This document summarizes survey results from 2014 on smoking, drinking, and drug use among young people in England. Key findings include: - Girls were more likely to smoke and perceive that more of their peers smoke than boys. Regular smokers were more likely to rely on siblings and social media for information than non-smokers. - The percentage of 15-year olds who drank alcohol in the last week remained steady from 2010 to 2014. Girls were more likely to perceive that more of their peers drank alcohol than boys. - As pupils got older, they increasingly drank alcohol with friends at parties rather than at home. Young drinkers used the internet and social media more for alcohol information than non-drinkers.

1. Smoking, drinking and drug use
among young people in England
2014:
A summary for schools
Ian Macdonald
September 2015
@IanA_Mac

2. Survey
• Annual survey published by HSCIC
• Large sample asked questions around pupil
behaviours and attitudes
• Alternately asks further questions on drug use one
year, and smoking and drinking the next
• This year is smoking and drinking

3. Ever tried smoking, by age and sex
2014
8
14
20
32
5
14 8
37
0
18
35
53
70
88
12 13 14 15
Percentage
Age
Boys Girls

4. Regular smokers by sex and age 2010-
2014
10
11
10
8
6
14
11
10
8
9
0
3.5
7
10.5
14
17.5
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Percentage
Year
Boys Girls

5. Awareness of e-cigarettes 2014
80
86
89
91
95
80
84
89
92
90
67.5
75
82.5
90
97.5
11 12 13 14 15
Percentage
Age
Boys Girls

6. E-cigarette use by age, 2014
88
80
70
65
9
13
20 22
1 2 4 41 1 2 31 4 4 6
0
22.5
45
67.5
90
112.5
12 13 14 15
Percentage
Age
Never used Tried it Occasional Regular Used to

7. E-cigarettes
• Unsurprisingly awareness of e-cigarettes increases
with age
• However, the nature of this awareness is not qulified
as being via a trusted information source or not
• E-cigarette use is still low, and again the data does
not show whether those using e-cigarettes are doing
so to stop. This could be a source for further
investigation at local levels

8. Perception of how many of pupil's age
smoke (15 yr old), 2014
1 1
12
20
23
34
59
43
5
2
0
15
30
45
60
75
Boys Girls
Perception(%)

9. Smoking
• This data shows a difference between perception of
peer smoking behaviour between girls and boys
• Girls perceive more of their peers are smoking,
which correlates with the higher numbers smoking
overall
• The data can't determine which direction this
correlation travels, although adopting normative
techniques in PSHE delivery could help determine
this over time

10. Sources of useful information by
smoking status, 2014
68 70
75
39
34
28
55
66
71
41 43
24
36
52
48
65 64
60
57
54
39
0
20
40
60
80
Regular smoker Occasional smoker Non-smoker
Percentage

11. Smoking
• This data shows differences in how pupils access
what they perceive to be 'useful information'
according to whether they smoke or not
• Non-smokers gravitate towards more traditional
sources such as parents and teachers, while
smokers show an increased reliance on siblings,
youth workers, and interestingly social media
• This has implications for tailoring information being
delivered at universal and targeted levels

12. Proportion of 15 year olds who have
drunk alcohol in the last week 2010-14
29 29
25 25
20
30
27
26
19
17
10
15
20
25
30
35
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Percentage
Year

13. Whether 15 year olds drink energy drinks
and alcohol at the same time, 2014
11
22
76
61
13
17
0
20
40
60
80
Boys Girls

14. Where pupils usually drink by age, 2014
60
54
64
53
21
32
38
41
17
28
35
57
10
19
12
12
0 17.5 35 52.5 70
11-12
13
14
15
Percentage

15. Perception of how many of pupils age drink (15
year olds), 2014
7 6
47
53
25
29
18
9
4
2
0
15
30
45
60
Boys Girls

16. Sources of useful information about
alcohol by drinking status, 2014
79 81
72
45
39
26
63
67 65
29 29
22
46 48 45
67 65
5255
50
30
0
22.5
45
67.5
90
Drunk in last week Has drunk; not in last week Never drunk

17. Alcohol
• As with smoking, girls perceive more of their peers drink
than boys. This should have implications for producing
normative materials targeting girls
• There is a noticeable trend for pupils to drink with firends at
parties as they get older. While this is positive from a
general harm reducation perspective, this does have
implications for skills in assessing risk around fighting,
substance use and sex
• Young drinkers also show a tendency to use the internet
and social media for information about alcohol, which has
implications for universal and targeted provision