Drinking, drugs and cigarettes not so cool for ‘teens’ these days

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDJul 29 2011

According to the latest figure, teenagers are increasingly turning their back on drink, drugs and smoking. The reports reveal that the number of young people indulging in the vices dropped in 2010, continuing a downward trend over the past seven years.

A survey of 7,300 pupils from 246 schools aged between 11 and 15 in England revealed that the proportion who have tried alcohol fell from 51 per cent to 45 per cent. Those who had smoked at least once dropped from 44 per cent in 2001 to 27 per cent, while 18 per cent had tried drugs at least once, down from 29 per cent. But of those who did drink in 2010, six out of ten said they consumed more than four units in the week.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, which carried out the study, said, “Our figures point to an increasingly intolerant attitude among young people in today's society when it comes to the use of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs… As well as a reduction in the percentage who say they partake in these behaviors, a shrinking number think that drinking and drunkenness is acceptable among their peers.” Just under a third said it was fine for someone their own age to drink alcohol once a week, compared with 46 per cent in 2003. Some 11 per cent thought it was acceptable to get drunk once a week, down by almost half from 20 per cent in 2003.

The NHS Information Centre said analysis of the data shows the fall in drinking among children in 2010 was ‘greater than expected’, and may be the start of a new trend. Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, said, “These figures are a hopeful sign that things may be moving in the right direction… They confirm that young people are not at the mercy of their urges and physical appetites, but are capable of exercising self-control and behaving in a responsible way… More responsible attitudes to alcohol and drugs will lead to improvements in the general physical and mental health of young people and lower rates of youth crime… They will also result in less casual sexual activity which, in turn, will be reflected in lower rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among young people.”

Colin Shevills, director of Balance, a peer support charity for alcohol abusers, said the overall drop in teenage drinking was encouraging. He said, “Our young people are setting us an example at a time when almost half of men and a third of women admit to drinking above the Government’s recommended limits.” However, he pointed to worrying trends, including that girls now appear to be drinking more than boys and that the proportion of spirits being drunk is on the increase.

Chris Sorek, the chief executive of Drinkaware, said, “These statistics are not just encouraging because they show a drop in the number of children who have tried alcohol, but also because they show a positive shift in attitudes. To see that fewer children are tolerant of their peers drinking is an early sign of a change in the nation's drinking culture.”

Diane Abbott, Labour’s Shadow Public Health Minister, said, “These figures tell the story of some of the progress the last Labour government made in intervening early, and tackling some of the roots causes of substance abuse amongst our young people.” But she warned that the improvements could be lost as a result of the current Government’s controversial Responsibility Deal with drinks companies, among others. “We need to equip young people with the skills they need to resist peer pressure to go out drinking.”

The managing director of drinks giant Diageo GB, Simon Litherland, said, “It is encouraging to see that young people’s drinking continues to fall in line with the adult population over the last eight years. We continue to see that parents’ attitudes are crucial in whether young people choose to drink or not and that the attitudes of the young people themselves are becoming less tolerant towards drunkenness.”