Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People in England - 2005, Full report

The 2005 survey showed that 22 per cent of 11-15 year-olds had drunk alcohol in the last week, 11 per cent had taken drugs in the last month and 9 per cent were regular smokers (smoke at least one cigarette a week). The 2005 results were broadly similar to those in recent years.

Ninety per cent of 15-year-olds have tried smoking, drinking alcohol or taking drugs and 55 per cent of 15-year-olds reported doing one of them recently (smoked or drunk alcohol in the last week or taken drugs in the last month).

Drug use

• In 2005, 11 per cent of pupils aged 11 to 15 had taken drugs in the last month, a similar proportion to 2004 (10 per cent) and 2003 (12 per cent).
• Nineteen per cent of pupils had taken drugs in the last year, a slight increase from 2004 (18 per cent) and similar to 2003 (21 per cent).
• As in previous years of the survey, pupils were more likely to take cannabis than any other drug. Twelve per cent of pupils aged 11-15 had taken cannabis in the last year, similar to 11 per cent in 2004 and a decrease from 13 per cent in 2003.
• Seven per cent of pupils reported taking volatile substances in the last year, an increase from 6 per cent in 2004 but less than in 2003 (8 per cent).
• Four per cent of pupils had taken Class A drugs in the last year. This figure has not changed since 2001.
• Thirty-nine per cent of pupils had ever been offered drugs, an increase from 36 per cent in 2004.
• Pupils were more likely to report a good experience than a bad experience the first time they took drugs (46 per cent and 14 per cent respectively).

Smoking

• The prevalence of regular smoking (at least one cigarette a week) in 2005 was 9 per cent, this has remained stable, at between 9 per cent and 10 per cent, since 1999. Girls were more likely to be regular smokers than boys (10 per cent of girls, compared to 7 per cent of boys).

Drinking

• The proportion of pupils who drank alcohol in the last week was 22 per cent in 2005, a similar proportion to 2004. This proportion has varied between 20 per cent and 27 per cent since 1988.
• The proportion of pupils who had never had a drink was the highest ever measured by this survey at 42 per cent.
• The average consumption among pupils aged 11 to 15 who drank alcohol in the last 7 days increased from 5.3 units in 1990 to 10.4 units in 2000, and has fluctuated around this level since then. In 2005, the average weekly consumption was 10.5 units.