Tobacco use
Alcohol use
Where do young people drink?
What do young people drink?
Reflection
Tobacco use
Males and females of all ages have similar patterns of tobacco use (see Figure 2).Figure 2: Tobacco use, 14-29-year-olds 2001 (percent)
(Source: National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 2001.)
a Never smoked more than 100 cigarettes or the equivalent amount of tobacco.
b Ex-smoker: smoked at least 100 cigarettes (manufactured and/or roll your own) or the equivalent tobacco in their life, but reported no longer smoking.
Text version of Figure 2
Figures in this description are approximate as they have been read from the graph.14-19 year olds % | 20-29 year olds % | |
---|---|---|
Males - never smoked a full cigarettea | 76 | 51 |
Females - never smoked a full cigarettea | 76 | 51 |
Males - ex smokersb | 4 | 12 |
Females - ex smokersb | 4 | 18 |
Males - weekly | 2 | 3 |
Females - weekly | 2 | 2 |
Males - daily | 14 | 28 |
Females - daily | 17 | 24 |
Alcohol use
Significant numbers of young people consume alcohol on a regular basis, with females consuming less than males (see Figure 3).Men of all ages drink more alcohol than women. However, young people drink significantly more than the general population.
Figure 3: Alcohol use, 14-29-year-olds, 2001 (percent)
(Source: National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 2001.)
Top of pageText version of Figure 3
Figures in this description are approximate as they have been read from the graph.14-19 year olds % | 20-29 year olds % | |
---|---|---|
Males - Never consumed a full glass | 22 | 4 |
Females - Never consumed a full glass | 22 | 4 |
Males - ? | 4 | 2 |
Females - ? | 3 | 4 |
Males - Occasional, less than weekly | 41 | 32 |
Femals - Occasional, less than weekly | 48 | 46 |
Males - ? | 1 | 4 |
Females - ? | 1 | 2 |
Figure 4: Amount of alcohol usually consumed: proportion of recent drinkers aged 14-29 years, by age and sex, compared to all ages
Text version of Figure 4
Figures in this description are approximate as they have been read from the graph.Males % | Females % | |
---|---|---|
Low risk | 28 | 14 |
Low to medium risk | 29 | 15 |
Medium to high risk | 42 | 27 |
High risk | 44 | 28 |
Figure 5: Consumption by age and sex
(Source: National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 2001.)
Text version of Figure 5
Figures in this description are approximate as they have been read from the graph.Males % | Females % | |
---|---|---|
14-19 years - Abstainee | 27 | 26 |
20-29 years - Abstainee | 64 | 12 |
14-19 years - Low | 6 | 10 |
20-29 years - Low | 2 | 4 |
14-19 years - Risky | 8 | 60 |
20-29 years - Risky | 77 | 74 |
14-19 years - High risk | 9 | 10 |
20-29 years - High risk | 3 | 3 |
Where do young people drink?
Task - writing exercise
Question - What are the most likely places for young people to consume alcohol?Answer - (Write your answer, then check the possible answers page.)
What do young people drink?
Young men (14-18-year-olds) drink mainly beer and spirits, whilst young women drink a high proportion of pre-mixed drinks such as UDL, coolers and spirits. Young people tend not to drink wine.Reflection
Task - writing exercise
Question - Do the facts and figures presented in the tables and graphs in this section fit with your experience of working with young people in your area? What similarities exist? What differences can you identify and why might these differences exist?Question - Many of the statistics indicate that young women are catching up with young men in their use of cigarettes and alcohol. Is this reflected in your work with young people? Can you suggest some reasons why this might be happening?
Question - Over the past 10 years the level of advertising for alcohol and cigarettes has been greatly reduced. Does advertising still have a significant effect on young people? Why?