Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England, 2021

This part sets the context for alcohol consumption among young people.

It includes:

• drinking among other household members.
• perceived parental attitudes to drinking.
• pupils’ attitudes towards what is acceptable for someone of their own age.
• beliefs about why people of their age drink alcohol.
• perceptions of how many people of their age drink alcohol.
• sources of helpful information about drinking.

When last drank alcohol, by number of household members who drink alcohol

Pupils who lived with people who drank alcohol were more likely to drink alcohol themselves.

Only 1% of pupils who lived with only non-drinkers had drunk alcohol in the last week, compared to 9% who lived with two drinkers, and 22% where they lived with three or more drinkers.

There was a similar pattern for the proportion of pupils who had ever drunk alcohol.

For more data relating to this section:

Table 7.1, Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people, 2021

Perceived parental disapproval of pupil drinking, by age

49% of pupils said their parents did not, or would not like them to drink alcohol.

Perceived parental disapproval of their drinking decreased as the age of pupils increased; 63% of 11 and 12 year old pupils said their parents would disapprove, falling to 28% for 15 year olds.

Nearly half (48%) of 15 year olds, and nearly a third (32%) of 14 year olds, thought it was OK to drink alcohol once a week. 19% of 15 year olds thought it was OK to get drunk once a week (see table 7.11).

63% of pupils believe alcohol only harms people who drink a lot, though 79% did agree that it increased the risk of developing cancer (see table 7.14).

For more data relating to this section:

Tables 7.2 to 7.14, Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people, 2021

Pupil perceptions of how many people of their own age drink alcohol, by year (15 year olds only)

In 2021, the proportion of 15 year olds who reported usually drinking at least once a month was 36%. 14% usually drank at least weekly (see data table 5.7).

45% of 15 year olds believed that most (but not all) people their own age drink alcohol, with a further 25% saying about half.

24% significantly underestimated how many people their own age drink, believing that only a few or none did so. 

Perceptions for pupils of other ages and all pupils can be found in table 7.18.

For more data relating to this section:

Tables 7.15 to 7.19, Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people, 2021

Sources from which pupils have obtained helpful information about drinking alcohol

Pupils could give more than one answer. 

A large proportion of young people (77%) considered their parents to be a source of helpful information about drinking alcohol.

Teachers were the most commonly identified helpful source of information outside of the family setting (by 62% of pupils).

In relation to different forms of media, the Internet and television were the most popular sources; 57% and 53% respectively. Social media was mentioned by 48% of pupils. 

Some sources, like friends, TV, the Internet and social media became more common as pupils got older (see table 7.21). 

For more data relating to this section:

Tables 7.20 to 7.22, Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people, 2021

Last time drank alcohol, by family affluence score

See Appendix B for family affluence scoring methodology.

Pupils were more likely to have drunk alcohol, either in the last week or ever, if they had a higher family affluence score; 11% and 35% respectively for higher scoring pupils, compared with 6% and 25% for lower scoring pupils.

For more data relating to this section:

Table 7.23, Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people, 2021