recorded each year from 2001 to 2003. Similarly, 18% percent of pupils had taken drugs in the last year, down from 21% in 2003.
- The prevalence of taking drugs in the last year and the last month was slightly higher among boys than girls. In 2004, 18% of boys had taken drugs in the last year and 11% in the last month. Equivalent figures for girls were 17% and 9%. This difference was found in earlier surveys.
- As in previous years, the prevalence of drug taking in the last year increased with age, from 5% of 11 year olds to 32% of 15 year olds.
- One percent of pupils said they took drugs most days, a further 1% took drugs at least once a week, and a further 3% took drugs at least once a month.
Findings on taking individual drugs include:
- In 2004, as in previous years of the survey, pupils were far more likely to take cannabis than any other drug. Eleven percent of pupils aged 11-15 had taken cannabis in the last year, compared with 13% each year from 2003, 2002 and 2001. Prevalence of taking cannabis in the last year was slightly higher among boys (12%) than girls (10%), and also increased sharply with age: 1% of 11 year olds had taken the drug in the last year compared with 26% of 15 year olds.
- Six percent reported taking volatile substances such as gas, glue, aerosols or solvents in the last year in 2004, compared with 8% in 2003 and 6% in 2002.
- Three percent reported sniffing poppers in the last year in 2004, broadly consistent with the proportion found in 2003 and 2002.
- Among 11 and 12 year olds, misuse of volatile substances such as gas, glue, aerosols or solvents in the last year was more common than taking cannabis, following the trend seen in previous years. Four percent of 11 year olds had sniffed volatile substances in the last year and 1% had taken cannabis. The equivalent figures for 12 year olds were 5% and 2%.
- The prevalence of Class A drug use in the last year (4%) has remained stable since 2001. In the last year, 1% of 11-15 year olds had taken heroin and 1% had taken cocaine.
Downloads
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