Drinking, smoking, and illicit drug use among 15 and 16 year olds in the United Kingdom

Abstract Objective : To examine patterns of self reported drinking, smoking, and illicit drug use among a representative United Kingdom sample of people born in 1979. Design : Cross sectional, single phase survey based on a stratified cluster sample of 70 United Kingdom secondary schools during March and April 1995. Pupils completed a 406 item standardised questionnaire under examination conditions. Setting : United Kingdom state and private secondary schools. Subjects : 7722 pupils aged 15 and 16. Main outcome measures : Reported use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. Results : Almost all the pupils had drunk alcohol, 36% (2772/7689) had smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days, and 42.3% (3264/7722) had at some time used illicit drugs, mainly cannabis. 43% (1546/3546) of boys and 38% (1529/4009) of girls had tried cannabis. Higher levels of smoking were associated with poorer school performance (20.4% (783/3840) with average performance v 44.1% (214/486) with below average performance, F = 79.06, P<0.01). Levels of drug use in 15 and 16 year olds in 1995 were higher in Scotland than in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Conclusions : Drug experimentation was high among 15 and 16 year olds, and use of cannabis was particularly high among smokers. Cigarette smoking was more common among girls than boys. Key messages More than 40% had tried illicit drugs at some time, mainly cannabis. This represents a sharp increase over the past five years Just over one third of the sample had smoked cigarettes in the previous 30 days and cigarette smoking was higher among girls than boys Higher levels of drug use were associated with poorer school performance Levels of illicit drug use tended to be higher in Scotland than in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland