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Edited by Richard Boreham and Sarah Blenkinsop

A survey carried out on behalf of the Department of Health by the National Centre for Social Research and the National Foundation for Educational Research

Drug use, smoking & drinking amongyoung people in England in 2003

NatCenNational Centre for Social Research

Revised 17th December 2004

Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2003


Drug use, smoking anddrinking among young peoplein England in 2003

Edited by

Richard Boreham and Sarah Blenkinsop

Principal Authors

Sarah Blenkinsop, Richard Boreham, Joseph Hewton, Gemma Kothari,

Alice McGee, Alison Moody, Nadine Simmonds, Heather Wardle

LONDON: TSO


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Acknowledgements 7Notes to tables 7Summary of main findings 9

1 Introduction Richard Boreham 171.1 Background to the 2003 survey 171.2 Sample design and response rates 181.3 Changes to drug prevalence questions 191.4 Changes to questions checking whether pupils had taken any drugs 191.5 Changes to cigarette consumption questions 201.6 Changes to alcohol consumption questions 211.7 Definition of Class A drugs 221.8 How reliable are young people’s answers? 221.9 Precision of estimates 23

Tables 24

2 Prevalence of taking drugs Richard Boreham and Nadine Simmonds 272.1 Introduction 272.2 Prevalence of taking drugs in the last month, last year or ever 272.3 Types of drugs taken in the last year 292.4 Number of different types of drugs taken in the last year 312.5 Usual frequency of taking drugs 312.6 Number of occasions have ever taken drugs 322.7 Drugs tried on the first occasion 33

Tables 35

3 Awareness and knowledge of drugs Heather Wardle 553.1 Introduction 553.2 Awareness of drugs 553.3 Knowledge of drugs 573.4 Relationship between knowledge of drugs and drug taking behaviour 593.5 Pupils’ perceptions of their own knowledge about drugs 593.6 PSHE lessons in the last year 603.7 Lessons about drugs, by age 623.8 Relationships between lessons about drugs and knowledge of drugs 623.9 Lessons about drugs and drug taking behaviour 633.10 Views on what adults say about drugs 64

Tables 66

4 Availability of drugs Richard Boreham and Gemma Kothari 854.1 Introduction 854.2 The types of drugs pupils have been offered 854.3 The ease of accessing illegal drugs 874.4 Where and from whom drugs were obtained 884.5 Whether drugs were given free or paid for 90

Tables 92

5 Reasons for taking or refusing drugs Sarah Blenkinsop 1095.1 Introduction 1095.2 Trends in why pupils took drugs 1095.3 Why pupils took drugs 1105.4 Overall reactions to taking drugs 1135.5 Relationships between reaction to taking drugs and experience of drug taking 1145.6 How drugs made pupils feel 1165.7 Whether ever refused drugs 1185.8 Why pupils refuse drugs 1195.9 Physical and emotional concerns about taking drugs 1205.10 Social concerns about taking drugs 1215.11 General attitudes towards drugs 1235.12 Whether pupils want to stop taking drugs 124

Tables 126

Contents

6 Attitudes towards drug taking Sarah Blenkinsop 1536.1 Introduction 1536.2 Family views on drug taking 1536.3 Drug taking amongst peer groups 1556.4 Whether drug taking is an individual or group activity 1576.5 Attitudes to drug taking 1596.6 Attitudes towards people who sell or take drugs 162

Tables 165

7 Smoking Sarah Blenkinsop 1877.1 Classification of smoking behaviour 1877.2 Trends in the prevalence of ever having smoked 1887.3 Trends in the prevalence of regular smoking 1897.4 Smoking behaviour in relation to sex and age 1897.5 Number of cigarettes smoked in the last week 1907.6 Days on which cigarettes were smoked, by sex 1917.7 Days on which cigarettes were smoked by cigarette smoking status 192

Tables 194

8 Drinking Joseph Hewton and Alison Moody 2018.1 Introduction 2018.2 Whether pupils had ever drunk alcohol 2018.3 Prevalence of drinking in the last week 2028.4 Measurement of units of alcohol 2038.5 Average consumption among pupils who drank last week 2048.6 Types of alcoholic drinks 2058.7 Units of types of alcoholic drinks consumed in the last week 207

Tables 210

9 Relationships between use of cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis, volatile substances and Class A drugs Alice McGee 217

9.1 Ever used and recent use of substances 2179.2 Correlation coefficients between having ever taken substances 2189.3 Correlation coefficients between having recently taken substances 2199.4 Age of first use of substances 2199.5 Age of first use of Class A drugs relative to other substances 2209.6 Relationship between ever taking Class A drugs and age of first use of other substances 221

Tables 224

10 Ethnic group, receipt of free school meals, truanting and exclusions Sarah Blenkinsop 22710.1 Introduction 22710.2 Ethnic group 22710.3 Receipt of free school meals 22910.4 Truanting and exclusion from school 230

Tables 232

11 School policies Sarah Blenkinsop 23711.1 Introduction 23711.2 Policies on teaching about drugs 23711.3 Smoking policies 23811.4 Policies on managing incidents 239

Tables 241

AppendicesA Survey design 245B Analysis techniques 254C Pupil questionnaire 255D Policy questionnaire 279

Social surveys are the work of a team. The editors take full responsibility for the content ofthis report, but gratefully acknowledges the contribution of many colleagues. In particularthanks are due at NatCen to the interviewers who administered the survey in schools; theOperations team, including Theresa Patterson and Russell Collins, for organising thefieldwork and data processing; the data editors; and the programmer, John Hurn. PaulineStowe assisted with arranging the cognitive interviewing, and Polly Hawkins assisted withthe preparation of this report. At NFER, thanks are due to Laura Cornell, David Hereward,Anne Milne and Maria Charles who managed the initial contact with schools; to IanSchagen for sampling and statistical input, and to Sandie Schagen her contribution to theinterpretation and reporting.

We are also grateful to Patsy Bailey, Bonnie McGlone, John O’Shea, Michael Sweetlandand Paul Worthington at the Department of Health, and to Joanne Condon and AnnaRichardson at the Home Office, for their assistance and advice throughout the project.

Above all, the authors would like to thank all the schools that took part for their co-operation and time and, most importantly, the pupils who took part in the survey.

Notes to tables

1. Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding.

2. A few children failed to answer each question. These ‘no answers’ have been excludedfrom the analysis, and so tables that describe the same population may have slightlyvarying bases.

3. The following convention has been used:

0 = less than 0.5%, but not zero

- = Zero

4. In tables where age is a variable, those aged 16 have been included with the 15 yearolds. This is because the survey did not include pupils in year 12, and the small numberof 16 year olds sampled from year 11 are not representative of all schoolchildren aged16. Similarly pupils aged 10 have been included with 11 year olds.

5. The school year classification is based on the years or forms of maintained secondaryschools. The school years of pupils attending some non-maintained schools have beenadjusted accordingly.

Acknowledgements

Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2003 7

8 Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2003


Summary of main findings

The main purpose of this survey was to continue to monitor smoking, drinking and drug useamong secondary school children aged 11-15. Information was obtained from 10,390pupils in 331 schools throughout England during the autumn term of 2003.

Prevalence of taking drugs (Chapter 2)

Prevalence of taking any drugs was relatively stable between 2001 and 2003. Prevalence oftaking drugs in the last month was 12% in 2001, 2002 and 2003, while prevalence of takingdrugs in the last year was 20% in 2001 and 2002 and 21% in 2003, and prevalence ofhaving ever taken drugs was 29% in 2001, 27% in 2002 and 30% in 2003.

In 2003, there was no significant difference between the proportion of boys and theproportion of girls who took drugs in the last month or in the last year or ever. Among boys,13% took drugs in the last month, 22% took drugs in the last year and 31% had ever takendrugs – the equivalent percentages for girls were 12%, 20% and 30%. This is in contrast toprevious years where boys had always been slightly more likely than girls to take drugs.

Likelihood of drug taking increased sharply with age; just 4% of 11 year olds had takendrugs in the last month and 8% in the last year, compared with 23% and 38% of 15 yearolds respectively. The pattern of differences in drug use by age has been similar for all fiveyears (1998-2002) of surveys that have included questions on drugs.

The most commonly taken drug was cannabis with 13% having taken it in the last year,followed by volatile substances (8%), poppers (4%) and magic mushrooms (2%). All otherdrugs were taken by fewer than 2% of pupils. Overall, 4% reported taking a Class A drug inthe last year. Similar results were found in 2001 and 2002.

Prevalence of taking cannabis increased sharply with age; 1% of 11 year olds reported itsuse in the last year, increasing to nearly one in ten (8%) of 13 year olds, and almost a third(31%) of 15 year olds. All other drugs were also more likely to have been taken by olderpupils than younger ones, with the exception of volatile substances, which did not show aconsistent pattern with age. Similar patterns were seen in previous years.

Knowledge and awareness of drugs (Chapter 3)

Pupils’ knowledge of drugs was tested through a series of statements about the physicaleffects of drugs, four true and two false statements. In each case the pupils respondedwhether they thought the statement was true or false, with the option of recording don't know.

Summing up the number of statements which pupils answered correctly, in 2003, 40% ofpupils got five or more correct answers, 36% got 3 or 4 correct answers and 24% got twoor fewer correct. There was no overall difference in knowledge between 2003 and 2001.However, boys’ level of knowledge about drugs has increased and remained greater thangirls’ level knowledge which remained the same - 40% of boys had five or more correctanswers in 2001 rising to 43% in 2003, compared with 37% of girls for both years.

Although overall boys were more likely than girls to get five or more answers correct, thisdifferential was only seen among younger pupils (those aged 11-13). For example, 21% of11 year old boys got five or more correct answers compared with 12% of 11 year old girls.There was no difference between boys and girls at ages 14 or 15.

Knowledge of drugs was related to the number of occasions pupils had taken drugs, withthose with more experience being also more knowledgeable about drugs. Among thosewho had never taken drugs, 35% got five or more answers correct, whereas 71% of thosewho had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions got five or more answers correct.

The proportion of pupils who remembered having lessons on drugs in general (as opposedto lessons about specific drugs) increased from 38% in 1988 to 66% in 1998 and hasremained around that level since then (in 2003, 61% of pupils remembered having lessonson drugs in general).

Recall of lessons on smoking has fluctuated over the years; the proportion whoremembered lessons increased from 42% in 1986 to a peak of 78% in 1998, decreased to63% in 1999, and has remained stable since then (in 2003, 61% of pupils rememberedhaving lessons on smoking).

The proportion of pupils who remembered having lessons on alcohol increased from 36%in 1988 to a peak of 66% in 1998, then decreased to 56% in 1999 and has remainedaround that level since then (recall of lessons on alcohol was 56% in 2003).

Over 80% of pupils agreed that they listened to what each of the parents, doctors, teachersand the police had to say about drugs, and levels of agreement were higher than in 2001.For example, 86% agreed that they listened to what their parents had to say about drugs in2003 compared with 83% in 2001. However, there has been a substantial decrease in theproportion of pupils who agreed that adults tell the truth about drugs from 61% in 1999 and58% in 2001 to 44% in 2003. It is unusual to see such a degree of change in an attitudeover a relatively short time period and this represents a major negative attitudinal shift inbelieving what adults tell young people about drugs. So although young people on thewhole listen to what adults tell them about drugs, only a minority believe what they arebeing told.

Availability of drugs (Chapter 4)

In 2003, 42% of pupils had been offered any drugs – this was an increase from 2002 (40%),but the same level as 2001 (42%).

The most commonly offered drug was cannabis (27%), followed by volatile substances(19%), poppers (12%) and magic mushrooms (10%). Less than 10% had been offered anyof the other drugs, although it is worth noting that 9% had been offered crack, 9% cocaineand 7% heroin. The proportions of pupils offered each type of drug were similar to previousyears.

A third (33%) of pupils thought it would be easy to get hold of illegal drugs and pupils weremore likely to think it would be easy to get hold of cocaine or crack (15%) than heroin(12%). Similar patterns were found in 2001.

As drug use increases with age, it is not surprising that a greater proportion of older pupilsperceived it to be easy to obtain illegal drugs. For example, 61% of 15 year olds comparedwith 7% of 11 year olds believed that it would be easy to get hold of illegal drugs. Similarpatterns were seen for crack/cocaine and heroin.

Overall, if pupils have ever been offered illegal drugs, they perceived it as easier to obtainillegal drugs compared to pupils who have never been offered them; 62% who had beenoffered illegal drugs compared with 13% who had not.


Pupils were more likely to have had to pay for drugs on the most recent occasion (30%)than the first occasion (14%). Boys were more likely than girls to have paid for drugs onboth the first occasion (16% compared with 11%) and most recent occasion (36%compared with 23%).

On both the first and last occasions that pupils took drugs, pupils were more likely to havepaid for drugs if they had taken Class A drugs than if they had taken other drugs. On thefirst occasion of use, 24% paid for Class A drugs, 12% paid for cannabis and 10% paid forvolatile substances. On the last occasion, 46% of pupils who had taken any Class A drugspaid for them, compared with 31% who took cannabis only and 14% who took volatilesubstances only. Nevertheless, around three-quarters (76%) of pupils who took Class Adrugs were given them for free on the first occasion and just over half (54%) were giventhem free on the most recent occasion.

Reasons for taking or refusing drugs (Chapter 5)

Pupils reported different reasons for recent drug taking compared with reasons for firstdrug use. By far the most common reason for pupils to have used drugs on the last, mostrecent, occasion was because they ‘wanted to get high or feel good’ (49% compared with25% who gave this reason for first taking drugs). In contrast, the first use of drugs wasmost often associated with more emotional reasons such as ‘I wanted to see what it waslike’, rather than with the physical effects – 63% gave this as a reason for first taking drugscompared with 26% on the last occasion.

Pupils who had ever taken drugs were asked whether overall they had felt good, bad or nodifferent as a result of taking drugs. On the first occasion pupils took drugs, 47% felt good,39% felt no different and 15% felt bad. Overall reactions to taking drugs were morepositive on the most recent occasion than on the first occasion. On the last occasion pupilstook drugs, 66% had a good experience (compared with 47% on the first occasion), 25%felt no different (39% on first occasion) and 9% felt bad (15% on first occasion).

Boys (52%) were more likely than girls (42%) to report a good experience the first time theytook drugs. Pupils who were 11 or younger were less likely than those aged 12 or olderwhen they first took drugs to have had a good experience – 28% of 11 year olds has a goodexperience compared with between 49% and 61% of 12-15 year olds.

Pupils who had taken drugs on more occasions were more likely to think that their mostrecent experience of taking drugs was good. The proportion who had a good experienceon the last occasion they took drugs increased from 32% of those who had only takendrugs once (i.e. this related to their first occasion of taking drugs), to 54% of those who hadtaken drugs on 2-5 occasions, 71% of those who had taken drugs on 6-10 occasions and76% of those who had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions.

The proportion of pupils who had been offered drugs and never refused increased from 3%in 1999, to 5% in 2001 and to 10% in 2003, which indicates that the likelihood of refusingdrugs decreased between 1999 and 2003. Since 1999, across all age groups, there hasbeen a decrease in the proportion of pupils who have refused drugs they had been offeredand this decrease was greater among younger pupils. Between 1999 and 2003, amongthose who had been offered drugs, the proportion of 15 year olds who had ever refuseddrugs decreased from 91% to 87%, and among 11 year olds decreased from 87% to 61%.

In 2003, the most common reason for refusing drugs was ‘I just didn’t want to take it’,mentioned by 40% of those who had been offered drugs (although this was a decline from54% in 1999 and 45% in 2001). The next most common reasons were ‘I thought it wasdangerous’ (34%), ‘I think takings drugs is wrong" (32%) and ‘I didn’t want to becomeaddicted (32%). Since 1999, pupils have become more likely to refuse drugs because theydo not want to become addicted (22% in 1999 compared with 28% in 2001 and 32% in2003).


Pupils had high levels of physical and emotional concerns in relation to drug taking.Between 72% and 76% were concerned about their health, getting into dangeroussituations, that something might go wrong and they would die, and that they might becomeaddicted. The majority of pupils were concerned that if they took drugs they might dosomething they would not normally do (68%). Pupils also had high levels of socialconcerns. Pupils were most concerned about getting into trouble with their parents if theytook drugs (82%), followed by getting into trouble with the police (72%). More than half ofall pupils were worried about getting into trouble at school (59%), falling behind at school(56%) and spending too much money on drugs (56%). There was less concern about howfriends would react (39%).

Girls were more likely than boys to be concerned about all the physical or emotionalaspects of taking drugs asked about, and girls were also more concerned about the socialaspect of getting into trouble with friends. There were only minor differences or nodifferences between boys and girls on other social concerns.

Pupils who had more experience of taking drugs were less concerned about physical,emotional and social aspects of taking drugs than those who had never taken drugs.

Attitudes towards drug taking (Chapter 6)

The main message is that family attitudes towards drug taking are perceived to beoverwhelmingly negative. Among those who said their families had negative attitudestowards drug taking, distinctions can be made between whether their families wouldactively stop them taking drugs, or the milder option of trying to persuade them not to takedrugs. In 2003, as in 2001, 99% of pupils who expressed an opinion said their family wouldeither try to stop them from taking drugs or try to persuade them not to. In 2003, as in 2001,only 1% of pupils said that their family did not mind, and 1% of boys said they wereencouraged by their family to take drugs (although no girls reported this). Overall, thefindings were similar for boys and girls.

When considering pupils’ experience of drug taking, those who had never taken drugswere most likely to say their family would take the firmer option of actively stopping themfrom taking drugs (86%), rather than to say they would try and persuade them to stop(14%). In contrast 64% of those who had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions felt theirfamily would try to stop them and 25% that their family would try to persuade them to stop.More experienced drug takers were also more likely to feel that their family wouldn’t mind ifthey took drugs, 9% reported this compared with less than 0.5% of those who had nevertaken drugs.

In 2003, 14% of pupils were an only child, whereas 87% had siblings (80% of whom hadsiblings who did not take drugs). Therefore 7% of pupils had at least one sibling who tookdrugs. Nine per cent reported that half or more of their friends took drugs and a further 20%reported that a few of their friends took drugs. There was a strong relationship between theage of the respondent and drug taking among friends and siblings – 1% of 11 year oldscompared with 21% of 15 year olds said about half or more of their friends took drugs, and2% of 11 year olds compared with 12% of 15 year olds said they had at least one siblingwho took drugs.

There was a strong relationship between having siblings who took drugs and having friendswho took drugs – 71% of pupils who had at least one sibling who took drugs also hadfriends who took drugs, compared with 29% of those who were an only child and 26% whohad siblings, none of whom took drugs.

There was a relationship between individual drug taking and drug taking among siblingsand friends – those who had siblings or friends who took drugs were more likely to do sothemselves (but friends’ drug taking was more influential than siblings’ drug taking).


Pupils were asked whether various drug, alcohol and cigarette smoking-related behaviourwas ‘OK’ or ‘Not OK’ for someone their age. Pupils were most likely to think that tryingalcohol once was OK (67%), followed by trying cigarette smoking (48%) or getting drunk(31%). Trying cannabis (17%), trying glue sniffing (10%) or trying cocaine (4%) weregenerally much less likely to be seen as being OK.

Not surprisingly, pupils thought that regular use of substances was less acceptable thanexperimental use. The order in which taking substances regularly were seen as being OKwas the same as for just trying them – pupils were most likely to think it was OK to drinkalcohol every week (46%), followed by smoking cigarettes once a week (25%), gettingdrunk once a week (20%), taking cannabis once a week (10%), sniffing glue once a week(4%) and taking cocaine once a week (2%).

In 2003, 75% agreed that people who take drugs need help and advice, 69% agreed thatall people who sell drugs should be punished, 58% agreed that people who take drugs arestupid, and 32% agreed that all people who take drugs should be punished. Agreementwith these negative statements had decreased for all statements since they were firstasked, and was most marked for "People who take drugs are stupid" (71% in 1998, 58% in2003) and "All people who take drugs should be punished" (40% in 1999, 32% in 2003).

Just over half (55%) agreed with the positive statement about drug taking "Most youngpeople will take drugs at some point", a similar proportion to previous years.

Smoking (Chapter 7)

One of the aims of this survey is to measure progress towards the Government’s target toreduce the number of children aged 11-15 who smoke regularly (defined as usuallysmoking at least one cigarette a week) from a baseline of 13% in 1996 to 11% by 2005 and9% by 2010. The proportion of regular smokers has fluctuated since 1982, but has beenquite stable (between 9% and 11%) since 1998. In 2003, 9% of pupils aged 11-15 wereregular smokers.

Prevalence of smoking was strongly related to age. Only 1% of 11 year olds were regularsmokers compared with 22% of 15 year olds.

In the early 1980s, boys and girls were equally likely to smoke. Since then, girls have beenconsistently more likely to smoke than boys. In 2003, 11% of girls were regular smokers,compared with 7% of boys.

Drinking (Chapter 8)

Twenty five per cent of pupils had had an alcoholic drink in the previous week. Thisproportion has fluctuated between 20% and 27% since the question was introduced in1988, but with no sustained increase or decrease over time.

In most previous surveys boys had been more likely than girls to have drunk in the lastweek, and this was also the case in 2003 with 26% of boys and 24% of girls having had adrink in the last week.

As with cigarette smoking, drinking was strongly related to age. Only 6% of 11 year oldshad drunk alcohol in the last week compared with 49% of 15 year olds.

Although the proportion of pupils who drank in the previous week has fluctuated rather thanincreased or decreased over time, mean alcohol consumption among those who drank in thelast week increased steadily between 1990 and 1998, from 5.3 units a week to 9.9 units aweek. Mean alcohol consumption has fluctuated between 9.5 and 10.5 units a week since1998, and was 9.5 units in 2003. Of pupils who drank last week, boys drank on average moreunits in the last week (10.5) than girls (8.5). The average number of units consumed increasedwith age, from 7.1 units per week for 11-13 year olds, to 11.3 for 15 year old pupils.

Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2002 13

Two types of drink show a clear change in popularity over time. Among pupils who dranklast week, the proportion drinking spirits in the last week increased substantially from 35%in 1990 to 64% in 2003 and the proportion who drank shandy in the last week decreasedfrom 31% in 1990 to 21% in 2003. The proportion of pupils drinking all other drinksremained relatively stable, or showed no clear pattern over time. Beer, lager and ciderremained the most popular type of drink in 2003 (69% of pupils who drank last week). Theproportion of pupils who drank alcopops in the last week was 68%, wine 43%, and fortifiedwine 13%.

Relationships between use of cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis,volatile substances and Class A drugs (Chapter 9)

The relationships between recent use of each pair of substances were tested usingcorrelation co-efficients, with a higher correlation denoting a stronger relationship. Allcorrelations were statistically significant and positive, thus pupils who had recently takenone of these substances were more likely than pupils who had not to have taken each ofthe other substances.

The strongest relationship was between recent use of cannabis and cigarettes (correlation0.49). There were strong relationships (correlations between 0.25 and 0.33) between recentuse of cigarettes and alcohol, alcohol and cannabis, cigarettes and Class A drugs, andcannabis and Class A drugs, but a less strong relationship between recent use of alcoholand Class A drugs (correlation 0.17). Recent sniffing of volatile substances showed arelatively weak relationship with recent use of other substances (correlations between 0.09and 0.15).

Ethnic group, receipt of free school meals, truanting andexclusions (Chapter 10)

White pupils and pupils from Mixed ethnic groups were more likely than Black or Asianpupils to have drunk in the last week or to be regular smokers, and these differences weregreater for drinking than for smoking. Differences in prevalence of taking drugs in the lastmonth was less pronounced than for smoking or drinking, with Asian pupils being the leastlikely to have taken drugs in the last month.

While White pupils and pupils from Mixed ethnic groups were substantially more likely tohave drunk alcohol in the last week than to have taken drugs in the last month, this patternwas not found among pupils in Black and Asian groups.

Being in receipt of free school meals (or vouchers for free school meals) was one indicatorof social disadvantage collected in this survey. Thirteen per cent of pupils reportedreceiving free school meals.

Pupils who received free school meals were more likely than those who did not to havetaken drugs in the last month (16% compared with 12%) and to be regular smokers (12%compared with 9%). However, those who received free school meals were less likely thanthose who did not to have drunk alcohol in the last week (23% compared with 25%).

Results based on truancy and exclusion should be treated with caution, as they are basedon self-reported data and regular truants and those officially excluded during the fieldworkperiod may be under-represented in the sample. In 2003, 17% had ever played truant, and8% had been excluded from school at least once.


Pupils who had ever played truant were considerably more likely than those who had not tohave taken drugs in the last month (38% compared with 7%), to be a regular smoker (33%compared with 4%) and to have drunk alcohol in the last week (52% compared with 19%).Similar patterns were found for pupils who had ever been excluded. As older pupils weremore likely to have played truant, these differences may be due to age, however previoussurveys have shown that these relationships persist once age differences are taken intoaccount.

It is not possible to draw conclusions about causality from these results. It is not clearwhether playing truant or being excluded makes pupils more likely to take drugs, smoke ordrink, or whether those who already partake in these behaviours are more likely to startplaying truant or be excluded from school.

School policies (Chapter 11)

All schools reported that pupils were taught about drugs and alcohol, and almost all (99%)reported that pupils were taught about tobacco. Overall, 93% of schools had a policy onteaching pupils about drugs (both illegal and prescribed drugs, alcohol and tobacco).

Overall, 88% of schools had a policy that covered smoking for adults (that is teaching staff,non-teaching staff and adult visitors). More than half of all schools (56%) reported thatsmoking was prohibited anywhere on school premises. In a fifth of schools (22%), smokingwas permitted in certain areas of the school building; 19% had special smoking rooms, 2%allowed smoking in private offices and 1% allowed it in teachers’ staff rooms. In 9% of allschools, smoking was permitted in the school grounds but was prohibited in the buildings.

Schools were asked about which of a number of actions would be taken if pupils werefound taking substances on school premises. Almost all schools had a policy if pupils werefound taking drugs (98%), if they were found smoking (95%) or if they were found drinking(91%). The most common action for pupils found smoking, drinking or taking drugs was tocontact their parents (93%-95%). The next most common actions for pupils who werefound smoking were a warning (78%) and detention (77%), for pupils found drinking were anote on their record (80%) and temporary exclusion (79%) and for pupils found takingdrugs a note on their record (81%) and temporary exclusion (80%).



1 Introduction

Richard Boreham

1.1 Background to the 2003 survey

This survey is the latest in a series of surveys of secondary school children which providesthe national estimates of the proportion of young people aged 11-15 who smoke, drinkalcohol or take illegal drugs. The first survey in the series was carried out in 1982 to provideestimates of the proportion of pupils who smoked and to describe the smoking behaviourof those who smoked. Similar surveys were carried out every two years until 1998 tomonitor trends in the prevalence of cigarette smoking. Questions on alcohol consumptionwere included for the first time in the 1988 survey, and the 1998 survey was the first toinclude questions on the prevalence of drug use.

Since 1998, surveys have been carried out annually, with a core section of questionsincluded covering the following:

� smoking status and number of cigarettes smoked in the last week;� drinking status and amount of alcohol drunk in the last week; and� awareness of, ever tried, and when last tried individual drugs.

In alternate years the remainder of the questionnaire focuses on either smoking anddrinking or on drug taking. The 2001 and 2003 surveys focussed mainly on drugs, the 2000and 2002 surveys focussed mainly on smoking and drinking. Between 1982 and 1999surveys were carried out by the Office for National Statistics; since 2000 surveys have beencarried out by the National Centre for Social Research and the National Foundation forEducational Research.

This long established series of national surveys acts as an official measure of progresstowards targets for reducing smoking and drug use among young people.

The current target for reducing children’s smoking was set out in Smoking Kills, A WhitePaper on Tobacco

1and is measured against a 1996 baseline for 11-15 year olds. The target

is to reduce smoking among children from 13% to 11% by 2005, and to 9% or less by 2010.

The Updated Drug Strategy2

(December 2002) reasserted the government’s commitmentto reducing drug use among young people but with a new emphasis on vulnerable youngpeople. Key performance targets are measured by this survey series against a 1999baseline for 11-15 year olds. These include reducing the use of Class A drugs and thefrequent use of any illicit drug amongst all young people under the age of 25, and especiallyby the most vulnerable young people.

As well as monitoring the overall prevalence of smoking, drinking and drug use, the 2003survey also informs policy and practice by measuring other related aspects of behaviour,knowledge and attitudes. These include:

� where respondents get drugs from and who they take them with;� reasons for taking or not taking drugs;� attitudes towards taking drugs;� knowledge of drugs;� family attitudes to drug use;� drug use among pupils’ peers;

� acceptability of drug taking, smoking and drinking.� school lessons on smoking, drinking and drug use.

1.2 Sample design and response rates

The survey was conducted in schools by asking pre-selected groups of pupils to completea confidential questionnaire. Both the schools and pupils were selected randomly so thatevery eligible child had an equal chance of inclusion in the study.

The survey population (that is, the coverage of the survey) is pupils in school years 7-11 inEngland. Therefore, those taking part are mainly aged 11-15. Schools with any pupils inthese school years are eligible for selection, with the exception of special schools. All othertypes, namely comprehensive, secondary modern, grammar and private schools, areincluded. More detail about the survey design can be found in Appendix A.

In total, 331 schools agreed to take part in the survey out of the 447 selected, a responserate of 74%

3. Fieldwork was conducted in the autumn term of 2003. An average of 35

pupils per school were selected to take part from across all classes in years 7 to 11. Theresponse from selected pupils in participating schools was 87%, yielding a total of 10,390completed usable questionnaires. The product of the school and pupil rates produces anoverall response of 65%.

(Table 1.1, Figure 1.1)

The reasons cited by schools for declining to participate in the survey included:

� a perceived surfeit of other local and national surveys also addressing this topic, leadingto an ‘overemphasis’ on the subject with pupils;

� an unwillingness to sacrifice curriculum time; and� perceived burden due to shortages of staff available to assist in the administration of the

survey.


Per

cent

50

60

70

80

90

100

82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

School response

Pupil response

Overall response

Figure 1.1

Response: England 1982-2003

Response rates among pupils in year 10 (86%) and year 11 (81%) were slightly lower thanfor younger pupils (89-91%). These differences in response, however, were small and notlikely to make a difference to survey estimates, so non-response weighting is not necessary.

(Table 1.2)

The survey approach consisted of pupils completing a questionnaire in exam conditionswithin one school period under the supervision of an interviewer. If four or more pupils wereabsent a second visit to the school was undertaken. Full details of the survey design areoutlined in Appendix A, and details of statistical analysis techniques used in this report arelocated in Appendix B.

1.3 Changes to drug prevalence questions

Questionnaire development for the 2001 survey included cognitive testing of questionsabout drug use. The cognitive work examined two methods of asking about drug use. Oneapproach tested was the questions used in previous surveys, where pupils had to look at along list of drugs contained on a single page and were asked in turn which ones they hadheard of, been offered and had used. The alternative approach tested was to ask pupils aseries of questions about each drug in turn (and spread over about 15 pages); whether theyhad heard of it, been offered it, ever tried it and, if so, when they last used it and how theyusually take the drug.

The evidence from the cognitive work on drug use was that pupils found answeringquestions with a long list of drugs a more difficult task, and one that they were less likely tocomplete fully, than answering a series of questions about each drug. As a result of thesefindings (described more fully in the 2001 report

4), it was decided to change the format of

the drug prevalence questions to the alternative series of questions about each drug.

In addition, it was found that the term ‘using’ drugs was associated with regular use ratherthan trying drugs once or taking them occasionally. In the light of this finding it was decidedto change the wording so that pupils were asked about whether they had ever ‘tried’ drugsrather than ever ‘used’ drugs.

The questionnaire used in the 2003 survey retained the new drug use question formatintroduced in the 2001 survey, ensuring that findings from 2001 onwards are comparable.However, changing the format of questions about drug prevalence means that results fromthe 2001-2003 surveys are not strictly comparable with drug prevalence findings fromprevious surveys in the series. Comparison of data from the 2000 and 2001 surveysillustrates that in 2001 there was less missing data and significantly higher reporting ofvolatile substance use. Given that volatile substances were at the bottom of the list of drugsused in previous survey questionnaires, it is likely that the difference in reporting is due tothe change in question format rather than a real change in behaviour. A more detaileddiscussion of the effects of the change in drug prevalence question format can be found inthe report of the 2001 survey.

4

1.4 Changes to questions checking whether pupils had taken anydrugs

In survey years where the focus is primarily on taking drugs (1999, 2001, 2003), pupils wereasked a series of questions about the first and most recent occasions that they had takendrugs. Pupils are asked whether they have taken each of 15 different individual drugs, thenthere are additional questions that are needed to correctly route pupils through thequestionnaire. In 2001, these were:

“Just to check, have you ever used or taken any drugs? (even if only once)”“Just to check, have you used or taken any drugs in the last month?”


However, in 2001, pupils who had sniffed volatile substances, but had not taken any otherdrugs, did not all interpret these questions in the same way. Around a third of those whohad only sniffed volatile substances answered that they had never taken drugs, although itwas intended that they should have answered that they had done so. Thus a substantialminority of pupils did not answer the questions about the first and most recent occasionsthat they had taken drugs. In order to correct this problem, some alternative wording wascognitively tested for the 2003 survey, and the following questions replaced the versionsused in 2001.

“Just to check, have you ever used or taken any drugs including sniffing glue or solvents?(even if only once)”

“When did you last take drugs (including sniffing glue or solvents)?”

It is therefore necessary to use a different sample of pupils to analyse trend data, from thesample of pupils used for subgroup analysis of 2003 data (eg differences between boysand girls or different age groups). The different samples used for analysis are:

� Trend analyses of issues relating to the first occasion of taking drugs are based on allwho have ever taken drugs, apart from those who have only ever sniffed glue or othersolvents.

� Trend analyses of issues relating to the most recent occasion of taking drugs are basedon all who have taken drugs in the last month, apart from those who have only sniffedglue or other solvents in the last month.

� In 2003, subgroup analyses of issues relating to the first occasion of taking drugs arebased on all those who have ever taken drugs.

� In 2003, subgroup analyses of issues relating to the most recent occasion of takingdrugs are based on all who have taken drugs in the last year, and who have taken drugsmore than once, so that the most recent occasion is distinct from the first occasion.

1.5 Changes to cigarette consumption questions

Between 1982 and 2002, the measure of the number of cigarettes smoked in the last weekwas obtained from a smoking diary where pupils recorded how many cigarettes theysmoked in each of six time periods on each of the last 7 days. In 2003, the smoking diarywas replaced by two alternative questions (see Q203 and Q204 in Appendix C:Questionnaire). The reasons for making this change were:

� Feedback from interviewers was that the diary completion is problematic, pupils getconfused by having to work backwards from yesterday and don’t fill it all in.

� There is a lot of missing data on the diary. Because of the extent of missing data blanksare assumed to mean zero cigarettes smoked – even when there are whole days missingand completed days have cigarettes smoked.

� The diary can only be used in alternate years because it takes too much time to completeto be included in a year where the focus is on drugs. This affects the definition ofoccasional smokers (anyone recording at least one cigarette in the diary who is not aregular smoker is reclassified as an occasional smoker – this is usually results in anincrease of 2-3% in the prevalence of occasional smokers).

� A shorter question will allow inclusion of additional questions when the focus is onsmoking and drinking.

Therefore the measure of the number of cigarettes smoked in the last week for the 2003survey is not comparable with estimates from previous years. In 2003, the proportion ofpupils reclassified as occasional smokers was similar to previous years.


1.6 Changes to alcohol consumption questions

As part of the questionnaire development for the 2002 survey, cognitive testing of questionsabout alcohol consumption in the last week was undertaken. The cognitive developmentwork focussed on children’s comprehension of the categories of drink asked about in thesurvey and the language used in the questionnaire. In paired interviews, young people wereasked to group sort cards with pictures of different types and brands of drinks. Theirreasons for categorising drinks in particular ways and the language that they used wereprobed.

The cognitive work on alcohol consumption found that:

� ‘Alcopops’ was a widely used and commonly understood term among young people, butthat ‘Pre-mixed alcoholic drinks’ was not;

� there was some confusion about how strong Shandy should be before it is considered tobe a proper alcoholic drink; and

� there were some brands and types of drink, such as Champagne, that young people havedifficulty classifying.

As a result of these findings a number of changes were made to the questions asking aboutalcohol consumption in the last week in the 2002 questionnaire.

Firstly, the references to ‘Alcopops and Pre-mixed alcoholic drinks’ was replaced in 2002with just ‘Alcopops’. Secondly, a question asking about the composition of Shandy usuallydrunk was added to the end of the set of questions asking about Shandy drunk in the lastweek. And thirdly, an additional set of questions asking about whether any types of alcohol,other than those already asked about (i.e. Alcopops; Beer, lager and cider; Martini andsherry; Shandy; Spirits and liqueurs; and Wine) had been drunk was added to the end of thesection of questions about alcohol consumption in the last week. The examples of Spiritsand liqueurs and Alcopops given were updated to reflect those young people were mostlikely to have drunk or be least likely to be able to classify.

For the reasons outlined below, these changes are likely to have only a very minor effect oncomparability and estimates of alcohol consumption in the last week.

� Where new questions were introduced, these were placed at the end of a section therebyminimising any effect on how preceding questions were answered.

� Analysis of the quantities of other alcoholic drinks that were reported suggests that the‘other types of alcohol’ questions were not completed very reliably. Therefore answersfrom this additional set of questions have not been included in survey estimates ofamount of alcohol drunk, and comparability with how these estimates were derived inprevious surveys has been retained.

� The questions measuring drinking in the last week are regularly updated to reflectchanges in the drinks market: alcopops were introduced as a new category of drink in1996 and the list of example brands is updated annually. Therefore estimates have notbeen strictly comparable year-on-year.


1.7 Definition of Class A drugs

Table 1.3 lists the specific drugs that pupils were asked about in this survey, and indicatestheir classification under the Misuse of Drugs Act. This divides controlled drugs into threecategories according to their harmfulness, where Class A drugs are considered to cause themost harm. This report includes prevalence of use of Class A drugs, although the followingpoints need to be borne in mind regarding how their use is defined:

� the classification of certain drugs depends on the method of delivery used. For example,amphetamines are a Class B drug if taken orally and a Class A drug if injected. Additionalquestions were included in the 2001 and 2002 surveys to allow this distinction to bemade, but in previous surveys amphetamines were included in the definition of Class Adrugs;

� the Class A drugs mentioned in the survey (Amphetamines when injected, Ecstasy,Cocaine, Crack, Heroin, LSD, Magic Mushrooms, Methadone) are not an exhaustive listof Class A drugs.

1.8 How reliable are young people’s answers?

Collecting information in school classrooms rather than homes and repeated assurances ofconfidentiality are key factors in encouraging honest reporting of behaviours which pupilsmay wish to conceal from adults or to exaggerate to their peers. Biochemical evidence fromseveral previous surveys had indicated that pupils gave generally accurate answers abouttheir smoking behaviour. Given this evidence, it was decided not to collect any biochemicalevidence in 2003.

The earlier biochemical evidence was derived from saliva samples obtained between 1990and 1998 from pupils in half of the participating schools. Samples were tested for thepresence of cotinine, which is a major metabolite of nicotine and reflects recent exposure totobacco smoke, in order to validate the estimates of the prevalence of smoking derivedfrom the questionnaire and diary. Results from these surveys have consistently indicatedthat children are largely honest about their smoking – only a few children in each surveyhave had saliva cotinine levels that clearly contradicted their self-reported smokingbehaviour.

5In these previous surveys the results of saliva cotinine tests have not been used

to re-classify the smoking behaviour of individual children (and if they had, prevalence rateswould not have been altered).

It might be expected that the act of taking saliva samples during questionnaire completionwould itself encourage pupils to be more honest, and therefore increase significantly theproportion of pupils reporting that they were smokers. However, this has not been the case;in the surveys in this series between 1990 and 1998 there have been no significantdifferences in smoking prevalence between the test and non-test halves of the samples.Hence, omitting saliva testing is likely to have a minimal impact on prevalence estimates.

Only 17 pupils (0.2% of the total sample) reported that they had ever taken Semeron (afictional drug asked about in the questionnaire), which lends support to the view that mostpupils do not exaggerate their drug use. However, exaggerated rates of awareness are afactor, given that 15% of pupils claimed to have heard of Semeron.

Of course, honesty is not the only factor affecting the accuracy of responses. Recall of thenumber of cigarettes smoked or the amount of alcohol drunk can be problematic,particularly as between the ages of 11 and 15 pupils’ patterns of behaviour may beintermittent rather than regular. In order to try to minimise the difficulties of reporting ‘usual’behaviour, questions asked about consumption of alcohol and cigarettes in the last week.


1.9 Precision of estimates

As the data are based on a sample (rather than a census) of pupils, the estimates aresubject to sampling error. Appendix A details how to calculate sampling errors for thissurvey.

Differences are generally commented upon in the text only if they are significant at the 95%confidence level, implying no more than a 5% chance that any reported difference is not areal one but a consequence of sampling error.

In addition to sampling error, survey estimates are subject to other types of error or bias,including under-reporting or over-reporting of claimed behaviour and non-response bias.However, previous sections of this introduction and Appendix A describe a number of stepstaken to limit and test potential sources of error in the data collected by this survey.

Notes and References1

Smoking Kills, A White Paper on Tobacco (Cm 4177: Stationery Office, 1998). The White Paper can befound at http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm41/4177/4177.htm

2The Government’s ten year drugs strategy is set out in Tackling drugs to build a better Britain, Cm 3945,Stationery Office (1998). The strategy update can be found athttp://www.drugs.gov.uk/ReportsandPublications/NationalStrategy/1038840683/Updated_Drug_Strategy_2002.pdf

3Subsequent to the sample being drawn, two schools were found to have closed and were thereforedeemed ineligible. This left a sample of 445 potentially eligible schools.

4Boreham R and Shaw A (2002) Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2001London: The Stationery Office. The report can be found athttp://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/public/sddsurvey01.htm

5See Goddard & Higgins (1999) “Smoking, drinking and drug use among young teenagers in 1998” for afuller discussion.


Table 1.1

Response: 1982-2003

Response Survey Year

1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1993 1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

% % % % % % % % % % % % % % %

School 90 88 84 96 91 97 89 85 87 74 85 72 69 72 74

Pupil 94 93 93 91 90 92 90 92 89 90 90 87 89 88 87

Overall 87 82 77 87 83 89 80 77 77 70 76 63 61 63 65

Table 1.2Overall pupil response, by sex and school year

2003

Response School Year

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Total

% % % % % %

Boys

Questionnaire completed 91 88 89 86 80 87

Parent refused 1 2 1 1 1 1

Pupil refused 1 1 1 1 2 1

Not eligible 1 1 1 1 2 1

Sick 2 2 2 3 2 2

Truant 0 0 0 0 1 0

Unknown 3 4 5 6 8 5

Other 1 2 2 2 5 2

Girls




Not eligible 1 - 1 1 1 1

Sick 2 2 2 3 4 2

Truant - - 0 1 0 0

Unknown 3 4 6 5 7 5

Other 1 1 2 3 3 2

Total




Not eligible 1 0 1 1 1 1

Sick 2 2 2 3 3 2

Truant 0 0 0 0 1 0

Unknown 3 4 5 6 8 5

Other 1 1 2 3 4 2

Bases

Boys 1193 1190 1218 1174 1185 5987

Girls 1178 1177 1164 1123 1130 5787

Total 2388 2388 2397 2311 2328 11854


Table 1.3

Drug classifications under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

Drug Mode of use Classification

Amphetamines inject A

Ecstasy oral A

Cocaine sniff or inject A

Crack inject or smoke A

Heroin smoke, sniff or inject A

LSD oral A

Magic Mushroomsa

oral A

Methadone oral A

Amphetamines sniff or oral B

Tranquillisers oral or inject B/C (depends on drug)

Cannabisb

smoke or oral C

Anabolic steroids oral or inject C

Poppers sniff It is an offence to supply these

Gluec

sniff substances if it is likely that the product is

Gasc

sniff intended for abuse

a It isn’t illegal to possess raw magic mushrooms, it is an offence to possess any preparations of them

(e.g when they’re dried or stewed). Magic Mushrooms when prepared, are Class A drugs.

b Cannabis was a Class B drug at the time of the survey, but was reclassified as a Class C drug on

29th January 2004.

c It is illegal for shopkeepers to sell gas lighter refills to anyone under 18, and it is illegal to sell gases, glues

and aerosols to under-18s, or people acting for them, if they suspect the product is intended for abuse.


2 Prevalence of taking drugs

Richard Boreham and Nadine Simmonds

2.1 Introduction

The government’s Updated Drug Strategy (December 2002) states that “the most effectiveway of reducing the harm drugs cause is to persuade all potential users, but particularly theyoung, not to use drugs” and that government will be “targeting action on the mostdangerous drugs and patterns of drug use and the most vulnerable young people”.

1Key

measures in this survey include the proportions of pupils who have taken specific types ofdrugs (including particular Class A drugs) in the last month and the last year. The individualdrugs and categories of drugs covered in the questionnaire are: amphetamines, anabolicsteroids, cannabis, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, heroin, LSD, magic mushrooms, methadone,poppers, tranquillisers, volatile substances such as gas, glue and other solvents, and‘other’ drugs (not obtained from a doctor or chemist).

This survey first collected information on drug use among young people in 1998 (althoughsome limited information on solvent abuse was collected in the 1994 survey). The 1999survey included more detailed questions on drug taking, as well as on pupils’ experienceand awareness of drug issues. A substantially revised method of measuring drugbehaviours was adopted in 2001 (see Section 1.5). In summary, since 2001 pupils havebeen asked a set of questions about each drug in turn (including questions aboutawareness, whether offered and whether taken), whereas in previous years all drugs wereasked about in a single grid question. The change in question format means that estimatesof drug taking from 2001 onwards are not compatible with estimates from previoussurveys.

2Estimates from 2002 have been revised since the publication of 2002 headline

results in March 2003 and the main report in September 2003.

2.2 Prevalence of taking drugs in the last month, last year or ever

Prevalence of taking drugs had increased slightly between 1998 and 2000. Due to thechange in question format, estimates of taking drugs from 2001 onwards are not strictlycomparable with previous years, although it is likely that drug use either stayed the same orincreased slightly between 2000 and 2001.

3

As a consequence of the change in question format introduced in 2001, subsequent surveyestimates of drug taking are affected by the higher proportion of pupils who reported thatthey had ‘tried sniffing glue, gas, aerosols or solvents’ compared with previous surveys.

4

Consequently tables for this chapter include estimates for drug use both including andexcluding sniffing volatile substances (unless stated otherwise all prevalence figures fordrug use include sniffing volatile substances).

Prevalence of taking drugs was relatively stable between 2001 and 2003. Prevalence oftaking drugs in the last month was 12% in 2001, 2002 and 2003, while prevalence of takingdrugs in the last year was 20% in 2001 and 2002 and 21% in 2003, and prevalence ofhaving ever taken drugs was 29% in 2001, 27% in 2002 and 30% in 2003.

(Tables 2.1-2.2, Figures 2.1-2.2)


In 2003, there was no significant difference between the proportion of boys and theproportion of girls who took drugs in the last month or in the last year or ever. Among boys,13% took drugs in the last month, 22% took drugs in the last year and 31% had ever takendrugs – the equivalent percentages for girls were 12%, 20% and 30%. This is in contrast toprevious years where boys had always been significantly more likely than girls to takedrugs.


Per

cent

0

5

10

15

20

25

98 99 00 01 02 03

Girls

Boys

Change in method of measuring taking drugs

Total

Figure 2.1

Whether taken drugs in last month, by sex: 1998-2003All pupils

Per

cent

0

5

10

15

20

25

98 99 00 01 02 03

Girls

Boys


Total

Figure 2.2

Whether taken drugs in last year, by sex: 1998-2003All pupils


Likelihood of drug taking increased sharply with age; just 4% of 11 year olds had takendrugs in the last month, 8% in the last year and 15% had ever taken drugs, compared with23%, 38% and 49% of 15 year olds respectively. The pattern of differences in drug use byage has been similar for all five years (1998-2002) of surveys that have included questionson drugs.

(Tables 2.2-2.5, Figure 2.3)

2.3 Types of drugs taken in the last year

The most commonly taken drug was cannabis with 13% having taken it in the last year,followed by volatile substances (8%), poppers (4%) and magic mushrooms (2%). All otherdrugs were taken by fewer than 2% of pupils. Overall, 4% reported taking a Class A drug inthe last year. Similar results were found in 2001 and 2002.

Boys were more likely than girls to have taken cannabis in the last year (14% compared with12%), but there were no differences between the proportions of boys and girls taking anyother drugs.

(Table 2.6)

Prevalence of taking cannabis increased sharply with age; 1% of 11 year olds reported itsuse in the last year, increasing to 8% of 13 year olds, and 31% of 15 year olds. All otherdrugs were also more likely to have been taken by older pupils than younger ones, with theexception of volatile substances, which did not show a consistent pattern with age. Similarpatterns were seen in previous years.


Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

11 years 12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years

More than a year ago

In the last year (but not last month)

In the last month

Figure 2.3

Whether taken drugs in the last month, last year and ever, by age All pupils

The types of drugs taken in the last year by 15 year olds differed from those taken byyounger pupils. Overall, cannabis was the most widely taken drug, followed by sniffingvolatile substances and then sniffing poppers. However among 15 year olds, althoughcannabis was still the most prevalent (31%), sniffing poppers (10%) was more widespreadthan sniffing volatile substances (7%). Between 1998 and 2001 there had been nodifference in the proportion of 15 year olds sniffing poppers and sniffing volatile substances,and it was only since 2002 that sniffing poppers has become significantly more commonthan sniffing volatile substances among 15 year olds.



Per

cent

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

98 99 00 01 02 03

Poppers

Cannabis


Glue, gas, aerosols or solvents

Figure 2.5

Whether 15 year olds had taken individual drugs in last year: 1998-2003All 15 year olds

Per

cent

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35


Class A drugs

Glue, gas, aerosols and other solvents

Cannabis

Figure 2.4

Whether taken cannabis, volatile substances or any Class A drug in the last year, by ageAll pupils


2.4 Number of different types of drugs taken in the last year

Older pupils were more likely to take drugs in the last year than younger pupils, andamongst those who did take drugs, older pupils were more likely to have taken more thanone type of drug. Among those who had taken drugs in the last year 18% of 11-12 year oldshad taken two or more different drugs and this increased with age to 40% of 14 year oldsand 42% of 15 year olds. Prevalence of taking more than one type of drug (polydrug use)among boys and girls was similar among all age groups.


Among pupils who had taken drugs in the last year, 36% had only taken cannabis and 22%had only sniffed volatile substances, with boys more likely than girls to have only takencannabis (39% compared with 32%) and less likely to have only sniffed volatile substances(19% compared with 26%).

There was a shift from only sniffing volatile substances to only taking cannabis withincreasing age; 64% of 11-12 year olds and 5% of 15 year olds who had taken drugs in thelast year had only sniffed volatile substances. The corresponding figures for cannabis were12% and 47%. Pupils who had taken any Class A drugs were much more likely to havetaken them in addition to taking at least one other drug (20% overall), than to have takenjust one type of Class A drug in the last year (2%).

(Table 2.14)

2.5 Usual frequency of taking drugs

Only 1% of all pupils reported that they took drugs most days, a further 2% took drugs oncea week and a further 3% usually took drugs once or twice a month. Thus a total of 7%reported that they usually took drugs at least once a month compared with 12% who hadactually taken drugs in the last month.

5,6,7

Given that older pupils were more likely than younger ones to have taken drugs in the lastyear, it is not surprising that they were more likely to report taking drugs more frequently. Intotal 15% of 15 year olds usually took drugs at least once a month (and 3% took them mostdays), compared with 1% of 11 year olds who took drugs at least once a month. There wereno 11 year olds in the sample who reported that they took drugs on most days.

(Table 2.15)

Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

11-12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years

Boys

Girls

Figure 2.6

Whether taken two or more different types of drug in last year, by sex and ageBase: All taken drugs in last year

Pupils who had taken drugs in the last year, and who had taken drugs on more than oneoccasion were asked how frequently they usually took drugs. In total, for 26% of those whohad taken drugs in the last year, it was their first and only occasion that they had takendrugs, and 11-12 year olds were more likely (43%) than 15 year olds (19%) to report this.Conversely, among those who had taken drugs in the last year, older pupils were more likelythan younger pupils to report that they usually take drugs at least once a month (21% of 11-12 year olds, 47% of 15 year olds). So, older pupils were more likely to take drugs per se,and among those who took drugs older pupils were more likely to usually take drugs morefrequently.


Pupils’ usual frequency of taking drugs varied according to the type of drug that they hadtaken in the last year. Pupils who had taken any Class A drugs in the last year were the mostlikely to usually take drugs at least once a month (65%). Regular drug taking was lessmarked among those who had only taken cannabis in the last year (35% usually took drugsonce a month) and the equivalent figure for those who had only sniffed volatile substancesin the last year was 17%.

(Table 2.17)

2.6 Number of occasions have ever taken drugs

Seventy five percent said that they had never taken drugs and a further 8% had taken drugsmore than a year ago.

7Those who had taken drugs in the last year were asked on how

many occasions they had ever taken drugs. In total, 5% had taken drugs on more than 10occasions, 2% on 6-10 occasions, 5% on 2-5 occasions and 4% only once.

Older pupils were more likely to be more experienced drug takers – 13% of 15 year olds hadtaken drugs on more than 10 occasions compared with 1% of 11 year olds. Patterns forboys and girls were similar.

(Table 2.18)


0

10

20

30

40

50


Once or twice a month

At least once a week

Most days

Figure 2.7

Usual frequency take drugs, by age All taken drugs in last year

Per

cen

t


Among those who had last taken drugs in the last month, 15% had taken drugs for the firsttime and had only ever taken drugs once. Similarly, 40% of those who had last taken drugsin the last year (but not in the last month) had only ever taken drugs once. Thus theproportions who do report taking drugs in the last month and last year do contain asignificant number of first time drug takers.

(Table 2.19)

The number of occasions pupils had ever taken drugs varied according to the type of drugthey had taken in the last year. Those who had taken Class A drugs in the last year weremost likely to have taken drugs on more than 10 occasions (57%), compared with 23% ofthose who had only taken cannabis in the last year and 12% of those who had only sniffedvolatile substances in the last year.

(Table 2.20)

2.7 Drugs tried on the first occasion

Pupils tended to have only tried one drug at the age when they first tried drugs, with 44%reporting that they had only sniffed volatile substances and 33% reporting that they hadonly tried cannabis at the age when they had first tried drugs.

There was a very strong relationship between the type of drug taken on the first occasionwith the age at which drugs were first tried. The vast majority of pupils who first tried drugsat an early age tried volatile substance at that age, whereas the majority of pupils whosefirst experience of drugs was at an older age tried cannabis. Eighty-one percent of pupilswhose first use of drugs was at aged 11 or younger took volatile substances at that agecompared with 11% who took only cannabis. In contrast, among pupils whose first use ofdrugs was aged 15, 82% took cannabis and no other drugs at that age compared with 14%who sniffed volatile substances. Much of this overwhelming shift had occurred by the ageof 13. First users aged 13 were more likely to have tried cannabis at this age (59%) thanvolatile substances (36%).

Among pupils whose first experience was aged 11 or younger, 3% had sniffed popperscompared with 81% who had sniffed volatile substances. Among pupils who first tookdrugs aged 14 or 15, the proportions who sniffed poppers or volatile substances at theseages were similar.


Per

cen

t

0

20

40

60

80

100

11 years or younger

12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years

Glue, gas, aerosols or solvents

Cannabis

Poppers

Figure 2.8

Drugs tried at age first tried drugs, by age first tried drugsAll ever taken drugs


The government’s ten year drugs strategy is set out in Tackling drugs to build a better Britain, Cm 3945,Stationery Office (1998). The strategy update published in December 2002, Updated Drug Strategy2002, can be found at http://www.drugs.gov.uk/ReportsandPublications/NationalStrategy/1038840683/Updated_Drug_Strategy_2002.pdf

2There have been a number of changes to the format of the questions about drug taking since they werefirst introduced to the survey in 1998. In 1998 to 2000, pupils were asked to indicate on a list of drugswhich, if any, they had heard of and which had been offered to them. In light of responses in 1998, thequestion structure was changed. In 1998 pupils had been asked to tick next to any and all the drugs thatapplied, whereas in 1999 and 2000 they were asked to tick ‘yes’ or ‘no’ separately for each drug on thelist. This change was designed to reduce the level of item non-response.

When drawing comparisons over time, it is necessary to note two further changes to the survey. In 1998one of the categories of drugs was ‘Glue or Solvents’, in 1999 an additional category of ‘Gas (Butane,lighter refills)’ was added, and then in 2000 the two categories were combined to become ‘Gas,Aerosols, Glue and other solvents’.

In all years, pupils were given the opportunity to report having heard of, been offered or used ‘otherdrugs’ that were not named in the preceding questions. In 1998, details of these drugs were notobtained, so it was impossible to know whether pupils actually had an illegal drug in mind. Since 1999,pupils were asked to write in the names of these other drugs and sometimes these answers could betransferred back to an appropriate named drug on the list. Other drugs that were not relevant, such asprescription or over-the-counter drugs could also be excluded.

To improve the accuracy of pupils’ responses, the street-names of each of the drugs asked about arealso included. Over-reporting of the use of cocaine is possible prior to 2001, since the street name forcocaine, ‘Coke’, may have been recognised by children (particularly the younger ones) who were actuallythinking of cola drinks. Reference to ‘Coke’ was removed from the questionnaires used from the 2001survey onwards. Amendments to drug street names are made annually to reflect changes in the drugmarket.

3Reported levels of drug use in the last month and last year increased slightly between 1998 and 2000. In2000, 9% of pupils had used drugs in the last month and 14% had used drugs in the last year, comparedwith 7% and 11% respectively in 1998. The estimates for 2001 were 12% and 20% respectively. In 2001,the format and wording of questions about use of drugs were changed to improve comprehension andcompletion, while retaining the same content. There are a number of possible explanations for thedifference between 2000 and 2001 prevalence figures:

• Use of drugs in the population aged 11-15 increased between 2000 and 2001, and the change inquestion format/wording may have led to the reported increase being exaggerated or diminished;

• Use of drugs in 2001 is at the same level as in 2000, and the difference in reported levels of use is dueto changes in question format/wording;

• Use of drugs has decreased from 2000 to 2001, but the change in question format/wording has led to agreater increase in reported use and the net result appears to be an increase in prevalence.

It is not possible to tell which of these explanations is true, although it is possible to look at use ofindividual drugs in 2000 and 2001 to see whether there are any patterns which may point to one of theexplanations given about being more likely than the other explanations. Evidence from cognitive workduring the questionnaire development supported the hypothesis that when pupils answer grid formatquestions, more attention is paid to drugs at the top of the list, but that pupils can get into a pattern ofjust ticking the same answer and not reading the names of the drugs properly for drugs further down thegrid. Therefore figures for reported cannabis use in 2001 would arguably be more comparable withreported levels from 2000 as cannabis was the first drug asked about in the grid. As use of cannabis inthe last year was marginally higher in 2001 than 2000, this suggests that it is more likely that drug useeither stayed at the same level or increased slightly between 2000 and 2001.

4Changing the format of questions on drugs in 2001 appeared to have a greater impact on reported levelsof taking glue, gas or other solvents than it had on reported levels for other drugs. Although the changeof format means that results from the 2001 survey onwards are not strictly comparable with those ofpreceding years, levels of use of volatile substances were considerably higher than previously reported(which was not the case for other drugs). Given the findings from the 2001 cognitive work (that with gridformat questions some pupils got into a pattern of ticking that they had never used individual drugs), andthat volatile substances were at the bottom of the list of drugs used, it is likely that the difference inreporting is due to the change in question format rather than a real change in behaviour. There is a fullerdiscussion of the issues surrounding measurement of volatile substance use in Boreham, Richard andShaw, Andrew Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2001, The StationeryOffice (2002).

5The proportions who usually took drugs most days (1%), at least once a week (2%) and once or twice amonth (3%) do not add to the total proportion who usually took drugs every month (7%) because ofrounding.

6The proportion of pupils who took drugs in the last month would be expected to be higher than theproportion who usually take drugs at least once a month, because both less frequent drug takers andthose who have only ever taken drugs once could have done so in the last month.

7Note that 25% of pupils reported that they had ever taken drugs in answer to the single question aboutwhether they had ever taken drugs, whereas the proportion who had ever taken drugs derived fromanswers about taking each of the 15 individual drugs was 30%. The latter percentage is the officialmeasure of whether pupils have ever taken drugs.


Table 2.1

Whether taken drugs (a) in the last month, (b) in the last year (including in thelast month) and (c) ever, (including and excluding volatile substances), bysex: 1998-2003

a

All pupils 1998-2003

Taken drugs Year

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002b

2003

% % % % % %

Boys

All drugs

Taken in last month 7 8 10 13 14 13

Taken in last year, including last month 12 13 14 21 21 22

Ever taken 15 16 17 30 29 31

Excluding volatile substances



Ever taken 14 15 16 21 21 22

Girls

All drugs



Ever taken 12 14 15 28 25 30




Ever taken 12 12 14 17 17 18

Total

All drugs



Ever taken 14 15 16 29 27 30




Ever taken 13 14 15 19 19 20

Basesc

Boys 2273 4769 3545 4435 4734 4921

Girls 2293 4539 3314 4474 4511 4872

Total 4566 9308 6859 8909 9245 9793

a Estimates from 2001 onwards are not comparable with estimates from previous years because of the

change in the way that drug taking was measured. See Note 2.

b Estimates from 2002 have been revised since the publication of 2002 headline results in March 2003 and

the main report in September 2003.

c Bases for 2000 and 2001 have been revised since the publication of the reports for those years.


Table 2.2

Whether taken drugs (a) in the last month, (b) in the last year (including in thelast month and (c) ever, (including and excluding volatile substances), by sexand age

All pupils 2003

Taken drugs Age

11 years 12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Total

% % % % % %

Boys

All drugs



Ever taken 16 17 28 37 49 31




Ever taken 5 7 18 30 44 22

Girls

All drugs



Ever taken 15 17 27 38 48 30




Ever taken 2 5 12 28 41 18

Total

All drugs



Ever taken 15 17 27 38 49 30




Ever taken 3 6 15 29 42 20

Bases

Boys 820 980 1024 974 1123 4921

Girls 811 1023 1012 940 1086 4872

Total 1631 2003 2036 1914 2209 9793


Table 2.3

Proportion of pupils who had taken drugs in the last month, by sex and age:1998-2003

a


Age Year

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002b

2003

Percentage who had taken drugs in last month

Boys

11 years 0 1 3 4 4 4

12 years 2 2 2 4 5 5

13 years 4 4 6 11 9 11

14 years 10 12 14 17 20 17

15 years 19 21 23 25 26 25

Total 7 8 10 13 14 13

Girls

11 years 0 1 2 2 3 3

12 years 2 2 3 4 3 5

13 years 3 5 5 9 8 8

14 years 9 9 11 15 15 18

15 years 16 17 19 22 19 22

Total 6 7 8 11 10 12

Total

11 years 0 1 3 3 4 4

12 years 2 2 3 4 4 5

13 years 4 5 5 10 8 9

14 years 10 11 13 16 18 17

15 years 18 19 21 24 23 23

Total 7 7 9 12 12 12

Bases

Boys11 years 249 873 597 778 795 81012 years 295 1009 730 861 941 97313 years 249 943 715 887 950 100514 years 658 910 731 852 910 95115 years 822 1034 772 982 1077 1101Total 2273 4769 3545 4360 4673 4840

Girls11 years 252 878 556 759 751 80612 years 306 894 656 937 924 101713 years 289 919 678 913 897 99714 years 707 927 676 911 914 92915 years 739 921 748 919 987 1069Total 2293 4539 3314 4439 4473 4818

All pupils11 years 501 1751 1153 1537 1546 161612 years 601 1903 1386 1798 1865 199013 years 538 1862 1393 1800 1847 200214 years 1365 1837 1407 1763 1824 188015 years 1561 1955 1520 1901 2064 2170Total 4566 9308 6859 8799 9146 9658






Table 2.4

Proportion of pupils who had taken drugs in the last year, by sex and age:1998-2003

a


Age Year

1998 1999 2000b

2001 2002b

2003

Percentage who had taken drugs in last year

Boys

11 years 1 2 3 7 7 8

12 years 4 4 5 8 10 11

13 years 7 7 10 20 17 19

14 years 16 18 20 26 29 27

15 years 29 31 32 41 39 39

Total 12 13 14 21 21 22

Girls

11 years 1 1 3 4 6 7

12 years 3 4 4 9 6 9

13 years 6 9 9 18 16 17

14 years 14 16 19 27 25 29

15 years 26 28 27 36 34 36

Total 10 12 13 19 18 20

Total

11 years 1 1 3 6 6 8

12 years 4 4 5 9 8 10

13 years 7 8 9 19 16 18

14 years 16 17 20 27 27 28

15 years 28 30 29 39 37 38

Total 11 12 14 20 20 21

BasesBoys11 years 249 873 597 779 797 81212 years 295 1009 730 865 945 97613 years 249 943 715 894 960 101214 years 658 910 731 860 916 96415 years 822 1034 772 996 1088 1112Total 2273 4769 3545 4394 4706 4876


All pupils11 years 501 1751 1153 1538 1550 162012 years 601 1903 1386 1804 1872 199613 years 538 1862 1393 1809 1863 201614 years 1365 1837 1407 1776 1837 190015 years 1561 1955 1520 1925 2081 2189Total 4566 9308 6859 8852 9203 9721




the main report in September 2003. Estimates from 2000 have also been revised.


Table 2.5

Proportion of pupils who had ever taken drugs, by sex and age: 1998-2003a


Age Year

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002b

2003

Percentage who had ever taken drugs

Boys

11 years 1 3 4 13 12 16

12 years 5 5 6 16 18 17

13 years 10 11 12 30 24 28

14 years 19 22 23 35 39 37

15 years 34 38 34 51 49 49

Total 15 16 17 30 29 31

Girls

11 years 1 1 3 12 12 15

12 years 4 5 5 17 12 17

13 years 9 12 12 27 24 27

14 years 17 18 21 37 32 38

15 years 30 33 30 45 43 48

Total 12 14 15 28 25 30

Total

11 years 1 2 4 12 12 15

12 years 4 5 6 17 15 17

13 years 10 11 12 28 24 27

14 years 18 20 22 36 35 38

15 years 32 35 32 48 46 49

Total 14 15 16 29 27 30

BasesBoys11 years 249 873 597 782 803 82012 years 295 1009 730 877 950 98013 years 249 943 715 902 968 102414 years 658 910 731 866 921 97415 years 822 1034 772 1008 1092 1123Total 2273 4769 3545 4435 4734 4921


Total11 years 501 1751 1153 1544 1557 163112 years 601 1903 1386 1816 1879 200313 years 538 1862 1393 1822 1873 203614 years 1365 1837 1407 1786 1846 191415 years 1561 1955 1520 1941 2090 2209Total 4566 9308 6859 8909 9245 9793




the main report in September 2003..


Table 2.6

Whether had taken individual drugs (a) in the last month, (b) in the last year(including the last month) and (c) ever, by sex: 2003

All pupils 2003

Type of drug Boys Girls Total

In last In last Ever In last In last Ever In last In last Ever

month year month year month year

% % % % % % % % %

Cannabis 9 14 17 7 12 15 8 13 16

Any stimulants 3 6 9 3 6 8 3 6 8

Cocaine 0 1 2 1 1 2 0 1 2

Crack 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 1 2

Ecstasy 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 2

Amphetamines 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 1 1

Poppers 1 4 6 1 4 5 1 4 6

Any psychedelics 1 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3

LSD 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

Magic mushrooms 1 3 3 1 2 2 1 2 3

Any opiates 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 1 1

Heroin 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

Methadone 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Gas, glue, aerosols or solvents 3 7 15 3 8 18 3 8 16

Tranquillisers 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1

Anabolic steroids 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

Other drugs 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

Any Class A druga

2 5 7 2 4 6 2 4 6

Any drug 13 22 31 12 20 30 12 21 30

Any drug (excluding volatile substances)10 18 22 9 15 18 10 16 20

Bases 5250 5250 5250 5121 5121 5121 10371 10371 10371

a See Chapter 1 Section 1.7 for the definition of Class A drugs.


Table 2.7

Whether boys had used individual drugs in the last year, by age

All boys 2003

Type of drug Age


% % % % % %

Cannabis 1 3 10 20 33 14

Any stimulants 1 2 5 7 13 6

Cocaine 0 0 1 2 3 1

Crack 0 1 1 2 1 1

Ecstasy 0 0 1 1 4 1

Amphetamines 0 0 1 1 3 1

Poppers 0 1 4 5 10 4

Any psychedelics 0 0 2 4 6 3

LSD - - 1 1 1 1

Magic mushrooms 0 0 2 3 6 3

Any opiates 1 1 1 1 1 1

Heroin 0 0 1 1 1 1

Methadone 0 0 0 0 0 0

Gas, glue, aerosols or solvents 6 6 8 7 7 7

Tranquillisers 0 0 0 1 1 1

Anabolic steroids 0 - 0 1 1 0

Other drugs 0 0 1 1 2 1

Any Class A druga

1 2 4 6 10 5

Any drug 8 11 19 27 39 22

Any drug (excluding volatile substances) 3 5 14 24 37 18

Bases 906 1064 1093 1026 1161 5250



Table 2.8

Whether girls had used individual drugs in the last year, by age

All girls 2003

Type of drug Age


% % % % % %

Cannabis 0 2 6 21 30 12


Cocaine 0 0 1 2 3 1

Crack 0 1 1 2 2 1

Ecstasy 0 0 1 3 4 2

Amphetamines - 0 1 2 3 1

Poppers 0 1 2 6 9 4


LSD - 0 0 1 1 1



Heroin 0 0 1 1 1 1

Methadone - - - 0 0 0


Tranquillisers - 0 - 1 1 0

Anabolic steroids - 0 0 0 0 0

Other drugs - 0 0 1 1 1

Any Class A druga 1 2 3 6 8 4

Any drug 7 9 17 29 36 20


Bases 870 1085 1062 986 1118 5121



Table 2.9

Whether had used individual drugs in the last year, by age

All pupils 2003

Type of drug Age


% % % % % %

Cannabis 1 3 8 21 31 13


Cocaine 0 0 1 2 3 1

Crack 0 1 1 2 2 1

Ecstasy 0 0 1 2 4 1


Poppers 0 1 3 5 10 4


LSD - 0 1 1 1 1



Heroin 0 0 1 1 1 1




Anabolic steroids 0 0 0 0 0 0


Any Class A druga

1 2 3 6 9 4

Any drug 8 10 18 28 38 21


Bases 1776 2149 2155 2012 2279 10371



Table 2.10

Whether boys had taken individual drugs in the last year: 1998-2003a

All boys 1998-2003

Type of drug Year

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002b

2003

% % % % % %

Cannabis 11 11 13 14 14 14


Cocaine 1 1 1 1 1 1

Crack 0 1 1 1 1 1

Ecstasy 1 1 1 2 1 1


Poppers 2 1 2 4 5 4


LSD 1 1 1 1 1 1



Heroin 0 0 1 1 1 1


Gas, glue, aerosols or solventsc

1 2 3 7 6 7




Any Class A drugd

3 3 4 4 4 5

Any drug 12 13 14 21 21 22

Any drug (excluding volatile substances)12 12 14 17 17 18

Bases 2287 4625 3549 4687 5081 5250





c 1998 survey asked about Glue or Solvents only, Gas was added as a separate category in 1999, and from

2000 questions were asked about Glue, Gas, Aerosols and other solvents as one category.

d See Chapter 1 Section 1.7 for the definition of Class A drugs.


Table 2.11

Whether girls had taken individual drugs in the last year: 1998-2003a

All girls 1998-2003

Type of drug Year

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002b

2003

% % % % % %

Cannabis 9 10 11 12 12 12


Cocaine 0 1 1 1 1 1

Crack 0 1 1 1 1 1

Ecstasy 0 1 1 2 2 2


Poppers 1 1 2 3 4 4


LSD 1 1 1 1 1 1



Heroin 0 0 1 1 1 1



1 3 3 8 6 8




Any Class A drugd

3 2 3 4 4 4

Any drug 10 12 13 19 18 20

Any drug (excluding volatile substances)10 10 12 15 14 15

Bases 2360 4428 3319 4670 4749 5121









Table 2.12

Whether had taken individual drugs in the last year: 1998-2003a


Type of drug Year

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002b

2003

% % % % % %

Cannabis 10 11 12 13 13 13


Cocaine 1 1 1 1 1 1

Crack 0 1 1 1 1 1

Ecstasy 1 1 1 2 1 1


Poppers 1 2 2 3 4 4


LSD 1 1 1 1 1 1



Heroin 0 0 1 1 1 1



1 3 3 7 6 8




Any Class A drugd

3 2 4 4 4 4

Any drug 11 12 14 20 20 21


Bases 4647 9053 6862 9357 9830 10371









Table 2.13

Whether 15 year olds had taken individual drugs in the last year: 1998-2003a

All aged 15 years 1998-2003

Type of drug Year

1998 1999 2000 2001b

2002b

2003

% % % % % %

Cannabis 27 28 28 31 31 31


Cocaine 2 2 2 3 3 3

Crack 1 1 2 2 1 2

Ecstasy 2 2 3 4 4 4


Poppers 4 5 5 8 11 10


LSD 2 2 1 1 1 1



Heroin 1 1 1 1 1 1



3 6 4 7 7 7




Any Class A drugd

8 8 9 9 8 9

Any drug 28 30 29 39 37 38


Bases 966 1846 1521 1991 2154 2279









Table 2.14

Types of drugs taken in last year, by age and sexAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Types of drugs taken in last year Age

11-12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Total

% % % % %

Boys

Only taken cannabis 17 31 46 47 39

Only sniffed VS 56 27 11 5 19

Only taken one Class A druga

3 3 2 1 2

Only taken one other drug 5 6 2 4 4

Taken two or more drugs including at least

one Class A druga

13 20 21 26 22

Taken two or more drugs, but no Class A drugsa

5 13 18 17 15

Taken only one type of drug 82 67 61 57 64

Taken two or more types of drug 18 33 39 43 36

Girls




2 5 1 2 2



one Class A druga

12 15 21 23 19


5 14 20 18 16



Total




3 4 2 2 2



one Class A druga

13 17 21 24 20


5 13 19 18 15



Bases

Boys 173 190 257 435 1055

Girls 156 172 271 392 991

Total 329 362 528 827 2046

a See Chapter 1 Section 1.7 for a definition of Class A drugs.


Table 2.15

Usual frequency take drugs, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Frequency take drugs Age


% % % % % %

Boys

Most days - 0 1 3 4 2

At least once a week 0 0 1 3 5 2

Once or twice a month 1 1 3 5 7 3

A few times a year 1 1 4 4 8 4

Once a year or less often 1 2 2 3 3 2

Taken drugs in last year, but only ever

taken drugs once 2 3 5 5 6 4

Not taken drugs in last year 7 7 8 10 9 8

Never taken drugsa

88 86 77 68 59 75

Girls

Most days - 1 1 1 1 1








Never taken drugsa

87 87 76 67 59 75

Total

Most days - 0 1 2 3 1








Never taken drugsa

88 86 77 68 59 75

Bases

Boys 868 1021 1051 984 1116 5040

Girls 847 1060 1036 961 1089 4993

Total 1715 2081 2087 1945 2205 10033

a See note 7.


Table 2.16

Usual frequency take drugs among those who had taken drugs in the lastyear, by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Frequency take drugs Age

11-12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Total

% % % % %

Boys

Most days 3 5 12 12 10

At least once a week 3 6 15 14 11

Once or twice a month 13 18 21 22 20

A few times a year 17 27 17 24 22

Once a year or less often 24 11 13 8 12


taken drugs once 39 33 22 19 25

Girls

Most days 5 8 5 4 5







Total

Most days 4 7 8 8 7







Bases

Boys 115 152 218 355 840

Girls 118 153 231 333 835

Total 233 305 449 688 1675

Table 2.17

Usual frequency take drugs, by type of drugs taken in last yearAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Frequency take drugs Type of drugs taken in last year

Cannabis Volatile Any Class A Other Totalb

only substances drugsa

drugsonly

% % % % %

Most days 2 3 16 10 7





Taken drugs in last year, but only

ever taken drugs once 29 41 13 16 26

Bases 535 316 384 330 1675


b Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about which drugs they had taken in the

last year.


Table 2.18

Number of occasions ever taken drugs, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Number occasions ever taken drugs Age


% % % % % %

Boys

Once 2 3 5 5 6 4

2-5 occasions 2 3 5 7 8 5

6-10 occasions 0 0 1 3 4 2

More than 10 occasions 1 1 4 7 14 6


Never taken drugsa

88 86 77 68 59 75

Girls

Once 3 3 4 7 6 5

2-5 occasions 2 2 6 7 9 5

6-10 occasions 0 1 2 4 5 3



Never taken drugsa

87 86 76 67 59 75

Total

Once 3 3 4 6 6 4

2-5 occasions 2 2 5 7 8 5

6-10 occasions 0 1 1 4 5 2



Never taken drugsa

88 86 77 67 59 75

Bases

Boys 870 1023 1053 986 1121 5053

Girls 847 1065 1037 965 1092 5006

Total 1717 2088 2090 1951 2213 10059

a See note 7.

Table 2.19

Number of occasions ever taken drugs among those taken drugs in last year,by when last took drugsAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Number occasions ever taken drugs Last took drugs

Last month Last year Total(not last month)

% % %

Once 15 40 26

2-5 occasions 25 39 31

6-10 occasions 15 11 13

More than 10 occasions 46 11 30

Bases 949 752 1701


Table 2.20

Number of occasions ever taken drugs, by type of drugs taken in last yearAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Number of occasions ever taken drugs Type of drugs taken in last year

Cannabis Volatile Any Class A Other Totalb

only substances drugsa

drugsonly

% % % % %

Once 28 40 13 17 26

2-5 occasions 34 40 17 34 31

6-10 occasions 15 9 13 16 13

More than 10 occasions 23 12 57 33 30

Bases 541 328 386 281 1701



last year.

Table 2.21

Drugs tried at age first tried drugs, by age first tried drugsAll ever taken drugs 2003

Drugs tried Age first tried drugs

11 years 12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Totala

or younger

% % % % % %

Glue, gas, aerosols or other solvents 81 58 36 20 14 50

Cannabis 11 41 59 78 82 44

Poppers 3 8 14 17 18 10


Crack 2 3 2 1 1 2

Heroin 2 2 2 1 3 2

Cocaine 2 2 2 1 2 2

Ecstasy 1 2 1 2 3 1



LSD 0 1 1 0 1 1




Bases 924 554 629 502 228 2950

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about which the age at which they first

took drugs.


Table 2.22

Type of drugs tried at age first tried drugs, by age first tried drugsAll ever taken drugs 2003

Type of drugs tried Age first tried drugs

11 years 12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Totalb

or younger

% % % % % %

Cannabis only 9 28 44 58 63 33

Glue, gas, aerosols and other solvents only 78 48 27 11 7 44

Any Class A drugsa

8 10 11 10 14 10

Other drugs 5 14 18 20 17 14

Bases 924 554 629 502 228 2950



last year.


3 Awareness and knowledge ofdrugs

Heather Wardle

3.1 Introduction

In 2001 the format of questions about awareness of drugs were changed (see Section 1.3for full details) and results from 2001 onwards are not comparable with earlier years.Therefore trend analysis is mostly restricted to results from 2001-2003.

It should also be borne in mind that some pupils may have been reluctant to admit lack ofknowledge about certain drugs. For this reason questions were asked about a ‘dummy’drug, semeron. In 2003, 15% of pupils stated that they had heard of semeron, similar to thelevels found in 2001 and 2002 (15% and 14% respectively). This suggests that over-reporting is a factor in the completion of the drugs awareness questions. However, theproportion who claim awareness of semeron has remained consistent since 2001 and over-reporting remains modest when set against the high awareness levels for real drugsreported in the remainder of the chapter.

3.2 Awareness of drugs

There was widespread awareness of drugs among young people aged 11 to 15 in Englandin 2003, with the most commonly known drugs being heroin (94%), cocaine (94%),cannabis (92%), crack (89%) and ecstasy (82%). Over 70% had heard of magic mushrooms(77%) and tranquilisers (73%) and over half had heard of LSD, poppers, anabolic steroids,methadone and amphetamines. Only 2% had never heard of any of the drugs listed.

(Table 3.1; Figure 3.1)


Figure 3.1

Awareness of different types of drugAll pupils

Heroin

Cannabis

Ecstasy

Tranquillisers

Poppers

Methadone

Cocaine

Crack

MagicMushrooms

LSD

AnabolicSteroids

Amphetamines

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Percent

Levels of awareness of most drugs were similar to previous years, although there weresome changes in awareness of individual drugs over time. Between 2001 and 2003, therewere significant increases in awareness of crack (84% in 2001, 89% in 2003), poppers(52% in 2001, 55% in 2003) and magic mushrooms (74% in 2001, 77% in 2003). Incontrast, awareness of LSD decreased from 64% to 60% over the same period.

Awareness of amphetamines decreased from 57% in 2001 to 52% in 2003, but had been72% in 1999. Although estimates of awareness in 1999 are not comparable with those from2001 onwards, it should be noted that the change in format of questions about awarenesswould be expected to result in increased awareness of individual drugs.

1Therefore it is

almost certainly the case that the decrease in awareness of amphetamines from 1999 to2003 is real and is much greater than any of the increases in awareness of other drugs. It isnot clear why awareness should have decreased so dramatically. Although questions alsoused some street names for each drug (speed is listed as an alternative name foramphetamines), pupils may not read the questions carefully enough and may report thatthey have not heard of amphetamines when they had heard of speed. However, there is noevidence to collaborate this potential explanation.


Levels of awareness of most drugs were similar among boys and girls, although boys weremore likely to have heard of anabolic steroids (60%, compared with 48% among girls). Boyswere also more likely than girls to have heard of crack (90% boys, 87% girls) and LSD (62%boys, 57% girls), but were less likely to be aware of methadone (50% boys, 56% girls).These patterns were similar to those found in previous years.

(Table 3.2)

Awareness of every type of drug increased with age. Even among those aged 11, there washigh awareness of cocaine (87%) heroin (83%), cannabis (79%), and crack (69%), thoughlimited awareness of poppers (28%), LSD (25%) and amphetamines (19%). By age 15,nearly all pupils (96% or higher) had heard of heroin, cocaine, cannabis, crack and ecstasy.

(Table 3.3)


Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

00 01 02 0399

Magic mushrooms

Crack

LSD

Poppers

Amphetamines

Change in method of measuring awareness

of drugs

Figure 3.2

Awareness of specific individual drugs: 1999-2003All pupils

3.3 Knowledge of drugs

Pupils’ knowledge of drugs was tested through a series of statements about the physicaleffects of drugs, four true and two false statements. In each case the pupils respondedwhether they thought the statement was true or false, with the option of recording don’tknow.

2

For each individual ‘true’ statement most pupils answered correctly, recognising thatcocaine was dangerous (84%), heroin is addictive (75%), sniffing solvents can cause braindamage (66%) and that injecting drugs can lead to HIV (59%). Pupils found the falsestatements more difficult – 58% correctly thought that “ecstasy always makes you feelgreat, with no side effects” was false, but less than half (38%) correctly identified “cannabisis more dangerous than heroin” as false. Wrong answers were quite rare, with pupils morelikely to select the “don’t know” option – for example 5% thought that “injecting drugs canlead to HIV” was false, whereas 36% did not know whether it was true or false. Thus pupilswould appear to be uninformed rather than misinformed regarding the risks of taking drugs.Results for 2003 were very similar to those found in 2001.


Boys were more likely than girls to correctly answer that sniffing solvents can cause braindamage (69% boys, 63% girls), injecting drugs can lead to HIV (61% boys, 57% girls), andto correctly think that “cannabis is more dangerous than heroin” was false (42% boys, 33%girls).

(Table 3.5)

Summing up the number of statements which pupils answered correctly, there was nooverall difference in knowledge between 2003 and 2001. In 2003, 40% of pupils got five ormore correct answers, 36% got 3-4 correct answers and 24% got two or fewer correct.However, boys’ level of knowledge about drugs has increased and remains greater thangirls’ level of knowledge which remained the same – 40% of boys had five or more correctanswers in 2001 rising to 43% in 2003, compared with 37% of girls for both years.

(Table 3.6)


0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Percent

Cannabis is more dangerous than heroin

Ecstasy always makes you feel great, with no side effects

Injecting drugs can lead to HIV

Inhaling or sniffing solvents can cause brain damage

Heroin is addictive

Taking cocaine is dangerous

True statements

False statements

* Bars indicate proportions answering true to true statements and false to the false statements

2001

2003

Figure 3.3

Correct answers to statements* : 2001, 2003All pupils

Knowledge of drugs increases with age. The proportion of pupils who gave five or morecorrect answers out of a possible six at age 11 was 17%, and increased with age to 65% atage 15. This implies a good deal of knowledge among older pupils, but also a substantialdegree of remaining ignorance.


Although overall boys were more likely than girls to get five or more answers correct, thisdifferential was only seen among younger pupils. Among pupils aged between 11 and 13,boys were more likely than girls to get five or more correct answers (for example 21% of 11year old boys got five or more correct answers compared with 12% of 11 year old girls), butthere was no difference between boys and girls at ages 14 or 15.



0

20

40

60

80

100


5 or 6

3 or 4

2 or fewer

Figure 3.4

Number of correct answers to statements (out of 6), by age

All pupils

Per

cent

Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


Boys

Girls

Figure 3.5

Proportion with five or more correct true/false answers (out of six), by sex and ageBase: All pupils

3.4 Relationship between knowledge of drugs and drug takingbehaviour

Knowledge of drugs was related to the number of occasions pupils had taken drugs, withthose with more experience of drug taking being also more knowledgeable about drugs.Among those who had never taken drugs, 35% got five or more answers correct, whereas71% of those who had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions got five or more answerscorrect.

(Table 3.8)

A relationship also exists between the pupils’ knowledge of drugs and whether they hadtaken cannabis in the last month. The most knowledgeable pupils were more likely to havetaken cannabis in the last month. This pattern was particularly pronounced among olderpupils – for example, among 15 year olds, 22% of more knowledgeable pupils (5 or morecorrect answers) had taken cannabis in the last month, compared with 10% of the leastknowledgeable pupils (2 or fewer correct answers). However, it is not possible to determinewhether greater knowledge of drugs leads to pupils taking cannabis, or whether pupils whotake cannabis decide to find out more about drugs. There was no relationship betweenknowledge of drugs and either sniffing volatile substances in the last month or taking ClassA drugs in the last month.

2

(Table 3.9)

3.5 Pupils’ perceptions of their own knowledge about drugs

Pupils were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statement

“I know enough about the dangers of drugs”.

In 1999, 59% thought that they knew enough about the dangers of drugs and this increasedto 63% in 2001 and 65% in 2003.

(Table 3.10)

In 2003, boys were more likely than girls to think that they knew enough about the dangersof drugs (70% compared with 61%). Older pupils were more likely to feel that they knewenough about drugs than younger pupils (58% of 11 year olds thought that they knewenough about the dangers of drugs, compared with 72% of 15 year olds).

(Table 3.11)

However, analysing pupils’ perceptions of their own levels of knowledge about drugs bytheir knowledge as measured by the six true or false statements, shows that pupils’perceptions are driven by their knowledge and not by their age. Among those who got twoor fewer correct answers out of 6, 52% felt they knew enough about the dangers of drugs,and this increased to 64% of those who got 3-4 answers correct and 74% of those who gotfive or more answers correct. Among those who got two or fewer answers correct, theproportion who felt that they knew about drugs did not vary by age, and the same lack ofvariation by age was seen among those who got 3-4 answers correct and among those whogot five or more answers correct.

(Table 3.12)


3.6 PSHE lessons in the last year

In 1986, questions were first introduced about whether pupils remembered the content ofPSHE lessons in the past 12 months. Initially pupils were asked whether they rememberedlessons about smoking or lessons about either drinking or drugs in general as a combinedcategory. In 1988 recall of lessons about drinking and drugs in general were askedseparately, in addition to recall of lessons about smoking and these questions were nextrepeated in 1993. In 1994, recall of lessons about glue sniffing or solvent abuse (as acombined category) was added. From 1996 onwards, pupils were asked which of thefollowing topics they remembered having lessons on in the last 12 months.

� Smoking� Alcohol� Heroin� Crack or Cocaine� Solvent abuse or glue sniffing� Ecstasy� Drugs in general

It should be noted that the question relates to the previous 12 months of education. Thequestionnaire is administered during the autumn term and asks pupils to recall lessons inthe previous academic year, which for younger pupils (school year 7), asks pupils to recallprimary rather than secondary education. For this reason, school year, rather than age isused for analyses in this section.

The proportion of pupils who remembered having lessons on drugs in general (as opposedto lessons about specific drugs) increased from 38% in 1988 to 66% in 1998 and hasremained around that level since then (in 2003, 61% of pupils remembered having lessonson drugs in general).

Recall of lessons on smoking has fluctuated over the years; the proportion whoremembered lessons increased from 42% in 1986 to a peak of 78% in 1998, decreased to63% in 1999, and has remained stable since then (in 2003, 61% of pupils rememberedhaving lessons on smoking).

The proportion of pupils who remembered having lessons on alcohol increased from 36% in1988 to a peak of 66% in 1998, then decreased to 56% in 1999 and has remained aroundthat level since then (recall of lessons on alcohol was 56% in 2003).



Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

Smoking

AlcoholDrugs*

* Drugs lessons relate to recall of "drugs in general"

Figure 3.6

Proportions who remembered receiving lessons on specific topics: 1986-2003All pupils

In 2003, lessons about solvents, crack/cocaine, heroin and ecstasy were remembered byaround a third of pupils. Recall of lessons has fluctuated between 1996 and 2003, with noclear increase or decrease over time.

(Table 3.13)

Boys were slightly more likely than girls to remember lessons about drugs; 63% of boyscompared with 60% of girls recalled lessons about drugs in general. There was a similarpattern for recall of lessons about specific drugs; 33% of boys recalled individual lessonsabout solvent abuse, heroin or ecstasy, compared with 28% of girls who recalled lessons onsolvent abuse and 30% who remembered lessons on either heroin or ecstasy. Differences inrecall between boys and girls have not been seen in previous years, so results should betreated with caution, and estimates from future years should be considered before drawingconclusions about whether boys are more likely to remember lessons than girls.

(Table 3.14)

In 2003, the majority of pupils who had lessons on drugs reported that they were either veryuseful or fairly useful (33% and 45% respectively). Among pupils who remembered lessonsabout drugs, there was a decrease in the proportion rating lessons as very useful (39% in1999, 33% in 2003) and a corresponding increase in rating lessons as fairly useful (39% in1999, 45% in 2003). Only 4% felt lessons were not useful at all and 12% thought that theywere not very useful.

(Table 3.16)

Pupils were also asked if they felt their school gave them enough information about drugs.Overall, 36% of pupils felt they were given enough information, continuing the upward trendfrom previous years (32% in 1999, 34% in 2001). However, the majority of pupils stillwanted more information; 37% wanted a bit more information and 14% wanted a lot moreinformation. Boys (39%) were more likely than girls (34%) to think that their schools gavethem enough information on drugs.

(Table 3.18)

There was a significant relationship between pupils who felt they received enoughinformation about drugs from schools and those who had lessons about drugs in the past12 months. Of those who remembered lessons, 42% stated they thought their school gavethem enough information compared with 27% of pupils who could not remember havinglessons on drugs. It should be noted that even among those who remembered havinglessons on drugs in general in the last 12 months, still only a minority felt that they hadreceived enough information.

(Table 3.20)

Fifty-two percent of pupils knew where to get more information about drugs, an increasefrom 45% in 1999 and 49% in 2001. Pupils were more likely to report that they knew whereto get further information if they had lessons on drugs in the past year. In 2003, 57% ofthose who remembered lessons knew where to get more information compared with 43%of those who did not remember lessons on drugs. This pattern was evident across eachschool year.

(Tables 3.21-3.22)


3.7 Lessons about drugs, by age

Recall of school lessons increased with age. Around half of pupils in Year 7 reportedremembering lessons about drugs in general, smoking and alcohol. These proportions rosein the next two year groups. By Year 9, recall of lessons was 66% for smoking, 64% fordrugs in general and 60% for alcohol. These levels were maintained in Years 10 and 11,though by Year 11 recall of lessons on drugs in general (68%) was a little higher than alcohol(61%) or smoking (60%).

(Table 3.15)

As found in previous years, the majority of pupils within all age groups gave a positiveassessment of school lessons about drugs, though the proportion reporting they foundlessons very useful was greater among younger pupils (51% for Year 7 pupils, 20% for Year11 pupils).

(Table 3.17)

Older pupils (41% of Year 11 pupils) were more likely than younger pupils (30% of Year 7pupils) to report that schools gave them enough information about drugs, although it shouldbe noted that Year 7 pupils were also more likely to answer that they didn’t know whetherthey had enough information (19%), than Year 11 pupils (11%). Around half pupils in all agegroups wanted more information about drugs.

(Table 3.19)

Knowledge about how and where to get more information about drugs increased with agefrom 36% of Year 7 pupils to 66% of those in Year 11.

(Table 3.22)

Compared with younger pupils, older pupils had a greater knowledge of drugs (see Section3.3) and were more knowledgeable about other sources of information about drugs, weremore likely to remember lessons about drugs, but less likely to rate them as very useful andequally likely to want the school to provide more information about drugs.

3.8 Relationships between lessons about drugs and knowledge ofdrugs

Health education lessons about drugs were related to pupils’ knowledge of the physicaleffects of drugs. Among all age groups, the proportion of pupils who correctly answered 5or more statements about drugs was greater among those who remembered receivingschool lessons about drugs in the past 12 months than those who did not. For example, inYear 11, 69% of pupils who recalled lessons answered 5 or more statements correctly,compared with 61% of pupils who did not recall these lessons. However, the high level ofknowledge among those who did not remember lessons suggests that lessons are not theonly source of information about drugs.



Additional evidence that lessons were not necessarily the source of knowledge comes fromanalysis of pupils’ rating of the usefulness of lessons by their knowledge of drugs. Pupilswho were more knowledgeable (five or more statements correct) were less likely than thosewho were less knowledgeable (two or fewer statements correct) to rate lessons as beingvery useful (25% and 33% respectively), but were also more likely to rate lessons as beingnot very useful (16% and 6% respectively) and not at all useful (7% and 3% respectively).

(Table 3.24)

3.9 Lessons about drugs and drug taking behaviour

Pupils who remembered having lessons on drugs but did not find them useful had similarrates of having taken cannabis, volatile substances or Class A drugs in the last month tothose who did not remember having lessons at all. However, those who remembered havinguseful lessons were the least likely to have taken cannabis, volatile substances or Class Adrugs in the last month. For example, among Year 11 pupils, 15% of those rememberinguseful lessons had taken cannabis in the last month, compared with 25% of those who hadhad lessons that weren’t useful and 23% of those who did not remember having lessons.

(Table 3.25)

The more experience pupils had of taking drugs, the less likely they were to rate lessonsabout drugs as being very useful. Among those who remembered lessons, the proportionrating lessons as very useful was 33% among those who had never taken drugs and 28%among those who had not taken drugs in the last year, compared with 11% of those whohad taken drugs on more than 10 occasions. The proportions who rated lessons as veryuseful also varied by the types of drugs taken in the last year, from 31% of those who hadonly sniffed volatile substances to 17% of those who had only taken cannabis and 11% ofthose who had taken Class A drugs.

(Tables 3.26-3.27)

There was no relationship between pupils perceptions of whether the school provided themwith enough information about drugs and either the number of occasions that they hadtaken drugs or the types of drugs taken in the last year.

(Tables 3.28-3.29)


Per

cen

t

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11

Remembered lessons

Not remember lessons

Figure 3.7

Pupils who got 5 or more statements correct (out of 6), by whether remembered lessons on drugs All pupils

Knowledge of where to get more information about drugs was greater among those withmore experience of taking drugs – 49% of those who had never taken drugs knew where toget more information compared with 70% of pupils who had taken drugs on more than 10occasions. Among those who had taken drugs in the last year, 49% of pupils who had onlysniffed volatile substances knew where to get more information about drugs, but they wereless aware than pupils who had only taken cannabis (66%) or those who had taken anyClass A drugs (69%).

(Tables 3.30-3.31)

3.10 Views on what adults say about drugs

Pupils were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with five statements about what adultssay about drugs. Specifically, pupils were asked if they felt they were given correctinformation by adults in general and if they listened to what certain adults (parents, doctors,teachers and police) told them about drugs.

Over 80% of pupils agreed that they listened to what each of the parents, doctors, teachersand the police had to say about drugs, and levels of agreement were higher than in 2001.For example, 86% agreed that they listened to what their parents had to say about drugs in2003 compared with 83% in 2001. However, there has been a substantial decrease in theproportion of pupils who agreed that adults tell the truth about drugs from 61% in 1999 and58% in 2001 to 44% in 2003. It is unusual to see such a degree of change in an attitude overa relatively short timescale and this represents a major negative attitudinal shift in believingwhat adults tell young people about drugs. So although young people on the whole listen towhat adults tell them about drugs, only a minority believe what they are being told.

(Tables 3.32-3.33)

Agreement levels were similar among boys and girls, but decreased with age: whereas 91%of 11 year olds listen to what their parents tell them about drugs, 81% of 15 year olds do.Similarly the proportion who thought that adults told the truth about drugs decreased from48% of 11 year olds to 38% of 15 year olds. Even among younger pupils who were morepositive, still only a minority agreed that adults told the truth about drugs.

(Table 3.34)


0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Percent

What adults tell us about drugs is true

I listen to what the police say about drugs

I listen to what teachers say about drugs

I listen to what doctors say about drugs

I listen to what my parents tell me about drugs

2001

2003

Figure 3.8

Whether would listen to what different adults would say about drugs: 2001, 2003 All pupils

Pupils with more experience of taking drugs were less likely to believe what adults told themabout drugs; 30% of those who had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions believed whatadults told them about drugs compared with 46% of those who had never taken drugs. Thevariation in attitudes to listening to different adults about drugs by experience of takingdrugs was more marked than the variation in attitudes by age. For example, 90% of thosewho had never taken drugs listened to their parents, compared with 63% of those who hadtaken drugs on more than 10 occasions. This was a much larger differential than between11 year olds (91%) and 15 year olds (81%), demonstrating that attitudes were shaped moreby experience than by increasing age per se.

(Table 3.34-3.35)


In 1999 and 2000 pupils were asked about awareness of drugs using a grid format and a long list of 15drugs. From 2001, pupils were asked individual questions about awareness of each drug. The individualquestion format is a less complex cognitive task and one where 11-15 year olds would be less likely tomiss recording positive awareness of individual drugs, thus resulting in higher reported levels ofawareness. In fact, levels of awareness of all individual drugs apart from amphetamines increased orremained at a similar level between 2000 and 2001.

2An additional statement “Smoking cannabis does less damage to your lungs than cigarettes” wasincluded in 2001, but dropped from the 2003 survey. A reliability analysis (unpublished) found that it wasnot statistically valid to include it in a scale with the other six statements.


Table 3.1

Awareness of individual drugs: 1999-2003a


Type of drug Year

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

% % % % %

Cannabis 90 88 91 92 92

Any stimulants 93 89 97 96 97

Cocaine 90 86 94 93 94

Crack 78 76 84 85 89

Ecstasy 77 70 81 81 82

Amphetamines 72 64 57 54 52

Poppers 41 41 52 53 55

Any psychedelics 77 72 80 80 81

LSD 65 59 64 62 60

Magic mushrooms 67 64 74 75 77

Any opiates 90 85 94 93 95

Heroin 89 85 93 93 94

Methadone 49 39 55 55 53

Tranquillisers 61 60 74 71 73

Anabolic steroids 47 41 55 53 54

Other drugs 2 6 4 5 6

Never heard of any of the drugs 4 8 2 2 2

Bases 8740 7032 9357 9832 10364

a Estimates from 2001, 2002 and 2003 are not comparable with estimates from previous years because of

the change in the way that drug awareness was measured.

Table 3.2

Awareness of individual drugs, by sexAll pupils 2003

Type of drug Sex

Boys Girls Total

% % %

Cannabis 92 92 92

Any stimulants 97 97 97

Cocaine 95 94 94

Crack 90 87 89

Ecstasy 82 82 82

Amphetamines 53 51 52

Poppers 55 54 55

Any psychedelics 81 81 81

LSD 62 57 60

Magic mushrooms 77 76 77

Any opiates 94 95 95

Heroin 93 94 94

Methadone 50 56 53

Tranquillisers 74 72 73

Anabolic steroids 60 48 54

Other drugs 7 4 6

Never heard of any of the drugs 2 2 2

Bases 5245 5119 10364


Table 3.3

Awareness of individual drugs, by ageAll pupils 2003

Type of drug Age


% % % % % %

Cannabis 79 88 95 97 97 92


Cocaine 87 92 96 97 98 94

Crack 69 84 93 97 97 89

Ecstasy 55 73 88 94 96 82


Poppers 28 36 54 70 79 55


LSD 25 37 61 80 88 60


Any opiates 85 93 97 98 99 95

Heroin 83 92 96 97 98 94

Methadone 32 45 56 60 68 53




Never heard of any of the drugs 4 2 1 1 1 2

Bases 1773 2147 2154 2011 2279 10364


Table 3.4

Knowledge of drugs: 2001, 2003All pupils 2001, 2003

Knowledge of drugs Survey year

2001 2003

% %

True Statements

Taking cocaine is dangerous

True 85 84

Don’t know 12 14

False 3 3

Heroin is addictive

True 73 75

Don’t know 25 23

False 2 2

Inhaling or sniffing solvents can cause brain damage

True 68 66

Don’t know 30 32

False 2 2

Injecting drugs can lead to HIV

True 59 59

Don’t know 37 36

False 4 5

False statements

Ecstasy always makes you feel great, with no side effects

True 5 6

Don’t know 39 36

False 57 58

Cannabis is more dangerous than heroin

True 9 9

Don’t know 56 54

False 36 38

Bases 9209 10192


Table 3.5

Knowledge of drugs by sex and survey yearAll pupils 2001, 2003

Knowledge of drugs Survey year

2001 2003

Percentage who answered correctly

Boys

True statements

Taking cocaine is dangerous 84 84

Heroin is addictive 72 75

Inhaling or sniffing solvents can cause brain damage 69 69

Injecting drugs can lead to HIV 60 61

False statements

Ecstasy always makes you feel great, with no side effects 55 57

Cannabis is more dangerous than heroin 40 42

Girls

True statements





False statements



Total

True statements





False statements



Bases

Boys 4592 5130

Girls 4617 5062

Total 9209 10192


Table 3.6

Knowledge of drugs (true/false scale), by sex and survey yearAll pupils 2001,2003

Number of correct answers (out of 6 statements)a

Survey Year

2001 2003

% %

Boys

2 or fewer correct 24 23

3-4 correct 36 34

5 or more correct 40 43

Girls


3-4 correct 39 38


Total


3-4 correct 37 36


Bases

Boys 4592 5130

Girls 4617 5062

Total 9209 10192

a See Note 2.

Table 3.7

Knowledge of drugs (true/false scale), by sex and age All pupils 2003

Number of correct answers Age(out of 6 statements) 11 years 12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Total

% % % % % %

Boys

2 or fewer correct 42 29 22 18 10 23

3-4 correct 37 41 37 29 26 34

5 or more correct 21 31 42 53 64 43

Girls

2 or fewer correct 46 35 26 14 7 25

3-4 correct 43 44 43 35 27 38

5 or more correct 12 21 31 50 65 37

Total

2 or fewer correct 44 32 24 16 9 24

3-4 correct 40 42 40 32 26 36

5 or more correct 17 26 36 52 65 40

Bases

Boys 887 1035 1067 996 1145 5130

Girls 846 1071 1049 982 1114 5062

Total 1733 2106 2116 1978 2259 10192


Table 3.8

Knowledge of drugs (true/false scale), by sex and number of occasions ever taken drugsAll pupils 2003

Number of correct answers Number of occasions ever taken drugs(out of 6 statements)

Never Not in Once 2-5 6-10 More than Totala

last year occasions occasions 10 occasions

% % % % % % %

Boys

2 or fewer correct 26 21 15 13 9 9 23

3-4 correct 36 29 26 24 21 21 34

5 or more correct 38 49 60 63 69 70 43

Girls

2 or fewer correct 28 21 20 16 9 6 25

3-4 correct 41 38 31 27 24 23 38

5 or more correct 31 40 49 57 67 71 37

Total

2 or fewer correct 27 21 18 14 9 7 24

3-4 correct 38 34 28 26 23 22 36

5 or more correct 35 45 54 60 68 71 40

Bases

Boys 3706 414 205 262 98 277 5130

Girls 3695 420 225 255 128 233 5062

Total 7401 834 430 517 226 510 10192

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about the number of occasions they have

taken drugs.


Table 3.9

Whether had taken cannabis, volatile substances or Class A drugs in lastmonth, by age and knowledge of drugs (true/false scale)All pupils 2003

Taken cannabis, volatile Number of correct answers (out of 6 statements)substances or Class A

2 or fewer 3 or 4 correct 5 or more correct Totala

% % % %

11 years

Cannabis 0 - 1 0

Volatile Substances 3 3 2 3

Class A 0 0 1 1

12 years

Cannabis 1 1 2 1


Class A 0 0 1 1

13 years

Cannabis 2 4 7 5


Class A 2 2 1 2

14 years

Cannabis 8 7 18 13


Class A 2 2 3 3

15 years

Cannabis 10 13 22 19


Class A 3 3 5 4

Total

Cannabis 3 4 14 8


Class A 1 1 3 2

Bases

11 years 760 685 288 1780

12 years 669 895 542 2152

13 years 506 840 770 2162

14 years 317 636 1025 2015

15 years 198 597 1464 2281

Total 2450 3653 4089 10390

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the true/false questions.


Table 3.10

Whether know enough about the dangers of drugs, by sex: 1999-2003All pupils 1999-2003

Know enough about the dangers of drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

Agree 62 68 70

Don’t know 17 15 14

Disagree 21 17 16

Girls

Agree 56 59 61


Disagree 23 21 21

Total

Agree 59 63 65


Disagree 22 19 18

Bases

Boys 4735 4574 5073

Girls 4525 4602 5021

Total 9260 9176 10094

Table 3.11

Whether know enough about the dangers of drugs, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Know enough about the dangers of drugs Age


Percentage agreed know enough about the dangers of drugs

Boys 61 68 70 72 77 70

Girls 55 61 58 64 67 61

Total 58 64 64 68 72 65

Bases

Boys 872 1025 1051 990 1135 5073

Girls 834 1054 1044 981 1108 5021

Total 1706 2079 2095 1971 2243 10094


Table 3.12

Whether know enough about the dangers of drugs, by age and knowledge of drugs (true/false scale)All pupils 2003

Know enough about the dangers of drugs Number of correct answers (out of 6 statements)

2 or fewer correct 3 or 4 correct 5 or more correct Totala

Percentage agreed know enough about the dangers of drugs

11 years 51 60 70 58

12 years 53 66 74 64

13 years 50 64 73 64

14 years 51 66 74 68

15 years 58 65 76 72

Total 52 64 74 65

Bases

11 years 738 672 287 1706

12 years 649 883 535 2079

13 years 486 830 763 2095

14 years 309 634 1020 1971

15 years 190 592 1459 2243

Total 2372 3611 4064 10094


Table 3.13

Proportion of pupils who remembered receiving health education on various topics in last year: 1986-2002All pupils 1986-2003

Health education lessons Year

1986 1988 1993 1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

% % % % % % % % % % %

Drugs:

Any mention of drugs a a a a 67 71 66 64 66 66 64

Heroin a a a a 36 36 35 27 35 31 32

Crack/cocaine a a a a 34 34 34 26 36 31 33

Ecstasy a a a a 41 37 34 25 35 31 32

Solvent abuse/glue sniffing a a a 33 41 43 40 33 37 30 31

Drugs in general 35b

38 55 57 64 66 64 61 65 62 61

Smoking 42 52 62 65 69 78 63 66 66 65 61

Alcohol 35b

36 48 48 55 66 56 58 59 57 56

Bases 3189 2759 2971 2971 2705 4328 9023 6986 9225 9684 10150

a Questions on solvent abuse and specific drugs were introduced in 1994 and 1996 respectively.

b Drugs and Alcohol was a combined answer category in 1986.


Table 3.14

Recall of health education lessons on drugs, by sexAll pupils 2003

Health education lessons Sex

Boys Girls Total

% % %

Drugs:

Any mention of drugs 66 63 64

Heroin 33 30 32

Crack/cocaine 34 30 33

Ecstasy 33 30 32

Solvent abuse/glue sniffing 33 28 31

Drugs in general 63 60 61

Smoking 61 60 61

Alcohol 57 54 56

Bases 5103 5047 10150

Table 3.15

Recall of health education lessons on drugs in last year, by school yearAll pupils 2003

Health education lessons Current school year


% % % % % %

Drugs:

Any mention of drugs 53 60 67 72 71 64

Heroin 19 26 34 42 41 32

Crack/cocaine 19 26 36 43 40 33

Ecstasy 14 23 34 44 46 32

Solvent abuse/glue sniffing 23 24 31 38 39 31

Drugs in general 49 57 64 70 68 61

Smoking 53 61 66 65 60 61

Alcohol 46 50 60 63 61 56

Bases 2114 2119 2083 1949 1876 10150

Table 3.16

Whether found lessons on drugs useful: 1999-2003All had lessons on drugs in last year 1999-2003

Whether found lessons useful Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Very useful 39 37 33

Fairly useful 39 41 45

Not very useful 12 12 12

Not useful at all 5 4 4

Don’t know 6 7 6

Bases 5938 5645 6252


Table 3.17

Whether found lessons on drugs useful, by school year All who had lessons on drugs in last year 2003

Whether found lessons useful School year


% % % % % %

Very useful 51 41 31 25 20 33

Fairly useful 32 39 46 50 53 45

Not very useful 4 9 12 16 18 12

Not useful at all 3 3 5 5 5 4

Don’t know 10 8 6 4 4 6

Bases 1038 1218 1344 1360 1290 6252

Table 3.18

Whether gets enough information on drugs at school:1999-2003All pupils 1999- 2003

Information from school Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

School gives enough information 32 34 36

Would like a bit more information 40 37 37

Would like a lot more information 17 16 14


Bases 9087 9113 10084

Table 3.19

Whether gets enough information on drugs at school, by school year and sexAll pupils 2003

Information from school School year


% % % % % %

Boys

School gives enough information 33 33 40 45 44 39

Would like a bit more information 35 37 33 31 31 33

Would like a lot more information 13 19 15 13 12 14

Don’t know 20 12 12 11 12 13

Girls




Don’t know 18 13 11 9 10 12

Total




Don’t know 19 12 11 10 11 13

Bases

Boys 1044 1041 1068 980 933 5069

Girls 1041 1067 1009 962 932 5015

Total 2085 2108 2077 1942 1865 10084


Table 3.20

Whether gets enough information on drugs at school, by school year and whether had lessons on drugs in last yearAll pupils 2003

Information from school Remembered lessons about drugs in last year

Yes No Totala

% % %

Year 7





Year 8





Year 9





Year 10





Year 11





Total





Bases

Year 7 1094 969 2085

Year 8 1254 834 2108

Year 9 1392 664 2077

Year 10 1392 531 1942

Year 11 1323 534 1865

Total 6457 3537 10084

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about whether remembered having

lessons on drugs.

Table 3.21

Whether would know where to get more information on drugs: 1999-2003All pupils 1999-2003

Knows where to get more information on drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Yes 45 49 52

No 41 37 34


Bases 9285 9221 10133


Table 3.22

Whether would know where to get more information on drugs, by school year and whether remembered lessons on drugs All pupils 2003

School year Whether remembered lessons on drugs in last year

Yes No Totala

Percentage who know where to get more information on drugsYear 7 39 33 36Year 8 50 36 45Year 9 56 44 52Year 10 65 57 63Year 11 69 60 66Total 57 43 52Bases

Year 7 1104 979 2108

Year 8 1258 839 2118

Year 9 1397 664 2082

Year 10 1395 535 1949

Year 11 1326 534 1868Total 6482 3557 10133

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about whether remembered havinglessons on drugs.

Table 3.23

Knowledge of drugs, by school year and whether remembered havinglessons on drugs last yearAll pupils 2003

Number of correct statements Whether remembered having lessons about drugs in last year(out of 6 statements)

Yes No Totala

% % %Year 72 or fewer correct 35 51 433-4 correct 44 36 405 or more correct 21 13 17Year 82 or fewer correct 26 36 303-4 correct 45 39 435 or more correct 29 25 27Year 92 or fewer correct 18 30 223-4 correct 38 39 395 or more correct 44 30 39Year 102 or fewer correct 11 21 143-4 correct 32 30 325 or more correct 57 48 54Year 112 or fewer correct 7 12 83-4 correct 25 27 255 or more correct 69 61 66BasesYear 7 1111 997 2180Year 8 1260 849 2169Year 9 1402 677 2141Year 10 1401 543 1991Year 11 1332 539 1899

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about whether remembered lessons aboutdrugs.


Table 3.24

Whether found lessons on drugs useful, by knowledge of drugs (true/false scale)All pupils 2003

Whether found lessons useful Number of correct answers (out of 6 statements)

2 or fewer correct 3 or 4 correct 5 or more correct Totala

% % % %

Boys

Very useful 33 34 29 31

Fairly useful 28 36 42 37

Not very useful 5 11 15 12

Not useful at all 3 5 7 5

Don’t know 30 14 8 15

Girls





Don’t know 24 12 7 13

Total





Don’t know 27 13 8 14

Bases

Boys 911 1404 1879 4211

Girls 982 1586 1580 4162

Total 1893 2990 3459 8373



Table 3.25

Whether used cannabis or Class A drugs in last month, by school year and usefulness of lessons about drugsAll pupils 2003

Type of drugs taken in last month Usefulness of lessonsa

Remembered lessons

Useful Not Remember Don’t Totalb

useful lessons rememberlessons

Percentage who had used drugs in last month

Year 7

Cannabis 0 0 0 0 0

Volatile substances 3 3 3 3 3

Class A drugs 0 1 0 1 1

Year 8

Cannabis 1 4 1 1 2



Year 9

Cannabis 3 10 5 6 5



Year 10

Cannabis 9 23 13 18 14



Year 11

Cannabis 15 25 18 23 20



Bases

Year 7 1119 468 1236 458 2180

Year 8 1229 506 1441 348 2169

Year 9 1245 531 1554 276 2141

Year 10 1142 544 1510 240 1991

Year 11 1055 527 1437 260 1899

a Useful was defined as ‘very useful’ or ‘fairly useful’. Not useful was defined as ’not very useful’ ’not at all

useful or ‘don’t know’

b Total column includes pupils who did not answer questions about whether they remembered lessons

about drugs or about the usefulness of lessons.

Table 3.26

Usefulness of lessons, by number of occasions ever taken drugsAll remembered lessons on drugs 2003

Usefulness of lessons Number of occasions ever taken drugs



% % % % % % %

Very useful 33 28 27 18 8 11 30

Fairly useful 40 38 39 40 46 35 39

Not very useful 9 14 13 23 25 26 12

Not useful at all 4 6 6 8 11 16 5

Don’t know 14 14 15 11 10 14 14

Bases 6090 694 337 436 188 417 8373


taken drugs.


Table 3.27

Usefulness of lessons, by type of drugs taken in last yearAll remembered lessons on drugs 2003

Usefulness of lessons Type of drugs taken in last year

Cannabis Volatile Any Class Other Not taken Totalc

only substances A drugsa

drugsb

drugs inonly last year

% % % % % %

Very useful 17 31 11 15 33 30

Fairly useful 41 34 33 41 40 39

Not very useful 21 15 25 23 9 12

Not useful at all 9 4 17 10 4 5

Don’t know 11 17 14 11 14 14

Bases 583 360 360 326 6267 8373

a See Chapter 1, Section 1.7 for the definition of Class A drugs.

b Definition of other drugs includes cannabis or volatile substances taken in conjunction with other non-

Class A drugs.

c Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about which drugs they had taken in the

last year.

Table 3.28

Whether school gives enough information, by number of occasions ever taken drugsAll pupils 2003

Information from school Number of occasions ever taken drugs

Never Not in Once 2-5 6-10 More Totala

last year occasions occasions than10 occasions

% % % % % % %

School gives enough information 36 32 34 41 34 39 36

Would like a bit more information 38 37 37 31 36 25 37

Would like a lot more information 13 18 18 16 20 20 14

Don’t know 13 12 11 13 11 16 13

Bases 7323 827 427 511 225 505 10084


taken drugs.


Table 3.29

Whether school gives enough information, by type of drugs taken in last yearAll pupils 2003

Information from school Type of drugs taken in last year



drugsb


% % % % % %




Don’t know 12 14 18 12 12 13

Bases 710 432 452 384 7509 10084



Class A drugs.


last year.

Table 3.30

Whether would know where to get more information on drugs, by number ofoccasions ever taken drugsAll pupils 2003

Know where to get more information Number of occasions ever taken drugs



% % % % % % %

Yes 49 56 59 60 65 70 52

No 35 34 31 29 26 23 34

Don’t know 16 11 10 11 9 7 14

Bases 7355 830 427 515 226 506 10133


taken drugs.

Table 3.31

Whether would know where to get more information about drugs, by type ofdrugs taken in last yearAll pupils 2003

Know where to get more information Type of drugs taken in last year



drugsb


% % % % % %

Yes 66 49 69 63 49 52

No 25 36 23 27 35 34

Don’t know 9 14 8 10 15 14

Bases 711 437 453 386 7540 10133



Class A drugs.


last year.


Table 3.32

Attitudes to what adults say about drugs: 2001, 2003All pupils 2001, 2003

Attitudes to what adults say about drugs Survey year

2001 2003

% %

What adults tell us about drugs is true

Agree 58 44

Don’t know 27 32

Disagree 15 24

I listen to what my parents tell me about drugs

Agree 83 86

Don’t know 9 7

Disagree 8 7

I listen to what doctors say about drugs

Agree 83 85

Don’t know 11 9

Disagree 7 6

I listen to what teachers say about drugs

Agree 79 81

Don’t know 10 9

Disagree 11 10

I listen to what the police say about drugs

Agree 77 81

Don’t know 12 10

Disagree 11 10

Bases 9206 10142

Table 3.33

Attitudes to what adults say about drugs, by sex: 1999-2003All pupils 1999-2003

Attitudes to what adults say about drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

Percentage agreed with each statement

Boys

What adults tell us about drugs is true 61 59 45

I listen to what my parents tell me about drugs a 83 86

I listen to what doctors say about drugs a 83 84

I listen to what teachers say about drugs a 78 80

I listen to what the police say about drugs a 77 80

Girls






All pupils






Bases

Boys 4690 4687 5257

Girls 4488 4670 5133

All pupils 9178 9357 10390

a “What adults tell us about drugs is true” was the only one of these statements included in the 1999

survey.


Table 3.34

Attitudes to what adults say about drugs, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Attitudes to what adults say about drugs Age



Boys

What adults tell us about drugs is true 50 51 47 41 38 45

I listen to what my parents tell me about drugs 90 89 86 83 82 86

I listen to what doctors say about drugs 89 89 83 81 81 84

I listen to what teachers say about drugs 86 86 81 76 74 80

I listen to what the police say about drugs 88 87 82 77 70 80

Girls






All pupils






Bases

Boys 907 1065 1097 1026 1162 5257

Girls 873 1087 1065 989 1119 5133

All pupils 1780 2152 2162 2015 2281 10390

Table 3.35

Attitudes to what adults say about drugs, by number of occasions ever taken drugsAll pupils 2003

Attitudes to what adults say about drugs Number of occasions ever taken drugs




What adults tell us about drugs is true 46 42 44 33 31 30 44

I listen to what my parents tell me about drugs 90 84 81 75 71 63 86

I listen to what doctors say about drugs 87 84 84 76 71 68 85

I listen to what teachers say about drugs 85 79 76 64 61 54 81

I listen to what the police say about drugs 85 79 77 66 63 54 81

Bases 7517 841 437 524 229 511 10390


taken drugs.


4 Availability of Drugs

Richard Boreham and Gemma Kothari

4.1 Introduction

Sections 4.4 and 4.5 analyse questions asked of pupils who have ever taken drugs. In 2003,questions were changed to ensure that pupils included sniffing glue or other solvents in thedefinition of taking drugs (see Section 1.5 for a full discussion). Therefore in these sectionsanalysis of trend data is carried out using a different sample of pupils from subgroupanalysis (eg differences between boys and girls or different age groups) of 2003 data. The different subgroups used for analysis in these sections are:

� Trend analyses of issues relating to the first occasion of taking drugs are based on all whohave ever taken drugs, apart from those who have only ever sniffed glue or othersolvents.


� In 2003, subgroup analyses of issues relating to the first occasion of taking drugs arebased on all who have ever taken drugs.

� In 2003, subgroup analyses of issues relating to the most recent occasion of taking drugsare based on all who have taken drugs in the last year, and who have taken drugs morethan once, so that the most recent occasion is distinct from the first occasion.

Estimates from 2002 for whether pupils were offered drugs have been revised since thepublication of 2002 headline results in March 2003 and the main report in September 2003.

4.2 The types of drugs pupils have been offered

In 2003, 42% of pupils had been offered any drugs – this was an increase from 2002 (40%),but back to the same level as 2001 (42%).



The most commonly offered drug was cannabis (27%), followed by volatile substances(19%), poppers (12%) and magic mushrooms (10%). Less than 10% had been offered anyof the other drugs, although it is worth noting that 9% had been offered crack, 9% cocaineand 7% heroin. The proportions of pupils offered each type of drug were similar to previousyears.


As in previous years of the survey, boys were more likely than girls to have been offereddrugs (44% of boys and 39% of girls in 2003). This difference was largely due to a variationin the proportion of boys and girls who had been offered cannabis (30% of boys and 25% ofgirls) and magic mushrooms (12% boys, 9% girls).

(Tables 4.2-4.4)


Per

cen

t

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50Boys

Girls

All pupils

Change in method of measuring offered drugs

Figure 4.1

Ever offered drugs, by sex: 1999-2003Base: All pupils

0 10 20 30

Cannabis

Poppers

Ecstasy

Crack

Amphetamines

Tranquillisers

Volatilesubstances

Magicmushrooms

Cocaine

Heroin

LSD

Methadone

Anabolic steroids

Percent

Figure 4.2

Whether ever offered individual drugsBase: All pupils

As pupils got older, they were more likely to be offered drugs, with 65% of 15 year oldshaving been offered drugs compared to 19% of 11 year olds. At age 11 and 12, pupils weremost likely to have been offered volatile substances (11% and 14% respectively). By age15, cannabis was the most commonly offered drug (56%), followed by poppers (26%),volatile substances (25%) and magic mushrooms (21%).

(Table 4.5)

4.3 The ease of accessing illegal drugs

Pupils were asked three questions about how easy or difficult it would be to get drugs - onequestion about “illegal drugs” in general, one about heroin and one about cocaine or crack.

There were substantial numbers of pupils who did not know how easy or difficult it would beto get hold of drugs. Just under half (44%) of all pupils said they did not know how easy itwould be to get illegal drugs, and more than half said that they did not know how easy itwould be to get the specific drugs heroin (59%) or cocaine or crack (57%). A third (33%)thought it would be easy to get hold of illegal drugs, 15% thought it would be easy to gethold of cocaine or crack and 12% thought it would be easy to get hold of heroin. Similarpatterns were found in 2001.

(Table 4.6, 4.7, Figure 4.3)

Boys were more likely than girls to say that it was easy to get illegal drugs (36% of boyscompared with 30% of girls). However, there was no significant gender difference in termsof the perceived difficulty of accessing crack/cocaine or heroin. These findings are similar tothose found in the 2001 survey.

(Table 4.6)

As drug use increases with age, it is not surprising that a greater proportion of older pupilsperceived it to be easy to obtain illegal drugs. For example, 61% of 15 year olds comparedwith 7% of 11 year olds believed that it would be easy to get hold of illegal drugs. Similarpatterns were seen for crack/cocaine and heroin; 5% of 11 year olds compared with 26% of15 year olds said it would be easy to obtain crack/cocaine, and 3% of 11 year oldscompared with 19% of 15 year olds thought it would be easy to get heroin. These patternswere similar in 2001.



0

10

20

30

40

Heroin Cocaine/Crack Illegal drugs

2001

2003

Figure 4.3

Proportion perceiving it easy to get drugs: 2001, 2003Base: All pupils

Per

cen

t

Overall, if pupils have ever been offered illegal drugs, they perceived it as easier to obtainillegal drugs compared to pupils who have never been offered them; 62% who had beenoffered illegal drugs compared with 13% who had not. There were similar differences in theperception of ease of getting specific drugs depending on whether pupils had been offeredthem or not – 48% of those who had been offered cocaine or crack thought it would be easyto get these drugs compared with 10% who had not been offered them. Equivalent figuresfor heroin were 45% and 9%.

(Tables 4.9-4.11)

4.4 Where and from whom drugs were obtained

Trend data excludes pupils who had only sniffed volatile substances (see Section 4.1). In2003, pupils were slightly more likely to have got drugs from a friend of their own age thanan older friend on the first occasion, and this difference had not been seen in previousyears. There was no difference in the proportion getting drugs from a friend of their own ageor from an older friend on the last occasion in 1999. However, in both 2001 and 2003 pupilswere more likely to have got drugs on the last occasion from a friend of their own age thanfrom an older friend.

(Tables 4.12, 4.13, 4.18)

The most common sources of drugs were from friends – on the first occasion, 44% got theirdrugs from a friend of the same age and 25% from an older friend. The next most commonsources were “someone else” (13%) and “someone knew of, but not personally” (7%).

1

Three percent or fewer mentioned other sources. Patterns were similar for sources of drugson the most recent occasion.

(Tables 4.14-4.15)

Pupils who first took drugs at a younger age were more likely than those who started takingdrugs later to have got their drugs from “someone else” (23% of those aged 11 or youngerwhen they first took drugs compared with 3% of those first taking drugs aged 15).

1Pupils

who were older at the age they first took drugs were more likely to have got drugs from afriend of the same age (60% of those who first took drugs aged 15, compared with 37% ofthose who were 11 or younger). Patterns for boys and girls were similar.

(Table 4.14)


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


Per

cen

tHeroin

Cocaine/Crack

Illegal drugs

Figure 4.4

Proportion perceiving it easy to get drugs, by ageAll pupils

There were similar patterns by age of sources of drugs obtained on the last occasion tothose seen for the first occasion. However, unlike on the first occasion there were somedifferences between boys and girls on the last occasion, with boys more likely than girls tohave got drugs from a friend the same age (44% compared with 38%), but less likely tohave got them from an older friend (25% compared with 32%).

(Table 4.15)

From whom pupils got drugs on the first occasion varied by the type of drugs taken. Pupilswere most likely to have got cannabis from a friend of the same age (52%) or an older friend(29%), and no other sources were mentioned by more than 5% of those who had only takencannabis the first time they had taken drugs. In contrast, although those who only sniffedvolatile substances on the first occasion were also most likely to have got their drugs from afriend of the same age (45%), the next most common source was “someone else” (30%)and relatively few got them from an older friend (11%).

1Sources of drugs for those who had

taken Class A drugs on the first occasion were different again with drugs more likely to havebeen obtained from an older friend (35%) than a friend of the same age (31%). Those whohad taken Class A drugs were more likely than those who had taken other drugs to have gotdrugs from someone they knew of, but not personally (12%). Patterns of sources fordifferent types of drugs were similar on the most recent occasion.


Pupils were asked where they had obtained drugs on the last occasion they had used them.There was no change in the places where pupils were when they got drugs between 1999and 2003. Pupils were most likely to have been on the street when they got their drugs onthe last occasion (44%), followed by someone’s home (21%), at school (13%), at a party,club, disco or rave (10%) or at their own home (6%). A further 6% got their drugs on the lastoccasion when they were somewhere else.

(Table 4.19)

15 year olds were more likely than 11-13 year olds to have been in someone else’s house onthe last occasion (29% compared with 12%), but less likely to have been at school (5%compared with 25%) or at their own home (5% compared with 11%). There were nodifferences between boys and girls.

(Table 4.19)


0 10 20 30 40 50 60

An older friend

A friend of the same age

Someone knew of,but not personally

Someone else

Percent

Volatile substances

Cannabis

Class A drugs

Figure 4.5

From whom got drugs on first occasion, by type of drugAll pupils

Pupils got different types of drugs from different places. Among those who only tookcannabis on the last occasion the most common place to have got cannabis was outside onthe street (52%), followed by in someone’s home (25%) and at a party, club, disco or rave(10%). Compared with pupils who took cannabis, those who took Class A drugs on the lastoccasion were more likely to have been at a party, club, disco or rave (18% compared with10%) and less likely to have been on the street (39% compared with 52%). Places wherepupils got volatile substances were very different, with the most common places beingschool (45%), then out on the street (19%), then at pupils’ own homes (16%).


4.5 Whether drugs were given free or paid for

Trend data excludes pupils who had only sniffed volatile substances (see Section 4.1).There was no change in the proportion of pupils who were given drugs for free between2001 and 2003.

(Tables 4.21-4.22)

Pupils were more likely to have had to pay for drugs on the most recent occasion (30%)than the first occasion (14%). Boys were more likely than girls to have paid for drugs onboth the first (16% compared with 11%) and most recent occasions (36% compared with23%). There was no difference in whether pupils had to pay for drugs on the first occasionby the age they were when they first took drugs, but age was related to having to pay fordrugs on the most recent occasion. Pupils aged 11-13 were less likely (21%) than thoseaged 14 (32%) or 15 (34%) to have paid for drugs on the last occasion.

(Tables 4.23-4.24)

On both the first and last occasions that pupils took drugs, pupils were more likely to havepaid for drugs if they had taken Class A drugs than if they had taken other drugs. On the firstoccasion of use, 24% paid for Class A drugs, 12% paid for cannabis and 10% paid forvolatile substances. On the last occasion, 46% of pupils who had taken any Class A drugspaid for them, compared with 31% who took cannabis only and 14% who took volatilesubstances only. Nevertheless, around three-quarters (76%) of pupils who took Class Adrugs were given them for free on the first occasion and just over half (54%) were giventhem free on the most recent occasion.



0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Out on the street, in a park or other outdoor area

In someone else’s home

At school

At a party, club, disco or ravea

At home

Percent

Volatile substances

Class A drugs

Cannabis

Figure 4.6

Where got drugs on last occasion, by type of drugAll pupils

Pupils appeared to pay more for drugs on the most recent occasion compared with the firstoccasion. For example, 11% of pupils paid more than £10 on the most recent occasion,compared with 3% who paid this amount on the first occasion. On both the first and mostrecent occasions of drug use, boys paid more than girls for drugs - for example 16% ofboys and 7% of girls paid £10 or more for drugs on the most recent occasion.

(Tables 4.26 – 4.27)


The most common answers given when drugs were obtained from "someone else" were from school,from home or from a shop or that the pupil already had the drugs, and these sources predominantlyrelate to glue for sniffing.


0

10

20

30

40

50

First occasion Last occasion (not first occasion)

Per

cen

t

Volatile substances

Cannabis

Class A drugs

Figure 4.7

Whether paid for drug on first/last occasion, by type of drugAll ever taken drugs/All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once

Table 4.1

Whether had ever been offered individual drugs: 1999-2003a


Type of drug Year

1999 2000 2001 2002b

2003

% % % % %

Cannabis 27 28 27 28 27

Any stimulants 16 16 22 21 23

Cocaine 7 8 9 9 9

Crack 5 5 9 7 9

Ecstasy 6 7 10 9 9


Poppers 6 7 10 12 12

Any psychedelics 9 9 12 11 12

LSD 5 4 6 5 5

Magic mushrooms 6 7 10 9 10

Any opiates 5 6 8 7 8

Heroin 4 6 7 6 7

Methadone 1 1 2 2 2

Glue, Gas, Aerosols and other solventsc

15 13 20 17 19


Anabolic steroids 1 2 2 2 2


Any drugs 35 35 42 40 42

Bases 8795 7089 9357 9859 10390

a Estimates from 2001 are not comparable with estimates from previous years because of the change in

the way that being offered drugs was measured. See Chapter 1, Section 1.3.



c 1999 survey asked about Glue or Solvents as one category and Gas as another category, and from 2000

questions were asked about Glue, Gas, Aerosols and other solvents as one category.


Table 4.2

Whether boys had been offered individual drugs: 1999-2003a

All boys 1999-2003

Type of drug Year

1999 2000 2001 2002b

2003

% % % % %

Cannabis 28 30 30 31 30

Any stimulant 16 16 23 22 24

Cocaine 7 8 9 8 9

Crack 5 6 9 7 10

Ecstasy 6 7 10 9 9


Poppers 7 7 11 13 12

Any psychedelic 10 10 14 12 14

LSD 6 5 7 5 5

Magic Mushrooms 7 8 11 10 12

Any opiate 5 6 8 7 9

Heroin 4 6 7 6 8

Methadone 1 1 2 2 2


15 13 20 16 19


Steroids 2 2 3 3 3


Any drugs 36 37 44 43 44

Bases 4510 3672 4687 5104 5257








Table 4.3

Whether girls had been offered individual drugs: 1999-2003a

All girls 1999-2003

Type of drug Year

1999 2000 2001 2002b

2003a

% % % % %

Cannabis 25 26 25 25 25

Any stimulant 15 15 21 21 22

Cocaine 6 7 8 9 9

Crack 4 5 9 8 9

Ecstasy 6 7 9 10 9


Poppers 5 7 9 11 11

Any psychedelic 8 7 11 10 11

LSD 4 4 5 5 5

Magic Mushrooms 6 6 8 7 9

Any opiate 4 5 8 8 7

Heroin 4 5 7 7 7

Methadone 1 1 2 2 2


15 14 21 17 19


Steroids 1 1 1 1 1


Any drugs 33 34 39 37 39

Bases 4285 3417 4670 4755 5133







Table 4.4

Whether had been offered drugs, by sexAll pupils 2003

Type of drug Sex

Boys Girls Total

% % %

Cannabis 30 25 27

Any stimulant 24 22 23

Cocaine 9 9 9

Crack 10 9 9

Ecstasy 9 9 9

Amphetamines 6 6 6

Poppers 12 11 12

Any psychedelic 14 11 12

LSD 5 5 5

Magic Mushrooms 12 9 10

Any opiate 9 7 8

Heroin 8 7 7

Methadone 2 2 2

Glue, Gas, Aerosols and other solvents 19 19 19

Tranquillisers 4 3 3

Steroids 3 1 2

Other drugs 2 1 2

Any drugs 44 39 42

Bases 5257 5133 10390


Table 4.5

Whether offered individual drugs by ageAll pupils 2003

Type of drug Age


% % % % % %

Cannabis 4 10 22 40 56 27

Any stimulant 8 11 19 31 40 23

Cocaine 4 5 7 12 17 9

Crack 3 6 9 12 14 9

Ecstasy 2 3 7 13 19 9


Poppers 2 3 8 17 26 12

Any psychedelic 3 4 11 18 24 12

LSD 1 1 4 7 11 5


Any opiate 4 6 8 11 11 8

Heroin 3 5 7 10 10 7


Glue, Gas, Aerosols and other solvents 11 14 21 24 25 19




Any drugs 19 25 39 55 65 42

Bases 1780 2152 2162 2015 2281 10390

Table 4.6

Perceived difficulty or ease of getting drugs, by sexAll pupils 2003

Difficulty or ease of getting drugs Type of drugs

Illegal drugs Cocaine/Crack Heroin

% % %

Boys

Easy 36 15 12

Difficult 22 29 30


Girls

Easy 30 15 11

Difficult 24 28 29


Total

Easy 33 15 12

Difficult 23 28 30


Bases

Boys 5113 5110 5104

Girls 5050 5041 5045

Total 10163 10151 10149


Table 4.7

Perceived difficulty or ease of getting drugs, by age: 2001, 2003All pupils 2001, 2003

Type of drug Year

2001 2003

Percentage perceiving it easy to obtain drug

11 years

Illegal drugs 7 7

Cocaine/Crack 4 5

Heroin 3 3

12 years

Illegal drugs 13 15

Cocaine/Crack 7 9

Heroin 5 7

13 years

Illegal drugs 29 30

Cocaine/Crack 14 13

Heroin 10 11

14 years

Illegal drugs 45 46

Cocaine/Crack 19 20

Heroin 15 16

15 years

Illegal drugs 64 61

Cocaine/Crack 27 26

Heroin 21 19

Total

Illegal drugs 33 33

Cocaine/Crack 15 15

Heroin 11 12

Bases

11 years 1603 1712

12 years 1902 2107

13 years 1895 2119

14 years 1845 1986

15 years 1981 2257

Total 9226 10181


Table 4.8

Perceived difficulty or ease of getting drugs, by ageAll pupils 2003

Difficulty or ease of getting drugs Type of drug

Illegal drugs Cocaine/Crack Heroin

% % %

11 years

Easy 7 4 3

Difficult 32 31 32


12 years

Easy 15 9 7

Difficult 29 30 32


13 years

Easy 30 13 11

Difficult 23 29 29


14 years

Easy 46 20 16

Difficult 19 26 28


15 years

Easy 61 26 19

Difficult 15 27 29


Total

Easy 33 15 12

Difficult 23 28 30


Bases

11 years 1707 1703 1703

12 years 2103 2099 2100

13 years 2116 2110 2110

14 years 1982 1984 1982

15 years 2255 2255 2254

Total 10163 10151 10149


Table 4.9

Perceived difficulty or ease of getting illegal drugs, by age and whether had been offered themAll pupils 2003

Difficulty or ease of getting illegal drugs Offered illegal drugs

Yes No Totala

% % %

11-13 years

Easy 44 9 18

Difficult 24 30 28


14 years

Easy 67 21 46

Difficult 15 24 19


15 years

Easy 79 28 61

Difficult 9 26 15


Total

Easy 62 13 33

Difficult 16 28 23


Bases

11-13 years 1596 4094 5926

14 years 1068 870 1982

15 years 1454 772 2255

Total 4118 5736 10163

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about whether have been offered drugs.


Table 4.10

Perceived difficulty or ease of getting cocaine or crack, by age and whether had been offered cocaine or crackAll pupils 2003

Difficulty or ease of getting cocaine or crack Offered cocaine/crack

Yes No Totala

% % %

11-13 years

Easy 38 6 9

Difficult 31 30 30


14 years

Easy 47 14 20

Difficult 25 27 26


15 years

Easy 60 16 26

Difficult 18 29 27


Total

Easy 48 10 15

Difficult 25 29 28


Bases

11-13 years 531 5350 5912

14 years 348 1630 1984

15 years 498 1755 2255

Total 1377 8735 10151

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about whether has been offered cocaine

or crack.


Table 4.11

Perceived difficulty or ease of getting heroin, by age and whether had been offered heroinAll pupils 2003

Difficulty or ease of getting heroin Offered heroin

Yes No Totala

% % %

11-13 years

Easy 35 5 7

Difficult 28 31 31


14 years

Easy 46 12 16

Difficult 27 28 28


15 years

Easy 58 15 19

Difficult 21 30 29


Total

Easy 45 9 12

Difficult 25 30 30


Bases

11-13 years 319 5540 5913

14 years 192 1779 1982

15 years 233 2013 2254

Total 744 9332 10149

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about whether has been offered heroin.

Table 4.12

From whom pupils got drugs on the first occasion: 1999-2003All pupils who had ever taken drugs (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999-2003

From whom got drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Any friend 77 79 79

An older friend 36 37 32

A friend of the same age 36 38 43

A younger friend 1 2 2

Boyfriend or girlfriend 3 3 3

Brother or sister 6 3 4

Mother or father 1 1 2

Someone knew of, but not personally 8 10 8

A stranger 1 2 2

Someone else 8 4 5

Bases 1226 1456 1599


Table 4.13

From whom pupils got drugs on the last occasion (in last month): 1999-2003All pupils who had taken drugs in last month (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999-2003

From whom got drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Any friend 77 81 77

An older friend 34 34 33

A friend of the same age 35 42 39

A younger friend 3 1 2

Boyfriend or girlfriend 5 4 4

Brother or sister 4 3 4

Mother or father 0 1 1

Someone knew of, but not personally 9 8 10

A stranger 2 2 2

Someone else 8 5 7

Bases 632 714 765


Table 4.14

From whom pupils got drugs on the first occasion, by sex and age of first useAll ever taken drugs 2003

From whom got drugs Age

11 years or younger 12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Totala

% % % % % %

Boys

Any friend 58 73 79 84 88 71

An older friend 21 28 31 18 18 23

A friend of the same age 35 42 46 62 67 45

A younger friend 1 1 2 4 1 2

Boyfriend or girlfriend 2 1 0 1 2 1

Brother or sister 4 4 3 2 1 3

Mother or father 6 1 2 1 1 3

Someone knew of, but not personally 8 7 9 7 2 8

A stranger 2 2 2 2 3 2

Someone else 22 12 6 6 4 13

Girls

Any friend 60 81 76 85 88 73

An older friend 17 29 33 28 30 26





Mother or father 3 - 2 - - 2


A stranger 2 1 1 - 2 1


Total

Any friend 59 77 77 84 88 72

An older friend 19 29 32 23 23 25





Mother or father 4 1 2 0 1 2


A stranger 2 2 1 1 3 2


Bases

Boys 369 233 253 196 95 1245

Girls 341 211 263 205 84 1179

Total 710 444 516 401 179 2424


took drugs.


Table 4.15

From whom pupils got drugs on the last occasion (last year, not firstoccasion), by ageAll taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

From whom got drugs Age

11-13 years 14 years 15 years Total

% % % %

Boys

Any friend 62 74 75 71

An older friend 29 31 20 25

A friend of the same age 30 42 53 44

A younger friend 2 - 2 1

Boyfriend or girlfriend 1 2 0 1

Brother or sister 5 3 2 3

Mother or father 7 2 1 3

Someone knew of, but not personally 9 10 11 10

A stranger 2 3 3 3

Someone else 16 8 8 10

Girls




A younger friend 1 2 2 2





A stranger 1 1 2 1


Total




A younger friend 1 1 2 2





A stranger 2 2 2 2


Bases

Boys 166 166 277 609

Girls 164 161 254 579

Total 330 327 531 1188


Table 4.16

From whom pupils got their drugs on the first occasion, by type of drug takenAll ever taken drugs 2003

From whom got drugs Type of drug taken on last occasion

Cannabis Volatile Any Class Other Totald

only substances A drugb

drugsc

onlya

% % % % %

Any friend 85 58 71 79 72

An older friend 29 11 35 33 25

A friend of the same age 52 45 31 43 44

A younger friend 2 1 1 2 2

Boyfriend or girlfriend 2 1 4 2 2

Brother or sister 4 2 4 5 3

Mother or father 1 3 4 2 2

Someone knew of, but not personally 5 5 12 8 7

A stranger 1 1 4 2 2

Someone else 3 30 7 4 13

Bases 694 825 427 463 2424

a Volatile substances were defined as Glue, gas, aerosols or other solvents.

b See Chapter 1, Section 1.7 for the definition of Class A drugs.

c Definition of other drugs includes cannabis or volatile substances taken in conjunction with other non-

Class A drugs.

d Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about which drugs they had taken on the

first occasion that they took drugs.

Table 4.17

From whom pupils got their drugs on the last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by type of drug takenAll taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

From whom got drugs Type of drug taken on last occasion



drugsc

onlya

% % % % %

Any friend 81 60 73 73 74

An older friend 31 11 43 33 29

A friend of the same age 45 46 23 36 41

A younger friend 1 1 3 4 2

Boyfriend or girlfriend 4 1 4 1 3

Brother or sister 4 4 2 4 4

Mother or father 0 5 2 3 2

Someone knew of, but not personally 9 3 14 11 9

A stranger 2 2 2 1 2


Bases 622 219 165 165 1188




Class A drugs.


last occasion that they took drugs.


Table 4.18

Where pupils got drugs from on the last occasion (last month): 1999-2003All pupils who had taken drugs in last month (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999-2003

Where got drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Out on the street, in a park or other outdoor area 48 50 50

In someone else’s home 28 27 24

At a party, club, disco or ravea

13 9 10

At school 5 5 6

At home 5 5 5

Other place 2 4 6

Bases 631 727 770

a Party was a separate category from club, disco or rave in 1999, but all were combined into one category

in 2001.

Table 4.19

Where pupils got drugs from on the last occasion (last year, not firstoccasion), by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Where got drugs Age


% % % %

Boys

Out on the street, in a park or other outdoor area 39 56 49 48

In someone else’s home 10 17 26 20

At school 21 10 6 11

At a party, club, disco or rave 9 10 11 10

At home 11 2 5 6

Other place 9 4 3 5

Girls





At home 11 4 5 7

Other place 8 4 6 6

Total





At home 11 3 5 6

Other place 8 4 4 6

Bases

Boys 164 162 278 604

Girls 169 162 258 589

Total 333 324 536 1193


Table 4.20

Where pupils got drugs from on the last occasion (last year, not firstoccasion), by type of drug takenAll taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Where got drugs Type of drug taken on last occasion



drugsc

onlya

% % % % %

Out on the street, in a park or other outdoor area 52 19 39 50 44

In someone else’s home 25 8 25 18 21

At school 4 45 7 8 13

At a party, club, disco or rave 10 5 18 14 10

At home 4 16 5 5 6

Other place 5 7 6 5 6

Bases 629 218 158 169 1193




Class A drugs.



Table 4.21

Whether paid for drugs on the first occasion: 2001, 2003All ever taken drugs (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 2001, 2003

Whether paid for drugs Year

2001 2003

% %

Paid for drugs 17 15

Given drugs for free 83 85

Bases 1506 1717

Table 4.22

Whether paid for drugs on the last occasion (last month): 2001, 2003All taken drugs in last month (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 2001, 2003

Whether paid for drugs Year

2001 2003

% %

Paid for drugs 39 37

Given drugs for free 61 63

Bases 732 799


Table 4.23

Whether paid for drugs on the first occasion, by sex and age first took drugsAll ever taken drugs 2003

Whether paid for drugs Age


Percentage paid for drugs

Boys 12 17 20 15 18 16

Girls 11 11 14 11 7 11

Total 12 14 17 13 13 14

Bases

Boys 375 246 266 200 96 1279

Girls 330 228 274 218 88 1213

Total 705 474 540 418 184 2492


took drugs.

Table 4.24

Whether paid for drugs on the last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Paid for drugs Age


Percentage paid for drugs

Boys 25 36 43 36

Girls 17 28 24 23

Total 21 32 34 30

Bases

Boys 165 169 287 621

Girls 167 165 268 600

Total 332 334 555 1221

Table 4.25

Whether paid for drugs, by type of drug takenAll ever taken drugs (first occasion)/All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once (last occasion) 2003

Paid for drugs Type of drug



drugsc

onlya

% % % % %

First occasion 12 10 24 13 14

Last occasion (last year, not first occasion) 31 14 46 28 30

Bases

First occasion 714 775 484 504 2492

Last occasion (last year, not first occasion) 640 208 175 179 1221




Class A drugs.

d Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about which drugs they had taken on the

first or last occasions that they took drugs.


Table 4.26

How much pupils paid for drugs on the first occasion, by sexAll ever taken drugs 2003

How much paid Sex

Boys Girls Total

% % %

Free 84 89 87

Less than £5 5 6 6

£5 or more, less than £10 6 3 4


£20 or more 1 0 1

Bases 1273 1209 2482

Table 4.27

How much pupils paid for drugs on the last occasion (last year, not firstoccasion), by sexAll taken drugs in the last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

How much paid Sex

Boys Girls Total

% % %

Free 64 77 70

Less than £5 6 7 7



£20 or more 5 2 3

Bases 619 598 1217


5 Reasons for taking or refusingdrugs

Sarah Blenkinsop

5.1 Introduction

Sections 5.2, 5.3 and 5.12 include trend analysis for questions asked of pupils who haveever taken drugs. In 2003, questions were changed to ensure that pupils included sniffingglue or other solvents in the definition of taking drugs (see Section 1.5 for a full discussion),and a question about how many times pupils have ever taken drugs was introduced.Therefore, trend data is analysed for different subgroups (eg differences between boys andgirls or different age groups) than is the case for 2003 data alone. The different samplesused for analysis in these sections are:



� In 2003, subgroup analyses of issues relating to the first occasion of taking drugs arebased on all who have ever taken drugs.


5.2 Trends in why pupils took drugs

Pupils’ reasons for taking drugs on the first occasion were similar in 2003 to those given inprevious years.

1The main reason was ‘I wanted to see what it was like’, mentioned by 73%

of pupils in 2003, 69% in 2001 and 68% in 1999. Even though pupils were able to indicateas many reasons as they liked (from nine options) for why they first took drugs, no otherreason was mentioned by such a substantial proportion of pupils. The next most frequentresponse was because ‘I wanted to get high or feel good’ (34%), which was also the secondmost frequent reason reported in previous surveys, although mentioned then by a smallerproportion of pupils (19% in 1999 and 29% in 2001). Other reasons were given by less thanone third of pupils: 23% mentioned they first took drugs because their ‘friends were doingit’, 15% ‘had nothing better to do’, 14% did it ‘just because I was offered’ and 12% cited ‘Ijust wanted to forget my problems’ (there has been a slight increase in the proportion ofpupils giving these reasons since previous surveys). ‘Because it’s cool’ and because ‘it wasa dare’ were mentioned as reasons by 5% and 4% respectively. This pattern of responsewas generally very similar to that found in 2001 and 1999. However, the overall number ofreasons given (that is, the number of boxes ticked) increased

2, thus changes in the

percentages for individual reasons between years should be interpreted with caution.



In 2003, pupils gave more reasons for taking drugs on the most recent occasion than inprevious years (as was also the case for why they first took drugs). Thus there were slightincreases in the proportions of pupils giving all specific reasons for taking drugs on the lastoccasion between 1999 and 2003 (apart from “It was a dare”). The most common reasonfor taking drugs on the last occasion was to get high or feel good (58%).

(Table 5.2)

5.3 Why pupils took drugs

As in the 1999 and 2001 surveys, there were different reasons for recent drug takingcompared with the first occasion of drug use.

3Pupils were most likely to have taken drugs

on the most recent occasion for the physical effects. By far the most common reason forpupils to have used drugs on the last, most recent, occasion was because they ‘wanted tofeel high or feel good’ (49% compared with 25% who gave this reason for first takingdrugs). In contrast, as discussed above, in all recent surveys the first use of drugs was mostoften associated with more emotional reasons such as ‘I wanted to see what it was like’,rather than with the physical effects – 63% gave this as a reason for first taking drugscompared with 26% on the last occasion.

4

(Tables 5.3-5.4, Figures 5.2)


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Per

cent

1999 2001 2003

See what it was like

Get high or feel good

Friends were doing it

Nothing better to do

Figure 5.1

Why took drugs on first occasion: 1999-2003Base: All ever taken drugs (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances)

Overall, in 2003, boys and girls had very similar patterns of reasons for drug taking,although some age differences were evident. The proportion giving “wanted to see what itwas like” as a reason for first taking drugs increased with age from 50% of those who were11 or younger when they first took drugs to 80% of those whose first drug taking was aged15. Those whose first experience of drugs was aged 11 or younger were less likely thanthose whose first occasion was aged 12 or older to give “wanted to get high or feel good”as a reason (16% of those whose first occasion was aged 11 or younger compared withbetween 23% and 33% of those aged 12 or older). Taking drugs as a dare was more likelyto be given as a reason by pupils who first took drugs at younger ages (12% of those whosefirst experience was aged 11 or younger, 9% of those whose was aged 12 compared withbetween 4% and 2% of other age groups), but there was no variation with age of otherreasons that could be considered to be as a result of social peer pressure such as “becausemy friends were doing it” or “just because I was offered".

In terms of most recent drug use, older pupils were more likely than younger pupils to havetaken drugs to feel high or good (59% of 15 year olds compared with 33% of 11-13 yearolds). Younger pupils were more likely than older pupils to have taken drugs on the lastoccasion for social reasons, such as ‘because my friends were doing it (23% of 11-13 yearolds compared with 17% of 15 year olds) or ‘it was a dare’ (7% compared with 1%). Withinage groups, boys and girls gave similar reasons for first and most recent drug use.

(Tables 5.3-5.4)

Although reasons given for taking drugs on the first and last occasion varied with age, thismay be caused by pupils having different reasons for taking different types of drugs, as thetypes of drugs taken changes among different age groups. Pupils were grouped into thosewho had only taken Cannabis, only sniffed volatile substances, taken any Class A drugs,and those who had taken other drugs (including Cannabis and volatile substances taken inconjunction with other non-Class A drugs).

The most common reason for taking drugs on the first occasion was “to see what it waslike", and those who had only taken cannabis (77%) or taken any Class A drugs (68%) weremuch more likely to give this reason than those who had only sniffed volatile substances(42%). The relative order of importance of other reasons for taking drugs on the firstoccasion was broadly the same for cannabis and Class A drugs, although the followingreasons were more likely to be given for taking any Class A drugs than for only takingcannabis: “to get high or feel good” (Class A drugs 42%, cannabis 27%), “to forget myproblems” (Class A drugs 19%, cannabis 8%) and “because it’s cool” (Class A drugs 7%,cannabis 3%).


Percent0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70


Get high/feel good

Friends doing it

Nothing better to do

Offered drugs

Forget problems

Dare

Cool

First occasion

Last occasion (last year, not first occasion)

Figure 5.2

Why tried drugs on first and last occasionBase: All ever taken drugs/All taken drugs in last year

Pupils gave less reasons for sniffing volatile substances the first time they took drugs (1.2reasons) than for only taking cannabis (1.7 reasons) or taking any Class A drugs (2.1reasons). Also, the relative importance of reasons for sniffing volatile substances on the firstoccasion of taking drugs were different to those given for cannabis or Class A drugs.Although the most common reason was still “to see what it was like” (42%), the secondmost common reason was “because friends were doing it” (16%, ranked third for cannabisand Class A drugs) and the third most common reason was “a dare” (13%, ranked seventhfor cannabis and Class A drugs). “Wanting to get high or feel good” which was the secondmost popular reason for taking cannabis and Class A drugs on the first occasion was onlythe fifth most common reason for only sniffing volatile substances – 7% gave this as areason for only sniffing volatile substances, compared with 27% for only taking cannabisand 42% for taking any Class A drugs.

Although the overall ranking of importance of reasons for taking drugs were different on themost recent occasion from the first occasion, there were similar patterns of relativeimportance of reasons given for taking different types of drugs. For example, “wanting toget high or feel good” was more likely to be given as a reason for only taking cannabis ortaking any Class A drugs than it was for only sniffing volatile substances for both the mostrecent and first occasion on which pupils took drugs.


Pupils who had taken drugs on more occasions were much more likely than pupils who hadtaken drugs on fewer occasions to have taken drugs on the last occasion (in the last year)‘to get high or feel good’ (63% of those who had taken drugs on more than ten occasions,compared with 18% of pupils who had taken drugs only once). Pupils who had taken drugson fewer occasions were more likely to have taken drugs on the last occasion ‘to see what itwas like’ (57% of those who had taken drugs once, compared with 13% who had done soon more than ten occasions). Pupils who had taken drugs on more than ten occasions weremore likely than less frequent drug users to have taken drugs on the last occasion becausethey ‘had nothing better to do’ (27% of those who had taken drugs on more than tenoccasions compared with 9% who had done so only once) and because they wanted toforget their problems (18% of those who had taken drugs on more than ten occasionscompared with 5% who had done so only once).

(Table 5.7)


0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90Percent


Get high/feel good

Friends doing it

Forget problems

Dare

Cool

Cannabis only

Any Class A drugs

Volatile substances only

Figure 5.3

Reasons for taking drugs on first occasion, by type of drugAll ever taken drugs

There was more variation in reasons for taking drugs by the type of drugs taken and by thenumber of occasions that pupils had taken drugs, than there was by age. Thus as type ofdrugs taken and level of experience of drugs change with age, changes in reasons fortaking drugs by age should be treated with caution as they may be a facet of these otherunderlying factors.

5.4 Overall reactions to taking drugs

New questions were introduced in 2003 which measured pupils overall reactions to takingdrugs on the first and most recent (in the last year) occasions. Pupils were asked whetheroverall they felt good, bad or no different as a result of taking drugs. On the first occasionpupils took drugs 47% felt good, 39% felt no different and 15% felt bad.

Boys (52%) were more likely than girls (42%) to report a good experience the first time theytook drugs. In terms of age, those who first took drugs aged 11 or younger were less likelythan those aged 12 or older when they first took drugs to have had a good experience onthe first occasion – 28% compared with between 49% and 61% respectively.

Overall reactions to taking drugs on the most recent occasion were more positive than onthe first occasion. This could be because pupils who had a good experience the first timethey took drugs would continue to take them until they have a bad experience. On the lastoccasion pupils took drugs, 66% had a good experience (compared with 47% on the firstoccasion), 25% felt no different (39% on first occasion) and 9% felt bad (15% on firstoccasion).

There was a less marked difference between boys’ and girls’ reactions to their most recentdrug use compared with their first experiences of drug use, although boys still had morepositive reactions (69% of boys reported a good reaction compared with 63% of girls).There was more evidence of a relationship between age and pupils’ reactions to the mostrecent occasion of drug use, than was the case for the first occasion of drug use. Three-quarters (75%) of 15 year olds (who had taken drugs in the last year and who had ever takendrugs more than once) reported that they had a good reaction to drugs on the most recentoccasion of use, compared with 49% of pupils aged 11-13. These age differences wereevident for boys and girls.

(Tables 5.8-5.9)

Pupils’ experiences on the first occasion that they took drugs were strongly related to thetype of drugs taken. Those who took any Class A drugs were the most positive (73% had agood experience), although it should be noted that only a small proportion (6%) of all pupilshave ever taken Class A drugs. Class A drugs was followed by those who only tookcannabis (56% had a good experience). Among those who only sniffed volatile substancesthe first time they took drugs, the proportion who had a good experience was much lower(13%).

Pupils’ reactions to taking different types of drugs on the most recent occasion (in the lastyear, not first occasion) followed a similar pattern, although reactions were more positiveamong those who took only cannabis on the last occasion (75% compared with 56% onfirst occasion), and among those who only sniffed volatile substances on the last occasion(29% compared with 13% on first occasion).

There was a greater variation in whether pupils had a good or bad experience as a result oftaking drugs by the type of drug taken than by age.



5.5 Relationships between reaction to taking drugs andexperience of drug taking

Among those who had ever taken drugs, as might be expected, those who had had a goodexperience on the first occasion they took drugs were more likely than those who had hadno reaction or a bad experience to take subsequently take drugs. Among those whose firstexperience of taking drugs was good, 86% had taken drugs in the last year and 35% hadtaken drugs on more than 10 occasions. The equivalent figures for those who had a badreaction were 49% and 7%. The subsequent drug taking behaviour of those who had notfelt any different on the first occasion they took drugs was similar to those who had a badexperience – 49% had taken drugs in the last year and 8% had taken drugs on more than10 occasions. Hence it appears that while having a positive first experience is more likely toresult in taking drugs subsequently, having a bad experience does not deter from futuredrug taking any more than having no reaction at all.



Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

Cannabis only Volatile substances only Any Class A drugs

Bad

No different

Good

Figure 5.4

Overall reaction to drugs on first occasion, by type of drugBase: All ever taken drugs

Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

Good No different Bad

Not taken drugs in last year

Once

2-5 occasions

6-10 occasions

More than 10 occasions

Figure 5.5

Number of occasions ever taken drugs, by overall reaction to drugs on first occasionBase: All ever taken drugs

However, there is even more variation in subsequent drug taking by the type of drug takenon the first occasion than by the overall experience on the first occasion. Among pupils whotook Class A drugs on the first occasion that they took drugs, 87% had taken drugs in thelast year and 46% had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions. Equivalent figures for thosewho only took cannabis on the first occasion were lower (77% had taken drugs in the lastyear and 19% had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions), and were much lower amongthose who had only sniffed volatile substances on the first occasion (38% had taken drugsin the last year, 4% had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions).


Pupils who had taken drugs on more occasions were more likely to think that their mostrecent experience of taking drugs was good. The proportion who had a good experience onthe last occasion they took drugs increased from 32% of those who had only taken drugsonce (i.e. this related to their first occasion of taking drugs), to 54% of those who had takendrugs on 2-5 occasions, 71% of those who had taken drugs on 6-10 occasions and 76% ofthose who had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions. Thus the more occasions pupilstake drugs, the more likely they are to have a good experience on the most recent occasionthat they take them.



Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

Cannabis only Volatile substances only Any Class A drugs


Once

2-5 occasions

6-10 occasions


Figure 5.6

Number of occasions ever taken drugs, by type of drug taken on first occasionBase: All ever taken drugs

5.6 How drugs made pupils feel

As well as rating their overall reactions to drug use, pupils who had ever taken drugs wereasked to respond to a number of statements describing their reaction in more detail.Statements were a mixture of positive (‘I felt fantastic’, ‘I felt relaxed’ and ‘I felt confident’),negative (‘I felt sick’, ‘I felt guilty and ‘I felt sad’) and not clearly either positive or negative (‘Ifelt out of control’). When interpreting these findings it should be borne in mind that the listof statements is clearly limited and does not necessarily cover the whole range of emotionsthat pupils may experience from taking drugs.

Pupils were more likely to have experienced positive feelings than negative feelings on thefirst occasion they took drugs – 38% felt relaxed, 21% felt fantastic and 13% felt confident,compared with 14% who felt sick, 10% who felt guilty and 2% who felt sad. Eight percentof pupils felt out of control on the first occasion that they took drugs.

Comparing experiences on the first and most recent occasions that drugs were taken,pupils were even more likely on the most recent occasion to have experienced positivefeelings from taking drugs and even less likely to have experienced negative feelings. Forexample, 54% felt relaxed on the last occasion compared with 38% on the first occasion,whereas 8% felt sick on the last occasion compared with 14% on the first occasion.



0

20

40

60

80

100

Once 2-5 occasions 6-10 occasions More than 10 occasions

Per

cent

Bad

No different

Good

Figure 5.7

Overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year), by number of occasions ever taken drugsBase: All taken drugs in last year

On both the first and most recent occasions boys were more likely than girls to feel relaxedor fantastic, while girls were more likely than boys to feel confident. For example, on the firstoccasion 43% of boys felt relaxed and 24% felt fantastic compared with 33% and 18% ofgirls respectively, and conversely 15% of girls felt confident compared with 12% of boys.

The only emotions that showed consistent differences with age were feeling sick andfeeling relaxed. Pupils aged 11 or younger when they first took drugs were more likely thanthose who were older to feel sick on the first occasion (19% compared with 14% of thoseaged 15 when they first took drugs), but less likely to feel relaxed (22% compared withbetween 42% and 51% of pupils who were aged between 12 and 15 when they first tookdrugs). Pupils who first took drugs aged 11 or younger were more likely (43%) than thosewho were older on the first drug taking occasion to not feel any of the emotions listed on thefirst occasion (26% of those aged 15 when they first took drugs). Similar patterns werefound between younger and older pupils for the most recent occasion of drug taking.

(Tables 5.15-5.16)

Analysis of pupils’ emotional reactions by the type of drug taken revealed similardifferences between reactions to cannabis and Class A drugs for both the first and mostrecent occasions that drugs were taken. Pupils who had only taken cannabis or had takenClass A drugs were more likely than those who had only sniffed volatile substances toexperience positive emotions – for example on the first occasion 11% of those who hadonly sniffed volatile substances felt relaxed compared with 52% of those who had onlytaken cannabis and 54% of those who had taken Class A drugs.

Reactions to sniffing volatile substances were more likely to be negative than positive onthe first occasion of use, which was not the case for any other types of drugs taken – forexample among pupils who had only sniffed volatile substances on the first occasion 18%felt sick and 12% felt guilty whereas 11% felt relaxed. Pupils who had only sniffed volatilesubstances on the first occasion that they took drugs were the most likely to report feelingnone of the listed emotions (57%), compared with 22% of pupils whose first experience ofdrugs was only taking cannabis and 9% of those whose first experience was taking Class Adrugs. However, reactions to sniffing volatile substances were more likely to be positivethan negative on the most recent occasion of use - 26% of pupils felt relaxed.


0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Percent

First occasion

Last occasion (last year, not first occasion)

Positive

I felt relaxed

I felt fantastic

I felt confident

Negative

I felt sick

I felt guilty

I felt sad

Mixed/Neutral

I felt out of control

None of these

Figure 5.8

Reaction to drugs on first and last occasionBase: All ever taken drugs/ All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs

Reactions to taking Class A drugs were even more positive than to taking cannabis. Amongthose who took Class A drugs on the first occasion, 44% felt fantastic and 25% feltconfident – equivalent figures for those who only took cannabis on the first occasion were19% and 14%. However, 18% of those who took Class A drugs on the first occasionreported feeling out of control, compared with 6% of those who only took cannabis the firsttime that they took drugs.

As with overall reactions to taking drugs, there were greater differences in emotionalreactions to taking drugs by the type of drugs taken than by sex or age.

(Tables 5.17-5.18)

5.7 Whether ever refused drugs

The number of pupils reporting that they had never been offered drugs decreased from66% in 1999 to 61% in 2001 and again to 51% in 2003. The proportion of pupils who had atsome point been offered a drug and refused has increased.

5In 2003, 39% said they had

ever refused drugs compared with 35% in 2001 and 31% in 1999, so it would appear thatpupils were more likely to refuse drugs in 2003 than in 1999. However, the proportion ofpupils who had been offered drugs and never refused has also increased (from 3% in 1999,to 5% in 2001 and to 10% in 2003), which indicates that the likelihood of refusing drugsactually decreased between 1999 and 2003. More boys (41%) than girls (37%) had everrefused a drug, possibly because more girls (54%) than boys (48%) said they had neverbeen offered any drugs.


Since 1999, across all age groups, there has been a decrease in the proportion of pupilswho have refused drugs they had been offered and this decrease was greater amongyounger pupils. Between 1999 and 2003, among those who had been offered drugs, theproportion of 15 year olds who had ever refused drugs decreased from 91% to 87%, andamong 11 year olds decreased from 87% to 61%.



Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

1999 2001 2003

Never offered

No

Yes

Figure 5.9

Ever refused drugs: 1999-2003Base: All pupils

5.8 Why pupils refuse drugs

All pupils who had ever been offered drugs were asked ‘Which of the following are reasonswhy you have refused to take drugs?’ It should be noted that as seen in previous sections inthis chapter, reasons for taking drugs and reactions to taking drugs were strongly related tothe type of drug, and that therefore this is also likely to be a factor in reasons why pupilsrefuse drugs. However, as the question asked did not refer to a specific occasion of refusal,this relationship cannot be explored.

In 2003, the most common reason for refusing drugs was ‘I just didn’t want to take it’,mentioned by 40% of those who had been offered drugs (although this was a decline from54% in 1999 and 45% in 2001). The next most common reasons were ‘I thought it wasdangerous’ (34%), ‘I think takings drugs is wrong” (32%) and ‘I didn’t want to becomeaddicted (32%). Since 1999, pupils have become more likely to refuse drugs because theydo not want to become addicted (22% in 1999 compared with 28% in 2001 and 32% in2003).



Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1999 2001 2003

Not want to get addicted

Taking drugs wrong

Dangerous

Just didn't want to

Figure 5.11

Reason refused drugs among those ever offered drugs: 1999-2003Base: All ever been offered drugs

Per

cen

t

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1999 2001 2003

11 years12 years

13 years14 years15 years

Figure 5.10

Ever refused drugs among those offered drugs: 1999-2003Base: All ever been offered drugs

There were no differences in the reasons for refusing drugs given by boys or girls, but therewere differences in the reasons given by different age groups. Older pupils were more likelythan younger pupils say ‘I just didn’t want to take it’ (21% of 11 year olds, 52% of 15 yearolds) and ‘I thought it was dangerous’ (29% of 11 year olds, 36% of 15 year olds).Conversely younger pupils were more likely than older pupils to think that taking drugs iswrong, mentioned by 37% of 11 year olds compared with 29% of 15 year olds.

(Table 5.22)

5.9 Physical and emotional concerns about taking drugs

Pupils were presented with two lists of ‘things that worry some people when they thinkabout taking drugs’ and were asked to say whether they worried about any of them. Thefirst list, of seven items, related to physical and emotional concerns, such as ‘I might gethealth problems’, ‘I might be sick’, ‘I might become addicted’ and ‘I might get intodangerous situations’. The second list, of six items, related to social concerns and isreported in the next section.

Responses demonstrated high levels of physical and emotional concern among youngpeople. Around three-quarters of all pupils (between 72% and 76%) were concerned abouttheir health, getting into dangerous situations, that something might go wrong and theycould die, and that they might become addicted. The majority of pupils (68%) were alsoconcerned that if they took drugs they might do things they would not normally do. Justunder half (49%) were concerned about feeling scared, and two-fifths (42%) about beingsick.

There was a slight decline between 1999 and 2003 in the proportion of pupils who wereconcerned that they might die (78% in 1999 and 2001, 72% in 2003) and who wereconcerned that they might get addicted (76% in 1999 and 2001, 72% in 2003).

(Tables 5.23-5.24)

On all statements, girls expressed more concern than boys about physical and emotionalaspects of taking drugs. The greatest difference was concern about being scared (57% ofgirls compared with 42% of boys).

The proportions of pupils who expressed concern about being scared or being sickdecreased with age – among 11 year olds, 59% were concerned about being scared and47% about being sick compared with 37% and 38% respectively among 15 year olds.However, 11 year olds were actually less concerned than older pupils about healthproblems, getting into dangerous situations, dying, becoming addicted or doing somethingthey might not normally do. This appears to contradict the findings in the rest of this report,where generally younger pupils are more negative about taking drugs than older pupils.However it should be borne in mind that it is not possible to tell which types of drugs pupilswere thinking about when they answered these questions, and pupils may be moreconcerned about different types of drugs than others.

(Table 5.25)

As might be expected, pupils who had never, or not recently, taken drugs showed higherlevels of concern than those who had taking drugs on more occasions. Nevertheless,around half of pupils who had taken drugs on more than ten occasions had concerns, suchas health problems (51%), getting themselves into dangerous situations (48%), or thatsomething might go wrong and they might die (47%).



As might be expected, pupils who had a bad experience on the most recent occasion theytook drugs were most likely to show high levels of physical and emotional concern abouttaking drugs. For example, 78% of those who had had a bad experience the last time thatthey took drugs were concerned about health problems, compared with 69% of those whohad felt no different and 56% of those who had had a good experience. However, it shouldbe noted that only 9% of pupils had a bad experience the last time that they took drugs.

(Table 5.27)

It has been shown that pupils who have used drugs on more occasions and pupils who hada good reaction the last time that they took drugs were less concerned about physical andemotional aspects of taking drugs. It is possible to determine whether among experienceddrug takers, concerns are affected by recent experience or whether opinions become morestable with increased experience. This can be achieved by examining the relationshipbetween levels of concern and most recent experience of drugs among those who havetaken drugs on six or more occasions. Even among experienced drug takers, those whohad had a good experience on the last occasion were less likely to express physical andemotional concerns than those whose experience was bad or who did not feel any different.For example, among those who had taken drugs on six or more occasions, 49% of thosewho had had a good drug taking experience on the last occasion expressed concern abouthealth problems compared with 64% who had had a bad experience or who felt nodifferent.

(Table 5.28)

5.10 Social concerns about taking drugs

Pupils were presented with two lists of ‘things that worry some people when they thinkabout taking drugs’ and were asked to say whether they worried about any of them. Thesecond list, of six items, related to social concerns (such as ‘I might get in trouble with thepolice’ and ‘I might get into trouble at school’). The first list, of seven items, related tophysical and emotional concerns and is reported in the previous section.


0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Percent

Health problems

Get into dangerous situations

Dying

Addicted or dependent on drugs

Do things wouldn't normally do

Being scared

Being sick

Never taken drugs

Taken drugs on more than 10 occasions

Figure 5.12

Physical and emotional concerns about taking drugs, by number of occasions taken drugsBase: All pupils

Pupils were most concerned about getting in trouble with their parents if they took drugs(82%), followed by getting into trouble by the police (72%). More than half of all pupils wereworried about getting into trouble at school (59%), falling behind at school (56%) andspending too much money on drugs (56%). There was less concern about how their friendswould react (39% said they were concerned).

(Table 5.29)

There has been a slight decline between 1999 and 2003 in the proportion of pupils showingthe majority of social concerns. The only exception was concern about getting into troublewith friends; although pupils were least concerned about this there has been a small increasesince previous surveys (39% in 2003, compared with 33% in 2001 and 37% in 1999).

(Table 5.30)

The largest difference between boys and girls concerns was worrying about getting intotrouble with friends – 45% of girls were concerned about this compared with 34% of boys,although it was the aspect that both sexes were least concerned about. Girls were morelikely than boys to be concerned about getting into trouble with parents (83% girls, 80%boys) and falling behind with schoolwork (58% girls, 54% boys), but less concerned aboutspending too much money on drugs (55% girls, 58% boys). Similar differences were foundin previous years.

Age differences with regard to social concerns about taking drugs were also limited,although 15 year olds showed less concern generally than the other age groups. Forexample 66% of 15 year olds were concerned about getting into trouble with the policecompared with between 72% and 76% of other age groups.

(Table 5.31)

As with physical and emotional concerns, more experienced drug users were least likely tohave social concerns. Those who had never taken drugs, or not done so in the last year,were more likely to express social concerns. The likelihood of expressing social concernsdecreased, as the number of occasions of taking drugs increased. For instance, 84% ofpupils who had never taken drugs were concerned about getting into trouble with theirparents, compared with 59% of pupils who had taken drugs on ten or more occasions.Nevertheless, a substantial proportion of pupils who had taken drugs on ten or moreoccasions still had social concerns; for instance, more than half were worried about gettinginto trouble with their parents, and just under half were concerned about potential troublewith the police.



0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Trouble with parents

Trouble with police

Trouble at school

Spend too much money

Fall behind with schoolwork

Trouble with friends

Percent

Never taken drugs

Taken drugs on more than 10 occasions

Figure 5.13

Social concerns about taking drugs, by number of occasions ever taken drugs Base: All pupils

Pupils who had a bad experience on the most recent occasion they took drugs were mostlikely to show high levels of social concern about taking drugs. For example, 77% of thosewho had had a bad experience the last time that they took drugs were concerned aboutgetting into trouble with the police, compared with 62% of those who had felt no differentand 55% of those who had had a good experience. The magnitude of differences in levelsof concern by overall reaction to the last time that drugs were taken was similar for socialconcerns compared with physical and emotional concerns. It should be noted that only 9%of pupils had a bad experience the last time that they took drugs.

(Table 5.33)

It has been shown that pupils who have used drugs on more occasions and pupils who hada good reaction the last time that they took drugs were less concerned about social aspectsof taking drugs. It is possible to determine whether among experienced drug takers,concerns are affected by recent experience or whether opinions become more stable withincreased experience. This can be achieved by examining the relationship between levels ofconcern and most recent experience of drugs among those who have taken drugs on six ormore occasions. The only social concerns where most recent experiences were related tolevels of concern among more experienced drug takers were concern about falling behindwith schoolwork or getting into trouble with friends. For example, among those who hadtaken drugs on six or more occasions, 25% of those who had had a good drug takingexperience on the last occasion expressed concern about falling behind with schoolworkcompared with 37% who had had a bad experience or who felt no different. Thus amongmore experienced drug takers, recent experiences were more strongly associated withdifferences in emotional and physical concerns than with social concerns.

(Table 5.34)

5.11 General attitudes towards drugs

All pupils were invited to agree or disagree with two statements about drugs: ‘taking drugsharms your health’ and ‘taking drugs is exciting’. Attitudes were predominately negative;92% of all pupils agreed that ‘taking drugs harms your health’, and only 10% agreed that‘taking drugs is exciting’. Boys were more likely than girls to think that taking drugs isexciting (12% and 8% respectively). These findings have remained stable since 1999.

(Tables 5.35-5.36)

The proportion of pupils who think taking drugs is exciting increased with age; 2% of 11year olds compared with 20% of 15 year olds. There was no variation in opinions amongdifferent age groups about whether drugs harm your health.

(Table 5.37)

Pupils who had used drugs on more occasions were least likely to agree that taking drugsharms your health, although 80% of pupils who had taken drugs on more than tenoccasions agreed with this statement nonetheless. As would be expected, as the number ofoccasions pupils had taken drugs increased, the more likely they were to agree that takingdrugs is exciting (57% who had done so on more than ten occasions, compared with 4% ofpupils who had never taken drugs). This shows that attitudes towards taking drugs are morestrongly related to levels of experience of drug taking (which increase with age), rather thanto age per se.

(Table 5.38)


Pupils’ attitudes towards drug taking were explored in relation to their overall reactions totaking drugs. There was a strong relationship between reaction to taking drugs on the lastoccasion and whether pupils thought that taking drugs was exciting – 53% of those whohad a good experience on the last occasion agreed that taking drugs was excitingcompared with 15% of those who had a bad experience and 16% of those who felt nodifferent. However, it should be noted that just under half (47%) of pupils who did have agood experience the last time that they took drugs did not think that taking drugs wasexciting. There was a less pronounced relationship between recent experience and whetherpupils felt that taking drugs harmed your health – 82% of those who had a good experienceon the last occasion agreed that taking drugs was harmed your health compared with 88%of those who felt no different and 92% of those who had a bad experience.


When considering the more experienced drug users (those who had taken drugs on six ormore occasions), agreement with whether drugs were exciting was related to recentexperience, whereas agreement that drugs harm health was less affected. A greaterproportion of more experienced drug takers who had had a good reaction to drugs on thelast occasion agreed that taking drugs is exciting (61%), compared with those who eitherreacted badly or not reacted at all (31%).

(Table 5.40)

5.12 Whether pupils want to stop taking drugs

There has been no change over time in the proportions of current drug users who want tostop taking drugs, or who think that they will still be taking drugs in five years time, or whohave ever felt that they needed treatment for drugs.

6

(Tables 5.41, 5.44, 5.47)

Among those who have taken drugs in the last year, around two-fifths (43%) want to give upnow, but 15% think that they will still be taking drugs in five years time and 4% felt that theyhave ever needed treatment for drugs.


0 20 40 60 80 100

Percent

Taking drugs harms your health

Taking drugs is exciting

Good

No different

Bad

Figure 5.14

Attitudes towards taking drugs, by overall reaction last occasion took drugs (last year)Base: All pupils

Boys were more likely than girls to want to stop taking drugs, although in the future ratherthan now (18% of boys who took drugs in the last year wanted to stop in the futurecompared with 13% of girls). There were no difference between boys and girls in theproportions who felt that they would still be taking drugs in five years time, or who felt thatthey had ever needed treatment for drugs.

Younger pupils were more likely than older pupils to want to stop taking drugs – 59% of 11-13 year olds who had taken drugs in the last year wanted to stop taking drugs nowcompared with 33% of 15 year olds. 11-13 year olds were also less likely to think that theywould be taking drugs in five years time (10%) compared with 18% of 15 year olds. Therewas no relationship between age and whether pupils felt that they had ever neededtreatment for drugs.

Pupils who had only sniffed volatile substances in the last year were the most likely to wantto stop taking drugs – 71% wanted to stop taking drugs now, and only 3% thought that theywould be taking drugs in five years time. Pupils who had only taken cannabis in the last yearwere less likely than those who had only sniffed volatile substances to want to stop takingdrugs and those who had taken Class A drugs in the last year were the least likely group towant to stop taking drugs. Among those who had only taken cannabis in the last year, 40%wanted to stop taking drugs now and 11% thought that they would still be taking drugs infive years time – equivalent figures for those who had taken Class A drugs in the last yearwere 30% and 28%. Pupils who had taken Class A drugs in the last year were more likely(9%) than those who had only taken cannabis (1%) or only sniffed volatile substances (2%)to have felt that they had ever needed treatment for drugs.

(Tables 5.42-5.49)


Readers are reminded that the trend data reported in this section excludes pupils whose first and mostrecent drug use involved only volatile substance(s). See Sections 1.5 and 6.1.

2Subtle changes to question wording were made following cognitive tests of survey instruments: for firstuse from ‘Why did you use the drug, the first time?’ in 1999 to ‘Why did you try the drugs, the first time?’in 2001 and 2003; for last use from ‘Why did you use drugs that day?’ in 1999, to ‘Why did you use ortake drugs that day?’ in 2001, to ‘Why did you try drugs the last time?’ in 2003. In 1999 and 2001, pupilswere given a prompted list of response categories to choose from and all questions were followed by theinstruction ‘You may tick more than one box’. In 2003, each response category was treated as a separatequestion and pupils were invited to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to each reason why they might have used drugson the first and last occasions. Response categories were unchanged from those used in previoussurveys. The average number of reasons (ticks) per pupil increased from 1.4 in 1999, to 1.6 in 2001, andto 1.9 in 2003 for the first occasion when drugs were taken. It is not clear why pupils should have beenprompted to increase the number of responses they gave.

3Readers are reminded that analysis is this section is based on all pupils who ever took drugs (for firstoccasion) and all pupils who took drugs in the last year and who had taken drugs more than once (for thelast occasion).

4Although the proportion who reported taking drugs on the last occasion ‘to see what it was like’ seemshigh at 26%, given that it was not the first occasion that these pupils had taken drugs, it is worth notingthat 33% of pupils who had taken drugs more than once had taken a different type of drug on the lastoccasion than they had on the first occasion.

5This trend in the proportion of pupils who had ever been offered drugs is based on a single questionwhich all pupils were asked. The measurement of whether pupils had ever been offered drugs used inChapter 4 is based on answers to whether pupils had been offered each of the 15 different types of drugsasked about, but does not show the same increase in the proportion of pupils who were offered drugs.

6Readers are reminded that this trend data reported in this section excludes pupils whose recent drug useinvolved only volatile substance(s). See Sections 1.5 and 6.1.


Table 5.1

Why took drugs on first occasion: 1999-2003 All ever taken drugs (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999-2003

Why took drugsa

Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

I wanted to see what it was like 68 69 73

I wanted to get high or feel good 19 29 34

Because my friends were doing it 18 21 23

I had nothing better to do 11 11 15

Just because I was offered 11 11 14

I wanted to forget my problems 7 11 12

Because it’s cool 2 4 5

It was a dare 4 4 4

Other reasons 4 6 7

Don’t remember 2 2 2

Don’t know 2 1 1

Bases 1224 1512 1738

a Pupils could give more than one answer.

Table 5.2

Why took drugs on last occasion (last month): 1999-2003 All taken drugs in last month (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999-2003

Why took drugsa

Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

I wanted to get high or feel good 51 59 58

I wanted to see what it was like 20 24 23

I had nothing better to do 20 19 22

Because my friends were doing it 17 15 20

I wanted to forget my problems 14 16 15

Just because I was offered 13 11 13

Because it’s cool 2 4 5

It was a dare 3 2 2

Other reasons 4 8 9

Don’t remember 3 2 2

Don’t know 2 2 2

Bases 633 747 803



Table 5.3

Why took drugs on first occasion, by sex and age first took drugs All ever taken drugs 2003

Why took drugsa

Age first took drugs

11 years or younger 12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Totalb

% % % % % %

Boys

I wanted to see what it was like 55 64 70 77 77 64

I wanted to get high or feel good 19 32 35 33 23 27

Because my friends were doing it 20 22 23 26 21 22

I had nothing better to do 14 17 14 12 7 14

Just because I was offered 11 14 7 9 6 10

I wanted to forget my problems 7 11 10 8 5 9

It was a dare 10 8 5 2 4 7

Because it’s cool 5 8 4 4 4 5

Other reasons 12 7 7 4 9 9

Don’t remember 4 2 3 2 - 3

Don’t know 4 2 1 1 - 2

Girls







It was a dare 13 10 3 2 4 8



Don’t remember 6 2 3 3 1 3

Don’t know 9 6 2 2 - 5

Total







It was a dare 12 9 4 2 4 7



Don’t remember 5 2 3 2 1 3

Don’t know 6 4 1 2 - 3

Bases

Boys 401 253 269 200 98 1326

Girls 368 234 288 220 89 1283

Total 769 487 557 420 187 2609


b Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about which the age at which they first

took drugs.


Table 5.4

Why took drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Why took drugsa

Age


% % % %

Boys

I wanted to get high or feel good 33 56 62 52

I wanted to see what it was like 35 32 22 28

I had nothing better to do 16 19 28 22

Because my friends were doing it 24 20 18 20

I wanted to forget my problems 9 14 17 14

Just because I was offered 12 14 12 13

Because it’s cool 6 5 5 6

It was a dare 5 3 2 3

Other reasons 11 8 4 7

Don’t remember 2 2 2 2

Don’t know 6 2 2 3

Girls








It was a dare 9 3 - 3




Total








It was a dare 7 3 1 3




Bases

Boys 172 169 290 631

Girls 176 169 270 615

Total 348 338 560 1246



Table 5.5

Why took drugs on first occasion, by type of drugs taken All ever taken drugs 2003

Why took drugsa

Type of drugs taken



drugsc

only

% % % % %

I wanted to see what it was like 77 42 68 74 63

I wanted to get high or feel good 27 7 42 35 25

Because my friends were doing it 21 16 26 24 21

I had nothing better to do 11 10 19 17 13

Just because I was offered 11 7 17 15 12

I wanted to forget my problems 8 5 19 12 10

It was a dare 3 13 6 5 7

Because it’s cool 3 2 7 4 4

Other reasons 5 17 10 7 10

Don’t remember 2 7 2 1 3

Don’t know 1 8 2 1 3

Bases 720 871 490 510 2609




Class A drugs.



Table 5.6

Why took drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by type of drugs taken All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Why took drugsa

Type of drugs taken



drugsc

only

% % % % %












Bases 639 231 177 180 1246




Class A drugs.




Table 5.7

Why took drugs on last occasion (last year), by number of occasions ever taken drugs All taken drugs in last year 2003

Why took drugsa

Number of occasions ever taken drugs

Once 2-5 6-10 More than Totalb

occasions occasions 10 occasions

% % % % %












Bases 429 512 227 507 1724


b Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about the number of occasions they have

taken drugs.

Table 5.8

Overall reaction to drugs on first occasion, by sex and age first took drugs All ever taken drugs 2003

Overall reaction to drugs Age first took drugs


% % % % % %

Boys

Good 34 59 67 64 48 52

Bad 18 10 9 9 13 13

No different 48 31 24 27 39 35

Girls

Good 22 48 56 52 49 42

Bad 20 13 11 17 21 16

No different 58 39 34 32 29 42

Total

Good 28 54 61 57 49 47

Bad 19 12 10 13 17 15

No different 53 34 29 29 34 39

Bases

Boys 396 248 268 197 98 1305

Girls 361 231 289 219 85 1264

Total 757 479 557 416 183 2569


took drugs.


Table 5.9

Overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Overall reaction to drugs Age


% % % %

Boys

Good 56 69 76 69

Bad 12 6 7 8

No different 32 25 17 23

Girls

Good 42 67 74 63

Bad 13 11 8 10


Total

Good 49 68 75 66

Bad 12 8 8 9


Bases

Boys 172 167 289 628

Girls 174 169 268 611

Total 346 336 557 1239

Table 5.10

Overall reaction to drugs on first occasion, by type of drugs taken All ever taken drugs 2003

Overall reaction to drugs Type of drugs taken

Cannabis Volatile Any Class Other Totalc

only substances A druga

drugsb

only

% % % % %

Good 56 13 73 66 47

Bad 13 19 13 10 15

No different 31 67 14 24 39

Bases 713 858 484 497 2569



Class A drugs.

c Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about which drugs they had taken on the



Table 5.11

Overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by type of drugs taken All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Overall reaction to drugs Type of drugs taken



drugsb

only

% % % % %

Good 75 29 76 71 66

Bad 7 14 11 7 9


Bases 639 225 177 179 1239



Class A drugs.



Table 5.12

Number of occasions ever taken drugs, by overall reaction to drugs on first occasionAll ever taken drugs 2003

Number of occasions ever taken drugs Overall reaction

Good No different Bad Totala

% % % %

Not taken drugs in last year 14 51 51 35

Once 13 20 23 17

2-5 occasions 25 17 17 20

6-10 occasions 14 5 3 9

More than 10 occasions 35 8 7 19

Bases 1201 995 373 2682

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about their overall reaction on the first

occasion that they took drugs.

Table 5.13

Number of occasions ever taken drugs, by type of drugs taken on firstoccasion All ever taken drugs 2003

Number of occasions ever taken drugs Type of drugs taken



drugsb

only

% % % % %

Not taken drugs in last year 23 62 13 21 35

Once 23 16 12 14 17

2-5 occasions 24 15 16 27 20

6-10 occasions 10 3 12 15 9

More than 10 occasions 19 4 46 23 19

Bases 724 923 492 513 2682



Class A drugs.




Table 5.14

Overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year), by number of occasions ever taken drugs All taken drugs in last year 2003

Overall reaction to drugs Number of occasions ever taken drugs

Once 2-5 6-10 More than Totalb

occasions occasions 10 occasions

% % % % %

Good 32 54 71 76 57

Bad 21 13 4 7 12


Bases 423 513 224 502 1711


taken drugs.

Table 5.15

Reaction to drugs on first occasion, by sex and age first took drugs All ever taken drugs 2003

Reaction to drugsa

Age first took drugs

11 years or younger 12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Totalb

% % % % % %

Boys

I felt relaxed 27 46 55 55 54 43

I felt fantastic 21 27 24 29 18 24

I felt confident 7 16 13 14 10 12

I felt sick 18 10 9 7 9 12

I felt guilty 10 9 9 8 10 9

I felt sad 2 2 3 2 - 2

I felt out of control 9 10 7 8 6 8

None of these 38 23 20 17 25 27

Girls

I felt relaxed 17 36 43 47 41 33



I felt sick 20 15 11 17 18 17

I felt guilty 13 11 9 10 9 11

I felt sad 1 1 1 2 1 2


None of these 47 30 28 25 28 35

Total

I felt relaxed 22 42 49 51 48 38



I felt sick 19 12 10 12 14 14

I felt guilty 11 10 9 9 10 10

I felt sad 1 1 2 2 1 2


None of these 43 27 24 21 26 31

Bases

Boys 400 254 269 199 97 1320

Girls 363 232 290 220 87 1278

Total 763 486 559 419 184 2598


b Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about which the age at which they first

took drugs.


Table 5.16

Reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Reaction to drugsa

Age


% % % %

Boys

I felt relaxed 43 64 68 60

I felt fantastic 30 40 35 35

I felt confident 16 18 19 18

I felt sick 9 7 7 7

I felt guilty 9 7 5 6

I felt sad 3 2 2 3

I felt out of control 7 8 9 8

None of these 24 13 12 15

Girls




I felt sick 13 9 8 10


I felt sad 3 1 1 2



Total




I felt sick 11 8 7 8


I felt sad 3 1 2 2



Bases

Boys 172 167 291 630

Girls 175 170 271 616

Total 347 337 562 1246



Table 5.17

Reaction to drugs on first occasion, by type of drugs taken All ever taken drugs 2003

Reaction to drugsa

Type of drugs taken



drugsc

only

% % % % %

I felt relaxed 52 11 54 52 38

I felt fantastic 19 6 44 28 21

I felt confident 14 4 25 17 13

I felt sick 9 18 13 14 14

I felt guilty 9 12 10 9 10

I felt sad 1 2 2 2 2

I felt out of control 6 3 18 9 8

None of these 22 57 9 18 31

Bases 721 873 486 502 2598




Class A drugs.



Table 5.18

Reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by type of drugs taken All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Reaction to drugsa

Type of drugs taken



drugsc

only

% % % % %

I felt relaxed 64 26 54 55 54

I felt fantastic 30 13 56 44 33

I felt confident 22 10 31 26 22

I felt sick 6 12 8 11 8

I felt guilty 4 10 11 7 7

I felt sad 1 3 4 2 2

I felt out of control 5 6 20 11 9

None of these 14 47 7 13 19

Bases 641 227 179 179 1246




Class A drugs.




Table 5.19

Ever refused drugs, by sex: 1999-2003All pupils 1999-2003

Ever refused drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

Yes 32 37 41

No 3 5 11

Never been offered any drugs 64 58 48

Girls

Yes 30 32 37

No 3 4 10


Total

Yes 31 35 39

No 3 5 10


Bases

Boys 4721 4618 5059

Girls 4504 4604 5029

Total 9225 9222 10088


Table 5.20

Ever refused drugs among those offered drugs, by sex and age: 1999-2003All ever offered drugs 1999-2003

Ever refused drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

11 years 87 79 65

12 years 95 86 70

13 years 93 87 79

14 years 89 89 83

15 years 91 90 87

Total 91 88 79

Girls

11 years 87 71 56

12 years 87 84 69

13 years 92 88 78

14 years 93 89 84

15 years 91 92 88

Total 91 88 79

Total

11 years 87 76 61

12 years 92 85 70

13 years 93 87 79

14 years 91 89 83

15 years 91 91 87

Total 91 88 79

Bases

Boys

11 years 142 179 299

12 years 208 226 394

13 years 287 395 521

14 years 405 467 613

15 years 641 690 794

Total 1683 1957 2621

Girls

11 years 90 104 228

12 years 153 192 339

13 years 278 353 465

14 years 403 476 559

15 years 556 559 741

Total 1480 1684 2332

Total

11 years 232 283 527

12 years 361 418 733

13 years 565 748 986

14 years 808 943 1172

15 years 1197 1249 1535

Total 3163 3641 4953


Table 5.21

Reasons refused drugs among those ever offered drugs, by sex: 1999-2003All ever offered drugs 1999-2003

Reasons for refusing drugsa

Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

I just didn’t want to take it 52 43 37

I thought it was dangerous 32 35 34

I think that taking drugs is wrong b 31 31

I didn’t want to get addicted 23 28 33

I was frightened of taking it 14 17 17

I thought I would get into trouble if I took drugs b 16 17

I didn’t know enough about it 12 15 12

It was too expensive 4 5 9

Never offered drugs 10 13 21

Girls










Total










Bases

Boys 1683 1957 2621

Girls 1480 1684 2332

Total 3163 3641 4953


b “I think that taking drugs is wrong” and “I thought I would get into trouble if I took drugs” were not asked

in 1999.


Table 5.22

Reasons refused drugs among those ever offered drugs, by sex and ageAll ever offered drugs 2003

Reasons for refusinga

Age


% % % % % %

Boys

I just didn’t want to take it 22 27 35 39 49 37

I thought it was dangerous 30 34 36 32 35 34

I think that taking drugs is wrong 39 38 31 28 28 31

I didn’t want to get addicted 28 33 31 35 34 33

I was frightened of taking it 18 19 19 15 17 17

I thought I would get into trouble if I took drugs 20 16 21 17 13 17

I didn’t know enough about it 12 12 11 10 13 12

It was too expensive 5 9 8 9 11 9

Never refused drugs 35 30 21 17 13 21

Girls










Total










Bases

Boys 299 394 521 613 794 2621

Girls 228 339 465 559 741 2332

Total 527 733 986 1172 1535 4953


Table 5.23

Physical and emotional concerns about taking drugsAll pupils 2003

Concerns about taking drugs

Yes Don’t No Baseknow

I might get health problems because of using drugs % 76 14 10 9999

I might get myself into dangerous situations % 75 14 12 9995

Something could go wrong and I might die % 72 16 12 10050

I might become addicted or dependant on drugs % 72 14 14 10003

I might do things I would not normally do % 68 16 16 9986

I might be scared % 49 20 31 9936

I might be sick % 42 23 34 9998


Table 5.24

Physical and emotional concerns about taking drugs, by sex: 1999-2003All pupils 1999-2003

Concerns about taking drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

I might get health problems because of using drugs 74 79 75

I might get myself into dangerous situations 72 75 71

Something could go wrong and I might die 74 75 69

I might become addicted or dependant on drugs 73 73 70

I might do things I would not normally do 65 68 65

I might be scared 43 45 42

I might be sick 42 43 40

Girls








Total








Bases

Boys 4728 4566 5193

Girls 4509 4591 5087

Total 9237 9157 10280


Table 5.25

Physical and emotional concerns about taking drugs, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Concerns about taking drugs Age


% % % % % %

Boys

I might get health problems because of using drugs 72 76 78 77 72 75

I might get myself into dangerous situations 68 73 73 72 68 71

Something could go wrong and I might die 67 71 73 69 65 69

I might become addicted or dependant on drugs 66 70 74 73 67 70

I might do things I would not normally do 62 68 69 66 61 65

I might be scared 54 52 44 37 28 42

I might be sick 47 45 39 39 32 40

Girls







I might be sick 48 48 43 43 44 45

Total







I might be sick 47 46 41 41 38 42

Bases

Boys 891 1052 1083 1012 1155 5193

Girls 854 1074 1058 986 1115 5087

Total 1745 2126 2141 1998 2270 10280

Table 5.26

Physical and emotional concerns about taking drugs, by number ofoccasions ever taken drugsAll pupils 2003

Concerns about taking drugs Number of occasions ever taken drugs



% % % % % % %

I might get health problems

because of using drugs 79 77 72 71 57 51 76

I might get myself into

dangerous situations 77 77 71 67 65 48 75

Something could go

wrong and I might die 76 74 70 61 59 47 72

I might become addicted

or dependant on drugs 75 74 73 63 53 41 72

I might do things I would

not normally do 70 67 71 64 53 45 68

I might be scared 54 48 43 32 23 20 49

I might be sick 44 48 41 35 31 22 42

Bases 7433 834 436 522 228 511 10280


taken drugs.


Table 5.27

Physical and emotional concerns about taking drugs, by overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion)All taken drugs in the last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Concerns about taking drugs Overall reaction


% % % %

I might get health problems because of using drugs 56 69 78 63

I might get myself into dangerous situations 55 67 80 62

Something could go wrong and I might die 51 65 75 59

I might become addicted or dependant on drugs 49 66 74 58

I might do things I would not normally do 54 61 74 59

I might be scared 20 39 52 30

I might be sick 25 34 60 32

Bases 972 524 209 1755

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about their overall reaction on the last


Table 5.28

Physical and emotional concerns about taking drugs among those who had taken drugs on 6 or more occasions, by overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year)All taken drugs in last year and ever taken drugs on 6 or more occasions 2003


Good No different/ Bad Totala

% % %








Bases 538 187 739



Table 5.29

Social concerns about taking drugsAll pupils 2003

Concerns about taking drugs

Yes Don’t know No Bases

I might get into trouble with my parents % 82 9 9 10000

I might get into trouble with the police % 72 12 16 10037

I might get into trouble at school % 59 16 26 9950

I might spend too much money on drugs % 56 17 27 9930

I might fall behind with my schoolwork % 56 19 26 9961

I might get into trouble with my friends % 39 21 39 9925


Table 5.30

Social concerns about taking drugs, by sex: 1999-2003All pupils 1999-2003

Concerns about taking drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

I might get into trouble with my parents 78 84 80

I might get into trouble with the police 75 78 72

I might get into trouble at school a 63 59

I might spend too much money on drugs 59 60 58

I might fall behind with my schoolwork 56 56 54

I might get into trouble with my friends 33 29 34

Girls







Total







Bases

Boys 4728 4566 5180

Girls 4509 4591 5075

Total 9237 9157 10255

a “I might get into trouble at school” was not included in the 1999 survey.


Table 5.31

Social concerns about taking drugs, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Concerns about taking drugs Age


% % % % % %

Boys

I might get into trouble with my parents 79 82 83 83 76 80

I might get into trouble with the police 73 75 75 74 65 72

I might get into trouble at school 62 62 59 59 52 59

I might spend too much money on drugs 56 56 61 60 57 58

I might fall behind with my schoolwork 53 56 56 55 49 54

I might get into trouble with my friends 35 36 35 34 30 34

Girls







Total







Bases

Boys 887 1049 1079 1011 1154 5180

Girls 854 1066 1057 984 1114 5075

Total 1741 2115 2136 1995 2268 10255

Table 5.32

Social concerns about taking drugs, by number of occasions ever taken drugsAll pupils 2003

Concerns about taking drugs Number of occasions ever taken drugs



% % % % % % %

I might get into trouble

with my parents 84 85 81 78 75 59 82


with the police 75 72 70 63 60 49 72


at school 62 55 59 49 41 32 59

I might spend too much

money on drugs 60 53 44 39 37 43 56

I might fall behind with

my schoolwork 60 52 50 36 30 28 56


with my friends 43 37 35 25 22 14 39

Bases 7409 835 435 523 228 509 10255


taken drugs.


Table 5.33

Social concerns about taking drugs, by overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion)All taken drugs in the last year and taken drugs more than once 2003



% % % %

I might get into trouble with my parents 69 74 87 73

I might get into trouble with the police 55 62 77 60

I might get into trouble at school 39 48 68 46

I might spend too much money on drugs 41 39 45 41

I might fall behind with my schoolwork 29 40 57 37

I might get into trouble with my friends 18 30 35 24

Bases 971 524 209 1754



Table 5.34

Social concerns about taking drugs among those who had taken drugs on 6 or more occasions, by overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year)All taken drugs in last year and ever taken drugs on 6 or more occasions 2003


Good No different/Bad Totala

% % %



I might get into trouble at school 33 39 35




Bases 536 187 737



Table 5.35

Attitudes towards taking drugsAll pupils 2003

Attitudes to taking drugs Agreement

Agree Don’t know Disagree Bases

Taking drugs harms your health % 92 4 4 10128

Taking drugs is exciting % 10 19 71 10094


Table 5.36

Attitudes towards taking drugs, by sex: 1999-2003All pupils 1999-2003

Attitudes to taking drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

Taking drugs harms your health 91 90 91

Taking drugs is exciting 11 12 12

Girls



Total



Bases

Boys 4735 4596 5209

Girls 4530 4618 5105

Total 9265 9214 10314

Table 5.37

Attitudes towards taking drugs, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Attitudes to taking drugs Age


% % % % % %

Boys

Taking drugs harms your health 91 93 90 90 89 91

Taking drugs is exciting 2 6 11 17 21 12

Girls



Total



Bases

Boys 899 1053 1081 1019 1157 5209

Girls 865 1076 1061 985 1118 5105

Total 1764 2129 2142 2004 2275 10314

Table 5.38

Attitudes towards taking drugs, by number of occasions ever taken drugsAll pupils 2003

Attitudes to taking drugs Number of occasions ever taken drugs



% % % % % % %

Taking drugs harms

your health 93 92 90 86 87 80 92

Taking drugs is exciting 4 11 19 30 42 57 10

Bases 7461 838 435 522 228 511 10314


taken drugs.


Table 5.39

Attitudes towards taking drugs, by overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year)All taken drugs in last year 2003

Attitudes to taking drugs Overall reaction


% % % %

Taking drugs harms your health 82 88 92 92

Taking drugs is exciting 53 16 15 10

Bases 971 525 210 10314



Table 5.40

Attitudes towards taking drugs among those who had taken drugs on 6 or more occasions, by overall reaction to drugs on last occasion (last year)All taken drugs in last year and ever taken drugs on 6 or more occasions 2003

Attitudes to taking drugs Overall reaction

Good No different/ Bad Totala

% % %



Bases 538 187 739



Table 5.41

Whether would like to stop taking drugs, by sex: 1999-2003All taken drugs in last month (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999-2003

Like to stop taking drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

Yes, I would like to give up now 24 25 26

Yes, I would like to give up in the future 24 19 24

No 27 25 22

Not sure 25 31 28

Girls



No 23 22 21

Not sure 31 33 39

Total



No 25 24 22

Not sure 28 32 33

Bases

Boys 354 408 421

Girls 269 329 370

Total 623 737 791


Table 5.42

Whether would like to stop taking drugs, by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Like to stop taking drugs Age


% % % %

Boys

Yes, I would like to give up now 61 37 33 43

Yes, I would like to give up in the future 12 19 22 18

No 7 16 19 14

Not sure 20 28 26 25

Girls



No 6 10 18 12

Not sure 32 29 32 31

Total



No 6 13 18 13

Not sure 26 28 29 28

Bases

Boys 267 212 357 836

Girls 252 226 330 808

Total 519 438 687 1644

Table 5.43

Whether would like to stop taking drugs, by type of drugs taken in last yearAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Like to stop taking drugs Type of drugs taken in last year



drugsb

only

% % % % %

Yes, I would like to give up now 40 71 30 33 43

Yes, I would like to give up in the future 17 5 21 19 16

No 12 2 22 16 13

Not sure 31 22 27 32 28

Bases 535 293 385 323 1644



Class A drugs.


last year.


Table 5.44

Whether think will still be taking drugs in five years time, by sex: 1999-2003All taken drugs in last month (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999-2003

Taking drugs in 5 years time Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

Yes 29 26 23

No 33 39 41


Girls

Yes 22 25 24

No 37 31 35


Total

Yes 26 26 24

No 35 36 38


Bases

Boys 360 418 426

Girls 273 328 380

Total 633 746 806

Table 5.45

Whether think will still be using drugs in five years time, by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Taking drugs in 5 years time Age


% % % %

Boys

Yes 10 16 19 15

No 64 53 48 55

Don’t know 25 30 33 30

Girls

Yes 9 13 18 14

No 59 58 49 55

Don’t know 32 29 33 32

Total

Yes 10 15 18 15

No 62 56 49 55

Don’t know 29 30 33 31

Bases

Boys 276 223 373 872

Girls 275 237 340 852

Total 551 460 713 1724


Table 5.46

Whether think will still be using drugs in five years time, by type of drugstaken in last yearAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Taking drugs in 5 years time Type of drugs taken in last year



drugsb

only

% % % % %

Yes 11 3 28 18 15

No 57 76 36 47 55

Don’t know 32 21 36 35 31

Bases 567 317 390 333 1724



Class A drugs.


last year.

Table 5.47

Whether ever felt needed treatment for drug use, by sex: 1999-2003All taken drugs in last month (excluding those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999-2003

Ever felt needed treatment for drug use

1999 2001 2003

Percentage felt needed treatment

Boys 4 4 4

Girls 4 4 6

Total 4 4 5

Bases

Boys 355 417 424

Girls 272 329 378

Total 627 746 802

Table 5.48

Whether ever felt needed treatment for drug use, by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Felt needed treatment Age


Percentage felt needed treatment

Boys 5 2 3 4

Girls 6 3 4 4

Total 5 2 4 4

Bases

Boys 276 222 372 870

Girls 271 236 341 848

Total 547 458 713 1718


Table 5.49

Whether ever felt needed treatment for drug use, by type of drugs taken in last yearAll taken drugs in last year 2003

Felt needed treatment Type of drugs taken in last year



drugsb

only

% % % % %

Felt needed treatment 1 2 9 3 4

Bases 566 316 392 328 1718



Class A drugs.


last year.


6 Attitudes towards drug taking

Sarah Blenkinsop

6.1 Introduction

Sections 6.2, 6.3, 6.5 and 6.6 analyse responses to questions asked of all pupils, whereasSection 6.4 focuses on responses to questions asked of pupils who have ever taken drugs.In 2003, questions were changed to ensure that pupils included sniffing glue or othersolvents in the definition of taking drugs (see Section 1.5 for a full discussion), and aquestion about how many times pupils have ever taken drugs was introduced. Therefore, aswas the case in Chapter 5, trend data is analysed for different subgroups than is the casefor 2003 data alone. The different subgroups used for analysis in Section 6.4 are:




6.2 Family views on drug taking

All pupils, regardless of whether they took drugs, were asked about their own family’sattitudes to drug taking. Although questions referred to the feelings of the family, it is likelythat children were thinking mainly of their parents when they responded. Pupils who hadnever taken drugs were asked how they thought their family would feel if they started takingdrugs, and those who reported that their family did not know that they took drugs wereasked how they thought they would feel if they knew they took drugs. The answercategories corresponded, so it is possible to compare perceived family attitudes towardsdrug taking for all pupils.

Where pupils answered that their family would either try to stop them taking drugs or try topersuade them not to take drugs, family attitudes can be interpreted as ‘negative’ towardsdrug taking. Where pupils said their family did not mind, or that they would encourage them,this can be interpreted as ‘positive’ attitudes towards drug taking. There were pupils whodid not know what their families’ attitudes would be, although analysis is based on thosepupils who expressed an opinion.

1

The main message is that family attitudes towards drug taking are perceived to beoverwhelmingly negative. Among those who said their families had negative attitudestowards drug taking, distinctions can be made between whether their families would stopthem taking drugs, or the milder option of trying to persuade them not to take drugs. In2003, as in 2001, 99% of pupils who expressed an opinion said their family would either tryto stop them from taking drugs or try to persuade them not to. In 2003, as in 2001, only 1%of pupils said that their family did not mind, and 1% of boys said they were encouraged bytheir family to take drugs (although no girls reported this). Overall, the findings were similarfor boys and girls.


Pupils across all age groups perceived their families to have negative attitudes towardsdrug taking, although as pupils got older they were more likely to think that their familywould take the milder option of trying to persuade them to stop taking drugs, rather thanactively try to stop them. Eighty-six per cent of 11 year olds compared with 79% of 15 yearolds said their family would try to stop them, and 13% of 11 year olds compared with 19%of 15 year olds thought their family would try to persuade them. These patterns were similarfor boys and girls.

(Tables 6.1, 6.2)

When considering pupils’ experience of drug taking, those who had never taken drugs weremost likely to say their family would take the firmer option of actively stopping them fromtaking drugs (86%), rather than to say they would try and persuade them to stop (14%). Incontrast 64% of those who had taken drugs on more than 10 occasions felt their familywould try to stop them and 25% that their family would try to persuade them to stop. Moreexperienced drug takers were also more likely to feel that their family wouldn’t mind if theytook drugs, 9% reported this compared with less than 0.5% of those who had never takendrugs.


Pupils’ perceptions of how their family would react to them taking drugs were related to thetypes of drugs that they had taken in the last year. Although the dominant family attitudewas still to try to stop pupils taking drugs rather than persuading them to stop, among thosewho had taken drugs in the last year, those who had only sniffed volatile substances werethe most likely to think their parents would try to stop them (75%) compared with those whohad only taken cannabis (71%) and those who had taken Class A drugs (67%). It should benoted that pupils with more experience of drugs were much more likely to think that theirparents would try to persuade rather than try to stop them taking drugs, and that those whowere more experienced would be more likely to take Class A drugs.

(Table 6.4)


Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

Never taken drugs


Once 2-5 occasions

6-10occasions


* See Note 1.

Try to persuade

Try to stop

Figure 6.1

Perceived family attitudes to taking drugs, by number of occasions ever taken drugs Base: All expressing an opinion*


6.3 Drug taking amongst peer groups

In order to assess the potential influence of peer groups, pupils were asked about drugtaking among their own siblings and friends. It is possible that having a number of friendsand siblings who take drugs would encourage pupils to take drugs themselves or continuetaking drugs if it is a shared activity in the group. It is also possible that pupils who takedrugs themselves choose to associate with others who take drugs, or that they persuadetheir friends and siblings to take drugs.

In 2003, 14 per cent of pupils were an only child, whereas 87% had siblings (80% of whomhad siblings who did not take drugs). Therefore, 7% of pupils had at least one sibling whotook drugs. These figures have remained stable since 1999 and were also similar for boysand girls. The probability of having a sibling who took drugs increased with age (for instance,2% of 11 year olds compared with 12% of 15 year olds), but particularly for girls (15% of 15year old girls compared with 9% of 15 year old boys had at least one sibling who took drugs).

(Tables 6.5, 6.6)

Drug use among friends was more widespread than it was among siblings, with 9% ofpupils reporting that half or more of their friends took drugs and a further 20% reporting thata few of their friends took drugs. There has been some variation in the prevalence of drugtaking among friends between recent surveys. The proportion of pupils reporting that atleast half of their friends took drugs has fluctuated slightly, from 8% in 1999, to 10% in 2001and then 9% in 2003. However, there has been a steady, yet small, increase in theproportion of pupils who reported that a few of their friends took drugs (16% in 1999, 18%in 2001 and 20% in 2003). In 2003, 46% of pupils said none of their friends took drugs,which has fluctuated slightly from 49% in 1999 and 45% in 2001. Girls were more likely thanboys to report that none of their friends took drugs (49% compared with 43%).


As was the case with the prevalence of drug use among siblings, there was a strongrelationship between age of the respondent and drug taking among friends, with olderpupils much more likely to have friends who took drugs; 1% of 11 year olds compared with21% of 15 year olds said about half their friends took drugs, and 5% compared with 37%said a few of their friends took drugs. Two-thirds (68%) of 11 year olds reported that none oftheir friends took drugs, compared with one quarter (26%) of 15 year olds. There weresimilar patterns for boys and girls.

(Table 6.8)

Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

1999 2001 2003

None

Only a few

About half my friends or more

Figure 6.2

Whether friends take drugs: 1999-2003Base: All pupils

There was a strong relationship between having siblings who took drugs and having friendswho took drugs. For example, 71% of pupils who had at least one sibling who took drugsalso had friends who took drugs, compared with 29% of those who were an only child and26% who had siblings, none of whom took drugs.


There was evidence of a relationship between taking drugs as an individual and drug takingamong siblings. Overall, 67% of pupils who had at least one sibling who took drugs hadtaken drugs themselves in the last year, compared with 22% who did not have siblings, and17% of those with siblings who did not take drugs. The strength of the relationship betweensiblings’ drug taking and pupils’ own drug taking increased with age – 38% of 11-12 yearolds who had siblings who took drugs also took drugs themselves, the equivalent figure for15 year olds was 79%. Boys also appeared to be more influenced by siblings’ drug takingbehaviour than girls – among those who had siblings who took drugs, 72% of boys hadtaken drugs in the last year compared with 64% of girls, although it should be borne in mindthat boys were generally slightly more likely to take drugs than girls.



Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100


Only child

Has siblings, none take drugs

Has siblings who take drugs

Figure 6.3

Whether friends take drugs, by whether siblings take drugs and ageBase: All pupils

Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100


Only child

Has siblings, none take drugs

Has siblings who take drugs

Figure 6.4

Whether taken drugs in last year, by whether siblings take drugs and ageBase: All pupils

Friends’ drug taking was more influential than siblings’ drug taking. Overall, 75% of pupilswho reported that half or more than their friends took drugs had taken drugs themselves inthe last year (compared with 67% who had siblings who took drugs). Drug taking amongfriends appeared to be more influential at a younger age than had been the case with drugtaking among siblings; 63% of 11-12 year olds who said half or more of their friends hadtaken drugs had taken drugs themselves in the last year, (compared with 38% of the sameage pupils whose siblings took drugs). Pupils with only a few friends who took drugs wereless likely to have taken drugs in the last year (40%), but more likely to have done so thanpupils with no friends who have taken drugs (8%).


6.4 Whether drug taking is an individual or group activity

As explained in Section 6.1, trends in this section are based on all pupils who took drugs inthe last month, but excludes those who only sniffed volatile substances. There were noconsistent changes in prevalence of sharing drugs, or with whom drugs were takenbetween 1999 and 2003. The remainder of this section looks at data from 2003 based onthe last occasion drugs were taken among those who have taken drugs in the last year andhave ever taken drugs at least twice.

(Tables 6.12, 6.15)

In 2003, although boys and girls were equally as likely to have taken drugs on the lastoccasion with friends, boys were more likely than girls to have done so with same sexfriends (45% and 23%), whereas girls were more likely than boys to have done so with agroup of friends of both sexes (59% and 43%), their girlfriend/boyfriend (19% and 9%) oropposite sex friends (8% and 2%).



Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100


No friends take drugs

A few friends take drugs

Half or more friends take drugs

Figure 6.5

Whether taken drugs in last year, by whether friends take drugs and ageBase: All pupils

Younger pupils were less likely than older pupils to take drugs with friends (83% of 11-13year olds compared with 96% of 15 year olds), and were more likely to do so alone (11% of11-13 year olds and 3% of 15 year olds). Younger children were also less likely to havetaken drugs with a group of friends of both sexes (38% of 11-13 year olds compared with59% of 15 year olds). These patterns existed for boys and girls.

(Table 6.13)

When considering the type of drug taken on the last occasion, 20% of pupils who onlysniffed volatile substances only did so alone, compared with 1% who only took cannabisand 3% who took Class A drugs. Among those who took drugs in the last year, youngerpupils were much more likely to have only sniffed volatile substances, and this probablyexplains why younger pupils were more likely to take drugs alone. Pupils who had takencannabis or Class A drugs on the last occasion were most likely to have done so withfriends of both sexes (54% and 58% respectively).

(Table 6.14)

Pupils were asked whether on the last occasion (but not first occasion) they used drugs ifthey had used all the drugs themselves, shared them with others (gave some away), or ifthey sold some of them. Giving drugs away was the most common answer (58%), 37%took all the drugs themselves and 6% sold some of the drugs. Boys were slightly more likelythan girls to have taken all the drugs themselves (39% compared with 34%) or to have solddrugs (7% and 4%), and consequently were less likely to have given drugs away (53% and62% respectively). Younger pupils were more likely than older pupils to have taken all thedrugs themselves on the last occasion they took drugs (45% of 11-13 year olds comparedwith 33% of 15 year olds) –this is not surprising given that younger pupils were more likelyto have taken drugs on their own on the last occasion.

(Table 6.16)


0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Group friends ofboth sexes

Same sex friends

Girlfriend/boyfriend

Opposite sexfriends

Percent

Boys

Girls

Figure 6.6

With whom took drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by sex Base: All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once

Drug sharing behaviour differed by the type of drugs taken on the last occasion. Those whohad only sniffed volatile substances on the last occasion were the most likely group to havetaken all the drugs themselves (again not surprising as they were more likely to have beenon their own). Comparing those who had only taken cannabis with those who had taken anyClass A drugs (bearing in mind that both these groups were equally like to have taken drugswith other people on the last occasion), pupils who had taken Class A drugs were morelikely to have used all the drugs themselves (38% compared with 30%) or to have soldsome of the drugs (18% compared with 4%), and consequently were less likely to haveshared their drugs (44% compared with 66%).


6.5 Attitudes to drug taking

Pupils were asked whether various drug, alcohol and cigarette smoking-related behaviourwas ‘OK’ or ‘Not OK’ for someone their age. In 2003, the set of questions coveredexperimental use (‘to see what it is like’) and more regular use (‘once a week’). Somequestions were added in 2003, and there was some variation in the wording of otherquestions compared with those used in 1999 and 2001.

2

In 2003, pupils were mostly likely to think that trying alcohol once was OK (67%), followedby trying cigarette smoking (48%) or getting drunk (31%). Trying cannabis (17%), trying gluesniffing (10%) or trying cocaine (4%) were generally much less likely to be seen as being OK.



Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

Cannabis only

Volatile substances only

Any Class A drugs

Other drugs

Sold some

Gave some away

Used it all myself

Figure 6.7

Whether shared drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by type of drugs takenBase: All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once


Between 1999 and 2001 there was an increase in the proportion of pupils who thought itwas acceptable to try cannabis to see what it is like, although there was a slight decrease inthe level of acceptability in 2003 (from 13% in 1999 to 20% in 2001, and to 17% in 2003).Between 1999 and 2001, acceptability of cigarette smoking remained stable (54% and 55%respectively), but there was a decline in the proportion of pupils who said trying cigaretteswas OK in 2003 (48%).


Not surprisingly, pupils thought that regular use of substances was less acceptable thanexperimental use. The order in which taking substances regularly were seen as being OKwas the same as for just trying them – pupils were most likely to think it was OK to drinkalcohol every week (46%), followed by smoking cigarettes once a week (25%), gettingdrunk once a week (20%), taking cannabis once a week (10%), sniffing glue once a week(4%) and taking cocaine one a week (2%). The proportion who thought that it was OK to getdrunk once a week increased between 1999 (13%) and 2003 (20%).


Drink alcohol

Smoke a cigarette

Get drunk

Take cannabis

Sniff glue

Take cocaine

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80Percent

Try to see what it’s like

Do once a week

Figure 6.8

Whether OK to try different substances once or take them once a week Base: All pupils

Per

cen

t

1999 2001 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60Cigarettes

Cannabis

Figure 6.9

Whether OK to try cannabis or smoking cigarettes: 1999-2003Base: All pupils

Patterns of perceived acceptability among boys and girls mirrored their differential rates oftaking different substances. Girls were more likely to smoke and more likely to think it wasOK for someone their age to smoke (for example 27% of girls thought it was OK to smokecigarettes once a week compared with 23% of boys). Boys were more likely to have takencannabis in the last year and to think taking cannabis was OK (for example 12% of boys feltit was OK to take cannabis once a week compared with 9% of girls). Attitudes towardsacceptability of drinking were similar among boys and girls.

The proportion thinking it was OK to try different substances once increased with age for allsubstances – for example 17% of 11 year olds thought it was OK to try smoking a cigaretteonce compared with 74% of 15 year olds. A similar increase in acceptability of regular usewith age was seen for smoking cigarettes once a week (7% of 11 year olds, 48% of 15 yearolds) and drinking alcohol once a week (19% of 11 year olds, 73% of 15 year olds), but therelationship between acceptability of taking different drugs regularly and age was lesspronounced. Among 11 year olds, 1% thought it was OK to take cannabis once a week, 2%to sniff glue once a week and 1% to take cocaine once a week. By age 15, these hadincreased marginally for taking cocaine (3%) and sniffing glue (5%), and to a greater extentfor cannabis (24%).


Pupils’ attitudes to drug taking were related to their experience of drug taking. For example,4% of pupils who had never taken drugs thought it was OK to take cannabis once a week,compared with 62% who had taken drugs on more than ten occasions. Experience oftaking drugs was more strongly related to acceptability of taking drugs than age. Similarlythe proportion who thought it was OK to smoke or drink once a week was higher amongregular smokers and those who drank once a week respectively, and again theserelationships were more marked than those by age alone. Pupils who either took drugs,smoked or drank alcohol were generally more likely to think that taking any of thesubstances was OK, although this is not surprising as smoking, drinking and drug takingwere highly interrelated (Chapter 9).

(Tables 6.21-6.23, Figure 6.11)


Per

cent


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Cocaine

Glue

Cannabis

Figure 6.10

Whether OK to take specific drugs once a week, by ageBase: All pupils

6.6 Attitudes towards drug takers

Pupils were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with five attitudinal statements aboutdrug takers, the first four of which could be considered negative towards drug takers andone which could be considered positive towards drug takers. The statements were:

“People my age who take drugs need help and advice”“All people who sell drugs should be punished”“People who take drugs are stupid”“All people who take drugs should be punished”“Most young people will try drugs at some point”.

In 2003, 75% agreed that people who take drugs need help and advice, 69% agreed thatpeople who sell drugs should be punished, 58% that people who take drugs are stupid, and32% that all people who take drugs should be punished. Agreement with these negativestatements had decreased for all statements since they were first asked, and was mostmarked for “People who take drugs are stupid” (71% in 1998, 58% in 2003) and “All peoplewho take drugs should be punished” (40% in 1999, 32% in 2003).

Just over half (55%) agreed with the positive statement about drug taking “Most youngpeople will take drugs at some point”, a similar proportion to previous years.



Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Never Not in last year

Once 2-5 occasions

6-10 occasions


Cocaine

Glue

Cannabis

Figure 6.11

Whether OK to take specific drugs once a week, by number of occasions ever taken drugsBase: All pupils

Girls were slightly more likely than boys to agree that “people who take drugs need help andadvice" (76% and 74% respectively). In contrast, boys were more likely to agree that“people who sell drugs should be punished" (71% and 68%), “People who take drugs arestupid" (60% and 56%), and particularly that “All people who take drugs should bepunished" (36% and 29%). Boys and girls were equally as likely to agree that “Most youngpeople will try drugs at some point" (55%). Similar patterns were found in previous surveys.

(Table 6.25)

Attitudes towards drug takers became more positive with increasing age. For example,74% of 11 year olds compared with 43% of 15 year olds agreed that “People who takedrugs are stupid". Similarly, 39% of 11 year olds and 69% of 15 year olds agreed that “Mostyoung people will try drugs at some point".



Per

cent

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

0

20

40

60

80

Most people will try drugs at some time

All people who sell drugs should be punished

People my age who take drugs need help and advice

All people who take drugs should be punished

People who take drugs are stupid

Figure 6.12

Agreement with statements: 1998-2003Base: All pupils

Per

cent


0

20

40

60

80

100


Most young people will try drugs

Figure 6.13

Agreement with statements by ageAll pupils

Pupils’ attitudes to drug takers were also highly correlated with pupils’ own experience oftaking drugs, and this was a stronger relationship than between attitudes and age. Forexample, 66% of pupils who had never taken drugs agreed that “People who take drugs arestupid", compared with 15% of pupils who had used drugs on ten or more occasions. Theproportion who agreed that “Most people will try drugs at some point" was 46% amongthose who had never taken drugs compared with 89% among those who had taken drugson more than 10 occasions.



Analysis of perceived family attitudes towards taking drugs is based on pupils who expressed an opinionand excludes those who answered “Don’t know” or did not answer the question. This is to compensatefor differing proportions of pupils who answered “Don’t know” (14% in 2001, 8% in 2003) and who didnot answer the question (2% in 2001, 11% in 2003). The proportion who did not answer the question washigh in 2003, because of a questionnaire layout problem. Pupils who had never taken drugs or not takendrugs in the last year were routed several pages forward to a question midway down a page.Unfortunately a substantial proportion went to the next question at the top of the following page and didnot answer the intended question.

2In 2003, only three statements from 1999 and 2001 were repeated (those about trying cigarettes orcannabis to see what it is like, and getting drunk once a week). Questions on drinking alcohol, gettingdrunk, sniffing glue and taking cocaine to see what it is like were added in 2003. In 1999 and 2001 pupilswere asked whether it was OK to “try out smoking once”, whereas in 2003 they were asked whether itwas OK to “try smoking a cigarette to see what it’s like”. In 1999 and 2001 pupils were asked whether itwas OK to “try cannabis once to see what it’s like”, but in 2003 they were asked whether it was OK to “trytaking cannabis to see what it’s like”. In 1999 and 2001 pupils were asked whether it was OK to “getdrunk every week”, whereas in 2003 they were asked whether it was OK to “get drunk once a week”.Although the wording of some questions changed slightly in 2003, comparisons in terms of pupils’attitudes towards experimentation and more frequent use can be made.


Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

Never Not in last year

Once 2-5 occasions

6-10 occasions



Most young people will try drugs

Figure 6.14

Agreement with statements, by number of occasions ever taken drugsAll pupils

Table 6.1

Perceived family attitude towards their child taking drugs, by sex: 2001, 2003All who expressed an opinion

a2001, 2003

Perceived family attitude Year

2001 2003

% %

Boys

Family try to stop me 82 82

Family try to persuade me not to 17 16

Family don’t mind 1 1

Family encourage me 0 1

Girls





Total





Bases

Boys 3826 4120

Girls 3874 4213

Total 7700 8333

a See Note 1.

Table 6.2

Perceived family attitude towards their child taking drugs, by sex and ageAll who expressed an opinion

a2003

Perceived family attitude Age


% % % % % %

Boys

Family try to stop me 86 85 83 80 78 82

Family try to persuade me not to 13 14 16 18 20 16

Family don’t mind 1 0 1 1 2 1

Family encourage me 0 0 1 1 1 1

Girls




Family encourage me 0 0 0 - - 0

Total




Family encourage me 0 0 1 1 0 0

Bases

Boys 668 809 851 816 976 4120

Girls 680 876 866 831 960 4213

Total 1348 1685 1717 1647 1936 8333

a See Note 1.


Table 6.3

Perceived family attitude towards their child taking drugs, by sex andnumber of occasions ever taken drugsAll who expressed an opinion

a2003

Perceived family attitude Number of occasions ever taken drugs

Never Not in Once 2-5 6-10 More than Totalb


% % % % % % %

Boys

Family try to stop me 86 78 81 64 67 62 82

Family try to persuade

me not to 14 21 16 29 26 24 16

Family don’t mind 0 1 1 4 6 10 1

Family encourage me 0 0 1 3 1 4 1

Girls



me not to 14 19 14 28 29 25 16


Family encourage me 0 - 1 2 - 1 0

Total



me not to 14 20 15 29 27 25 16


Family encourage me 0 0 1 2 1 3 0

Bases

Boys 3064 331 158 191 84 212 4120

Girls 3180 342 178 182 98 177 4213

Total 6244 673 336 373 182 389 8333

a See Note 1.

b Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about the number of occasions they have

taken drugs.


Table 6.4

Perceived family attitude towards their child taking drugs, by sex and types of drugs taken last yearAll who expressed an opinion

a2003

Perceived family attitude Type of drugs taken last year

Cannabis Volatile Any Class Other Not taken Totald


drugsc


% % % % %

Boys




Family encourage me - 1 6 3 0 1

Girls




Family encourage me - 2 1 - 0 0

Total




Family encourage me - 2 3 1 0 0

Bases

Boys 294 128 197 138 3109 4120

Girls 247 164 164 157 3278 4213

Total 541 292 361 295 6387 8333

a See Note 1.



Class A drugs.

d Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about which drugs they had taken in the

last year.

Table 6.5

Whether siblings take drugs, by sex: 1999-2003All pupils 1999-2003

Whether siblings take drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

At least one sibling takes drugs 5 6 6

Has sibling(s), but none take drugs 82 81 80

Only child 12 12 15

Girls



Only child 13 11 12

Total



Only child 13 12 14

Bases

Boys 4533 4487 4966

Girls 4364 4530 4963

Total 8897 9017 9929


Table 6.6

Whether siblings take drugs, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Whether siblings take drugs Age


% % % % % %

Boys

At least one sibling takes drugs 2 3 6 7 9 6

Has sibling(s), but none take drugs 84 83 81 76 74 80

Only child 14 14 13 17 17 15

Girls



Only child 11 14 11 12 12 12

All pupils



Only child 13 14 12 15 14 14

Bases

Boys 848 998 1032 968 1120 4966

Girls 821 1049 1027 963 1103 4963

Total 1669 2047 2059 1931 2223 9929

Table 6.7

Whether friends take drugs, by sex: 1999- 2003All pupils 1999- 2003

Whether friends take drugs Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

About half my friends or more 8 11 10

Only a few 16 18 21

None 46 41 43


Girls


Only a few 17 18 19

None 52 49 49


Total


Only a few 16 18 20

None 49 45 46


Bases

Boys 4771 4594 5131

Girls 4545 4623 5066

Total 9316 9217 10197


Table 6.8

Whether friends take drugs, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Whether friends take drugs Age


% % % % % %

Boys

About half my friends or more 1 4 6 14 22 10

Only a few 5 9 21 28 37 21

None 66 55 41 34 23 43

Don’t know 28 32 32 24 18 27

Girls


Only a few 5 8 18 26 36 19

None 71 61 49 38 30 49

Don’t know 23 29 27 22 15 23

All pupils


Only a few 5 8 19 27 37 20

None 68 58 45 36 26 46

Don’t know 25 31 29 23 16 25

Bases

Boys 881 1037 1070 999 1144 5131

Girls 843 1072 1055 982 1114 5066

Total 1724 2109 2125 1981 2258 10197

Table 6.9

Whether friends use drugs, by age of pupil and whether siblings use drugsAll pupils 2003

Friends use drugs Whether siblings use drugs

At least one sibling Has sibling(s), Only Totala

takes drugs but none take drugs child

Percentage of pupils who have at least a few friends who take drugs

11-12 years 36 8 8 9

13 years 66 23 21 25

14 years 72 37 44 41

15 years 87 53 55 57

Total 71 26 29 29

Bases

11-12 years 100 3095 482 3833

13 years 129 1675 245 2125

14 years 171 1474 280 1981

15 years 260 1637 321 2258

Total 660 7881 1328 10197

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about whether their siblings take drugs.


Table 6.10

Drug use in the last year, by sex, age and whether pupil has any siblings who take drugsAll pupils 2003

Taken drugs in last year Siblings’ drug use

At least one sibling Has sibling(s), Only Totala

takes drugs but none take drugs child

Percentage taken drugs in last year

Boys

11-12 years [49] 8 8 10

13 years 68 14 19 19

14 years 76 20 34 27

15 years 82 33 38 39

Total 72 17 24 22

Girls

11-12 years 29 7 8 9

13 years 54 14 14 17

14 years 67 23 29 29

15 years 76 27 40 36

Total 64 16 21 20

Total

11-12 years 38 8 8 9

13 years 61 14 17 18

14 years 71 22 32 28

15 years 79 30 39 38

Total 67 17 22 21

Bases

Boys

11-12 years 41 1425 235 1788

13 years 63 779 118 1012

14 years 62 700 152 964

15 years 100 797 179 1112

Total 266 3701 684 4876

Girls

11-12 years 52 1489 216 1828

13 years 61 801 110 1004

14 years 101 697 117 936

15 years 157 781 129 1077

Total 371 3768 572 4845

Total

11-12 years 93 2914 451 3616

13 years 124 1580 228 2016

14 years 163 1397 269 1900

15 years 257 1578 308 2189

Total 637 7469 1256 9721

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about whether their siblings take drugs.


Table 6.11

Drug use in the last year, by sex, age and whether pupil has any friends who take drugsAll pupils 2003

Taken drugs in last year Friends drug usea

Half or more friends A few friends No friends Totalb

take drugs take drugs take drugs

Percentage taken drugs in last year

Boys

11-12 years [60] 33 6 10

13 years 72 39 8 19

14 years 72 39 10 27

15 years 82 44 11 39

Total 76 40 8 22

Girls

11-12 years * 33 6 9

13 years 71 38 8 17

14 years 72 43 12 29

15 years 78 40 15 36

Total 75 40 9 20

Total

11-12 years 63 33 6 9

13 years 71 39 8 18

14 years 72 41 11 28

15 years 80 42 13 38

Total 75 40 8 21

Bases

Boys

11-12 years 43 129 1578 1788

13 years 60 216 717 1012

14 years 127 266 548 964

15 years 246 409 445 1112

Total 476 1020 3288 4876

Girls

11-12 years 29 117 1648 1828

13 years 58 173 766 1004

14 years 132 244 554 936

15 years 213 390 472 1077

Total 432 924 3440 4845

Total

11-12 years 72 246 3226 3616

13 years 118 389 1483 2016

14 years 259 510 1102 1900

15 years 459 799 917 2189

Total 908 1944 6728 9721

a Pupils were defined as having friends who took drugs if they had at least one friend who took drugs.

Pupils who did not know whether their friends took drugs, were included in the category of not having

friends who took drugs rather than excluding them from the analysis.

b Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about whether their friends take drugs.


Table 6.12

With whom took drugs on last occasion (last month), by sex: 1999- 2003All taken drugs in the last month (except those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999-2003

Who took drugs witha

Year

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

Any friend 93 93 94

Girlfriend/boyfriend 7 8 12

Same sex friends 41 44 45

Opposite sex friends 3 3 3

Group friends of both sexes 41 46 45

Parents - 1 1

Brother, sister or other relatives 4 3 5

Someone else b 1 1

No-one 4 5 4

Girls

Any friend 95 92 96





Parents 0 1 1


Someone else b 3 2

No-one 2 4 2

Total

Any friend 93 93 95





Parents 0 1 1


Someone else b 2 2

No-one 3 4 3

Bases

Boys 352 367 425

Girls 274 307 378

Total 626 674 803

a Pupils were restricted to giving one answer in 1999 survey, but were allowed multiple

answers in 2001 and 2003.

b The category “Someone else" was added in the 2001 survey.


Table 6.13

With whom took drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by sex and ageAll taken drugs in the last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Who took drugs with Age


% % % %

Boys


Girlfriend/boyfriend 10 11 7 9

Same sex friends 42 48 45 45

Opposite sex friends 2 1 3 2

Group friends of both sexes 33 40 50 43

Parents 4 2 1 2

Brother, sister or other relatives 6 4 4 5


No-one 13 5 3 6

Girls






Parents 1 - 0 0



No-one 10 4 3 5

Total






Parents 3 1 1 1



No-one 11 4 3 6

Bases

Boys 172 168 290 630

Girls 176 170 270 616

Total 348 338 560 1246


Table 6.14

With whom took drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion), by type of drugs taken All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Who took drugs with Type of drugs taken



drugsb

only

% % % % %

Boys

Any friend 95 72 85 90 90

Girlfriend/boyfriend 8 4 15 13 9

Same sex friends 48 44 38 40 45

Opposite sex friends 3 2 1 2 2

Group friends of both sexes 44 27 48 46 43

Parents 0 4 6 3 2

Brother, sister or other relatives 5 1 7 7 5


No-one 2 22 5 8 6

Girls

Any friend 98 78 97 92 92





Parents - 2 1 - 0



No-one 0 18 2 4 5

Total

Any friend 96 76 91 91 91





Parents 0 3 3 2 1



No-one 1 20 3 6 6

Bases

Boys 350 94 87 90 630

Girls 293 133 90 90 616

Total 643 227 177 180 1246



Class A drugs.




Table 6.15

Whether pupils shared drugs on last occasion (last month), by sex: 1999- 2003All taken drugs in the last month (except those who had only sniffed volatile substances) 1999- 2003

Whether shared drugs

1999 2001 2003

% % %

Boys

Used it all myself 36 35 32

Sold some of it 9 10 9

Gave some of it away 55 55 59

Girls




Total




Bases

Boys 355 367 393

Girls 270 305 353

Total 625 672 746

Table 6.16

Whether pupils shared drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion),by sex and ageAll taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Whether shared drugs Age


% % % %

Boys

Used it all myself 49 36 36 39

Sold some of it 10 10 4 7

Gave some of it away 41 54 60 53

Girls




All pupils




Bases

Boys 158 163 273 594

Girls 157 156 255 568

Total 315 319 528 1162


Table 6.17

Whether pupils shared drugs on last occasion (last year, not first occasion),by type of drugs taken All taken drugs in last year and taken drugs more than once 2003

Whether shared drugs Type of drugs taken



drugsb

only

% % % % %

Boys

Used it all myself 36 60 33 38 39

Sold some of it 5 4 22 8 7

Gave some of it away 60 36 46 53 53

Girls




Total




Bases

Boys 331 85 83 86 594

Girls 283 116 82 80 568

Total 614 201 165 166 1162



Class A drugs.



Table 6.18

Attitudes to drug useAll pupils 2003

Attitudes to drug use Level of agreement

Agree Don’t know Disagree Bases

OK to try drinking alcohol to see what it’s like % 67 11 23 10147

OK to try smoking a cigarette to see what it’s like % 48 12 39 10166

OK to try getting drunk to see what it’s like % 31 14 56 10147

OK to try taking cannabis to see what it’s like % 17 10 73 10134

OK to try sniffing glue to see what it’s like % 10 13 77 10136

OK to try taking cocaine to see what it’s like % 4 10 86 10141

OK to drink alcohol once a week % 46 12 41 10140

OK to smoke cigarettes once a week % 25 11 63 10162

OK to get drunk once a week % 20 12 69 10138

OK to take cannabis once a week % 10 9 81 10138

OK to sniff glue once a week % 4 10 86 10135

OK to take cocaine once a week % 2 7 91 10141


Table 6.19

Whether it’s OK to take different substances: 1999, 2001, 2003All pupils 1999, 2001, 2003

OK to take different substances Year

1999 2001 2003

Percentage who agreed with each statement

OK to try drinking alcohol to see what it’s like a a 67

OK to try smoking a cigarette to see what it’s likeb

54 55 48

OK to try getting drunk to see what it’s like a a 31

OK to try taking cannabis to see what it’s likec

13 20 17

OK to try sniffing glue to see what it’s like a a 10

OK to try taking cocaine to see what it’s like a a 4

OK to drink alcohol once a week a a 46

OK to smoke cigarettes once a week a a 25

OK to get drunk once a weekd

13 14 20

OK to take cannabis once a week a a 10

OK to sniff glue once a week a a 4

OK to take cocaine once a week a a 2

Bases 9234 9250 10206

a Only statements about trying cigarettes or cannabis once or getting drunk once a week were asked in

1999 and 2001.

b In 1999 and 2001 pupils were asked whether it was ok to “try out smoking once”. In 2003 they were asked

whether it was ok to “try smoking a cigarette to see what it’s like”.

c In 1999 and 2001 pupils were asked whether it was ok to “try cannabis once to see what it’s like”. In 2003

they were asked whether it was ok to “try taking cannabis to see what it’s like”.

d In 1999 and 2001 pupils were asked whether it was ok to “get drunk every week”. In 2003 they were

asked whether it was ok to “get drunk once a week”.


Table 6.20

Whether it’s OK to take different substances, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

OK to take different substances Age


Percentage of pupils who agreed with each statement

Boys

OK to try drinking alcohol to see what it’s like 39 52 71 80 85 66

OK to try smoking a cigarette to see what it’s like 17 27 47 60 68 45

OK to try getting drunk to see what it’s like 5 13 29 44 60 31

OK to try taking cannabis to see what it’s like 3 5 15 27 41 19

OK to try sniffing glue to see what it’s like 6 7 12 12 13 10

OK to try taking cocaine to see what it’s like 1 3 5 5 7 4

OK to drink alcohol once a week 21 31 48 60 74 48

OK to smoke cigarettes once a week 6 11 20 31 44 23

OK to get drunk once a week 3 8 17 28 44 21

OK to take cannabis once a week 2 3 8 17 27 12

OK to sniff glue once a week 2 4 4 5 6 4

OK to take cocaine once a week 1 2 2 3 4 2

Girls













Total













Bases

Boys 886 1038 1072 998 1144 5138

Girls 848 1075 1050 984 1111 5068

Total 1734 2113 2122 1982 2255 10206


Table 6.21

Whether it’s OK to take different substances, by number of occasions ever taken drugsAll pupils 2003

OK to take different substances Number of occasions ever taken drugs




Boys

OK to try drinking alcohol to see what it’s like 60 78 81 90 91 91 66

OK to try smoking a cigarette to see what it’s like 36 58 67 80 81 86 45

OK to try getting drunk to see what it’s like 22 39 58 70 74 77 31

OK to try taking cannabis to see what it’s like 8 25 41 57 70 77 19

OK to try sniffing glue to see what it’s like 5 24 16 32 27 27 10

OK to try taking cocaine to see what it’s like 3 6 7 14 10 14 4

OK to drink alcohol once a week 41 54 61 77 72 82 48

OK to smoke cigarettes once a week 16 26 36 50 53 70 23

OK to get drunk once a week 14 27 35 42 45 66 21

OK to take cannabis once a week 5 13 22 32 48 66 12

OK to sniff glue once a week 2 6 5 15 11 18 4

OK to take cocaine once a week 1 2 2 8 7 10 2

Girls













Total













Bases

Boys 3710 413 206 262 98 277 5138

Girls 3702 420 223 255 127 233 5068

Total 7412 833 429 517 225 510 10206


taken drugs.


Table 6.22

Whether it’s OK to take different substances, by smoking statusAll pupils 2003

OK to take different substances Smoking status

Regular Occasional Non-smoker Totala

smoker smoker


Boys

OK to try drinking alcohol to see what it’s like 88 91 63 66

OK to try smoking a cigarette to see what it’s like 87 87 39 45

OK to try getting drunk to see what it’s like 72 70 26 31

OK to try taking cannabis to see what it’s like 65 57 13 19

OK to try sniffing glue to see what it’s like 19 22 9 10

OK to try taking cocaine to see what it’s like 14 12 3 4

OK to drink alcohol once a week 81 75 44 48

OK to smoke cigarettes once a week 80 61 16 23

OK to get drunk once a week 64 44 16 21

OK to take cannabis once a week 55 35 7 12

OK to sniff glue once a week 13 10 3 4

OK to take cocaine once a week 9 8 1 2

Girls













Total













Bases

Boys 354 305 4408 5138

Girls 559 377 4084 5068

Total 913 682 8492 10206

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about whether they smoke cigarettes.


Table 6.23

Whether it’s OK to take different substances, by usual drinking frequencyAll pupils 2003

OK to take different substances Usual drinking frequency

At least once At least once Less frequent/ Totala

a week a month never drink


Boys













Girls













Total













Bases

Boys 1013 863 3206 5138

Girls 875 968 3180 5068

Total 1888 1831 6386 10206

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the questions about whether they drink alcohol.


Table 6.24

Attitudes to drug takers: 1998-2003All pupils 1998-2003

Attitudes to drug takers Year

1998 1999 2001 2003

% % % %

People my age who take drugs need help and advice

Agree a 78 75 75

Don’t know a 12 12 12

Disagree a 10 13 13

All people who sell drugs should be punished

Agree a 73 65 69


Disagree a 13 20 15


Agree 71 65 58 58

Don’t know 15 15 16 15

Disagree 15 21 27 26

All people who take drugs should be punished

Agree a 40 36 32


Disagree a 38 42 45

Most young people will try drugs at some point

Agree 57 58 55 55

Don’t know 25 24 23 23

Disagree 19 18 22 21

Bases 4752 9313 9215 10152

a “People who take drugs are stupid” and “Most young people will try drugs at some point” were the only

statements also asked in 1998.


Table 6.25

Attitudes to drug takers, by sex: 1998-2003All pupils 1998-2003

Attitudes to drug takers Year

1998 1999 2001 2003


Boys

People my age who take drugs need help and advice a 76 72 74

All people who sell drugs should be punished a 75 66 71

People who take drugs are stupid 70 65 59 60

All people who take drugs should be punished a 44 40 36

Most young people will try drugs at some point 58 58 56 55

Girls






Total






Bases

Boys 2188 4690 4592 5104

Girls 2296 4488 4612 5048

Total 4484 9178 9204 10152

a “People who take drugs are stupid” and “Most young people will try drugs at some point” were the only

statements also asked in 1998.



Table 6.26

Attitudes to drug takers, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Attitudes to drug takers Age

11 12 13 14 15 Totalyears years years years years

Percentage of pupils who agreed with each statement

Boys

People my age who take drugs need help and advice 83 86 78 66 59 74

All people who sell drugs should be punished 81 81 72 64 58 71

People who take drugs are stupid 75 71 62 53 44 60

All people who take drugs should be punished 49 47 35 29 21 36

Most young people will try drugs at some point 40 45 57 63 68 55

Girls






Total






Bases

Boys 878 1034 1061 995 1136 5104

Girls 843 1064 1049 982 1110 5048

Total 1721 2098 2110 1977 2246 10152

Table 6.27

Attitudes to drug takers, by number of occasions ever taken drugsAll pupils 2003

Attitudes to drug takers Number of occasions ever taken drugs


last year occasions occasions than 10occasions


Boys

People my age who take drugs need help and advice 83 72 51 37 28 22 74

All people who sell drugs should be punished 78 70 63 44 38 27 71

People who take drugs are stupid 68 56 48 28 16 15 60

All people who take drugs should be punished 42 25 20 13 8 5 36

Most young people will try drugs at some point 46 76 81 87 90 88 55

Girls






Total






Bases

Boys 3691 412 205 259 97 277 5104

Girls 3683 420 223 256 127 232 5048

Total 7374 832 428 515 224 509 10152


taken drugs.


7 Smoking

Sarah Blenkinsop

7.1 Classification of smoking behaviour

The first survey in the series, conducted in 1982, provided estimates of the proportion ofpupils who smoked and described their smoking behaviour. Similar surveys were carriedout every two years until 1998 to monitor trends in the prevalence of cigarette smoking.Questions on alcohol consumption were included for the first time in 1988. Since 1998surveys have been carried out annually, and in alternate years the questionnaire focuses oneither smoking and drinking or on drug taking. When the focus of the survey was onsmoking and drinking (1982-1998, 2000 and 2002), the classification of smoking behaviourwas based on a combination of information from the self-completion questionnaire and aseven-day smoking diary.

1However when the focus of the survey was on drug taking

(1999, 2001 and 2003), there was not enough space for the smoking diary in these years. In1999 there was no measure of cigarettes smoked in the last week, but in 2001 a newquestion on the number of cigarettes smoked in the last week was added, and a modifiedversion of this question was used on the 2003 survey.

Thus the method of measuring the number of cigarettes smoked has changed andestimates of the number of cigarettes smoked in the last seven days in 2003 are notcomparable with estimates from previous surveys.

2

Classification of smoking behaviour is determined by the answers to the questions shownin Figure 7.1 and the question about the number of cigarettes smoked in the last sevendays. These questions are used to classify pupils according to whether they are regularsmokers (defined as usually smoking at least one cigarette a week), occasional smokers(defined as smoking less than one cigarette a week) or non-smokers. Those who say theyare non-smokers, but record that they have smoked at least one cigarette in the last sevendays are reclassified in the analysis as occasional smokers (regardless of the number ofcigarettes recorded).

3It is worth noting that complete consistency between the smoking

status questions and number of cigarettes smoked in the last week would not be expected,since the smoking status questions ask about usual behaviour, while the cigaretteconsumption questions refer to the previous seven days.

Figure 7.1


Figure 7.1

Prevalence question (Q8), check question (Q9)

Q8 Now read all the following statements carefully and tick the box next to the one which best describes you.

331

I have never smoked ➝Q9

I have only ever tried smoking once ➝Q10

I used to smoke sometimes but I never smoke a cigarette now ➝Q10

I sometimes smoke cigarettes now but I don’t smoke as many as one a week ➝Q10

I usually smoke between one and six cigarettes a week ➝Q10

I usually smoke more than six cigarettes a week ➝Q10

Q9 Just to check, read the statements below carefully and tick the box next to the one which best describes you.

I have never tried smoking a cigarette, not even a puff or two

I did once have a puff or two of a cigarette, but I never smoke now

I do sometimes smoke cigarettes

7.2 Trends in the prevalence of ever having smoked

In 1982 the proportion of pupils who ever smoked was 53% and in 1984 it was 55%. Since1986, the proportion of pupils who had ever smoked has been between 42% and 49%,although since 1998 there has been a generally downward trend in the proportion of pupilswho have ever smoked (47% in 1998, 42% in 2003). This can logically be seen as anincrease in the proportion of pupils who have never smoked.

Since 1996, girls have been more likely than boys to have ever smoked, and in 2003 theproportions of pupils who had ever smoked were 44% for girls and 40% for boys.



1

2

3

1

2

3

4

5

6

Per

cent

82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Girls

Boys

Figure 7.2

Ever smoked, by sex: 1982-2003All pupils

7.3 Trends in the prevalence of regular smoking

One of the aims of the survey is to measure progress towards the Government’s target4

toreduce the number of children aged 11-15 who smoke regularly from a baseline of 13% in1996 to 11% by 2005 and 9% by 2010. The proportion of regular smokers has fluctuatedsince 1982, but has been quite stable (between 9% and 11%) since 1998. In 2003, 9% ofpupils aged 11-15 were regular smokers (defined as usually smoking at least one cigarette aweek).

(Table 7.1)

Figure 7.3 shows that in the early 1980s, boys and girls were equally likely to smokeregularly, but since the mid 1980s girls have been consistently more likely to smokeregularly than boys. In 2003, 11% of 11-15 year old girls were regular smokers comparedwith 7% of boys.


7.4 Smoking behaviour in relation to sex and age

Previous surveys have shown that the prevalence of smoking increases with age. In 2003,1% of 11 year olds were regular smokers, compared with 22% of 15 year olds. Of the 11year olds, 85% said they had never smoked, compared with only 36% of 15 year olds. Atages 11 and 12 boys and girls were equally likely to be regular smokers, but at age 13differences start to emerge with girls being more likely than boys to smoke regularly (8%compared with 5%). At 14 and 15 years, the difference between girls and boys smokingregularly was more pronounced: 26% of 15 year old girls were regular smokers comparedwith 18% of 15 year old boys. This pattern is consistent with that observed in previousyears.



Per

cent

0

5

10

15

20

82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

Girls

Boys

All pupils

Figure 7.3

Prevalence of regular cigarette smoking, by sex: 1982-2003All pupils

7.5 Number of cigarettes smoked in the last week

Pupils were asked to record in the questionnaire the number of cigarettes they had smokedon each day in the last seven days. The number of cigarettes smoked on each day wereadded together to give a measure of cigarette consumption. As the method of measuringcigarette consumption in the previous seven days was different in 2003, estimates are notcomparable with those from previous years (see Section 7.1).

5

Of the pupils who reported in the general prevalence question that they ‘usually’ smokedbetween one and six cigarettes a week, 53% recorded later in the questionnaire that they hadsmoked seven or more cigarettes in the last seven days. This underestimation does not affecttheir classification as regular smokers, since this depended only on their saying they usuallysmoked at least one cigarette a week in the prevalence question. There was also evidence ofunderestimation among occasional smokers - 10% of those who reported that they smokedless than one cigarette a week had smoked 7 or more cigarettes in the last week.

It is likely that underestimation is, in most cases, not deliberate, but arises from difficulty ofthe task of recalling the number of cigarettes smoked over a given period. In addition, theremay be a tendency to underreport ‘unhealthy’ behaviours such as cigarette smoking. As aconsequence, some of the children classified in the survey as occasional smokers mayactually resemble regular smokers according to the definition we are using.

(Table 7.4)

Unsurprisingly, both mean and median consumption was higher for regular smokers (mean37 cigarettes, median 30) than for occasional smokers (mean three cigarettes and medianone cigarette).

(Table 7.5)

Nineteen per cent of regular smokers had smoked 70 or more cigarettes in the last sevendays (an average of ten or more cigarettes per day), 26% had smoked an average ofbetween five and ten cigarettes per day. Only 5% of regular smokers had not smoked anycigarettes in the last seven days. Forty-one per cent of occasional smokers had notsmoked any cigarettes in the last seven days.

(Table 7.6)

Although girls were more likely to smoke than boys, among those who smoked there wasno difference in the number of cigarettes smoked in the last week by boys and girls.

(Table 7.5)


Per

cent


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Boys

Girls

Figure 7.4

Prevalence of regular cigarette smoking, by ageAll pupils

7.6 Days on which cigarettes were smoked, by sex

There was no significant variation in the proportion of pupils who smoked on any particularday in the last week (between 7% and 9% smoked each day). On any particular day girlswere more likely to have smoked than boys; for example, 10% of girls smoked last Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday compared with 6% of boys.


Among all pupils who smoked in the last week, there was a weekend effect in terms of thenumber of cigarettes smoked. More cigarettes were smoked on Saturday, closely followedby Friday, than on any other day in the last week. Among those who had smoked in the lastweek, a mean of 5.8 cigarettes were smoked on Saturday and 5.2 on Friday, compared withbetween 3.7 and 4.2 on any other day).



Per

cent

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

0

5

10

15

20

Boys

Girls

Figure 7.5

Days on which smoked in last week, by sexAll pupils

Mea

n nu

mb

er o

f ci

gar

ette

s

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Boys

Girls

Figure 7.6

Mean number of cigarettes smoked per day, by sexAll who smoked in the last week

7.7 Days on which cigarettes were smoked by cigarette smokingstatus

Occasional smokers were more likely to smoke on Saturday than on any other day, althoughthis was closely followed by Friday; 30% of occasional smokers had smoked on theprevious Saturday and 27% had smoked on the Friday, compared with between 17% and20% who smoked on any other day. Regular smokers were least likely to smoke on aSunday (75%) than on any other day (between 81% and 87% smoked on other days).


Among regular smokers, more cigarettes were smoked on Saturday or Friday than anyother day (an average of 7.6 on Saturday and 6.8 on Friday compared with between 5.0 and5.6 on any other day). There was less variation for occasional smokers, although theysmoked more cigarettes on Saturday (1.6) and on Friday (1.3) than any other days (between0.6 and 0.8).



Mea

n nu

mb

er o

f ci

gar

ette

s


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Regular smoker

Occasional smoker

Figure 7.8

Mean number of cigarettes smoked per day, by smoking statusAll who smoked in the last week

Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100


Regular smoker

Occasional smoker

Figure 7.7

Days on which smoked in last week, by smoking statusAll current smokers


Saliva testing had been used on previous surveys (1988-1998) to test for the presence of cotinine (ametabolite of nicotine) in approximately half the sample of participating young people. These pupils weremade aware that they would be expected to give a saliva sample before they started completing theirquestionnaire. Results from testing the saliva samples were not used to alter estimates of regularsmokers, although it might have been expected to encourage pupils to be more honest about theiranswers. Evidence from past surveys about the effect of including saliva testing was mixed – in somesurveys there were small differences in reported prevalence of smoking between the control and testgroups, but there were no differences in other surveys. Saliva testing was discontinued from the 1999survey onwards. See Goddard E & Higgins V (1999) Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Teenagersin 1998: Volume 1: England, TSO, London.

2The smoking diary used in 2002 prompted pupils to record the number of cigarettes smoked during sixspecific periods on each of the last seven days, whereas the survey question used in 2003 just askedpupils to record the total number of cigarettes smoked on each day.

3From 1982 to 1998 and in 2000 and 2002 pupils who said they did not smoke were reclassified asoccasional smokers as a result of having recorded in the smoking diary that they smoked at least onecigarette in the last week. Around 2-3% were reclassified in this way. The definition of occasionalsmokers was slightly different in 1999 because there was no smoking diary, so pupils could not bereclassified as occasional smokers. In 2001, an alternative question about smoking on each of the lastseven days was introduced in the survey in place of the diary. An amended version of this question wasalso included in 2003 in place of the diary. In 2003, pupils were reclassified as occasional smokers if theyrecorded at this question that they had smoked in the last seven days (2% were reclassified). Thisincrease is in line with the level of reclassification of occasional smokers in all other years of the study.The number of cigarettes recorded in the additional question does not affect the definition of a regularsmoker; pupils are defined as regular smokers based on their response to the other questions in thequestionnaire. Pupils who report that they are non-smokers, but have smoked in the last week, arereclassified as occasional smokers.

4The Government’s strategy on smoking is set out in Smoking Kills: A White Paper on Tobacco, Cm 4177,TSO (1998).

5Between 1982 and 2002, the number of cigarettes smoked in the previous seven days was measured bythe smoking diary and among regular smokers the mean number smoked fluctuated between 46cigarettes and 56 cigarettes. In 2003, cigarette consumption was measured by two questions in thequestionnaire, and the mean number of cigarettes smoked by regular smokers was 37. Given thatcigarette consumption was in the range 46-56 cigarettes between 1982 and 2002, this decrease inreported consumption is almost certainly due to the change in the way consumption was measuredrather than a decrease in the actual number of cigarettes smoked.


Table 7.1

Smoking behaviour, by sex: 1982 to 2003All pupils 1982-2003

Smoking behaviour Year

1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1993 1994 1996 1998 1999a

2000 2001 2002 2003

% % % % % % % % % % % % % % %

Boys

Regular smoker 11 13 7 7 9 9 8 10 11 9 8 9 8 9 7

Occasional smoker 7 9 5 5 6 6 7 9 8 8 4 7 7 6 6

Used to smoke 11 11 10 8 7 6 6 7 7 9 9 8 8 6 7

Tried smoking 26 24 23 23 22 22 22 21 22 20 22 20 20 18 20

Never smoked 45 44 55 58 56 57 57 53 53 54 57 56 58 61 60

Ever smoked 55 56 45 42 44 43 43 47 47 46 43 44 42 39 40

Girls

Regular smoker 11 13 12 9 11 10 11 13 15 12 10 12 11 11 11


Used to smoke 10 10 10 9 7 7 10 8 9 10 11 8 8 8 8

Tried smoking 22 22 19 19 18 19 18 17 18 18 18 17 17 16 17

Never smoked 49 46 53 59 58 57 53 52 48 51 55 53 55 56 56

Ever smoked 51 54 47 41 42 43 47 48 52 49 45 47 45 44 44

Total

Regular smoker 11 13 10 8 10 10 10 12 13 11 9 10 10 10 9


Used to smoke 10 10 10 8 7 7 8 8 8 10 10 8 8 7 8

Tried smoking 24 23 21 21 20 20 20 19 20 19 20 19 19 17 18

Never smoked 47 45 54 58 57 57 55 53 51 53 56 55 56 58 58

Ever smoked 53 55 46 42 43 43 45 47 49 47 44 45 44 42 42

Bases

Boys 1460 1928 1676 1489 1643 1662 1613 1522 1445 2311 4791 3654 4652 5064 5179

Girls 1514 1689 1508 1529 1478 1626 1527 1523 1409 2413 4542 3407 4625 4732 5081

Total 2979 3658 3189 3018 3121 3295 3140 3045 2854 4723 9333 7061 9277 9796 10260

a Questions about how many cigarettes were smoked in the last seven days were not asked in 1999, and

pupils were not reclassified as occasional smokers. The figures for regular smokers in 1999 are

comparable with other years, but figures for other classifications of smokers are not. See Note 3.


Table 7.2

Smoking behaviour, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Smoking behaviour Age


% % % % % %

Boys

Regular smoker 1 1 5 9 18 7

Occasional smoker 2 2 6 8 10 6

Used to smoke 2 5 7 11 10 7

Tried smoking 12 16 23 25 21 20

Never smoked 84 75 59 46 41 60

Ever smoked 16 25 41 54 59 40

Girls




Tried smoking 10 16 20 19 19 17

Never smoked 85 73 55 43 30 56

Ever smoked 15 27 45 57 70 44

Total




Tried smoking 11 16 21 22 20 18

Never smoked 85 74 57 44 36 58

Ever smoked 15 26 43 56 64 42

Bases

Boys 892 1047 1077 1015 1148 5179

Girls 863 1072 1055 979 1112 5081

Total 1755 2119 2132 1994 2260 10260


Table 7.3

Proportion of pupils who were regular smokers, by sex and age: 1982-2003All pupils 1982-2003

Age Year

1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1993 1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Percentage who were regular smokers

Boys

11 years 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

12 years 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 1

13 years 8 10 5 5 6 6 3 4 8 5 4 6 5 5 5

14 years 18 16 6 8 10 14 14 14 13 15 10 11 12 13 9

15 years 24 28 18 17 25 21 19 26 28 19 21 21 19 20 18

Total 11 13 7 7 9 9 8 10 11 9 8 9 8 9 7

Girls

11 years 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0

12 years 1 2 2 0 2 2 3 3 4 3 3 2 3 2 3

13 years 6 9 5 4 9 9 5 8 11 9 8 10 8 8 8

14 years 14 19 16 12 16 15 18 20 24 19 15 19 19 18 16

15 years 25 28 27 22 25 25 26 30 33 29 25 26 25 26 26

Total 11 13 12 9 11 10 11 13 15 12 10 12 11 11 11

Total

11 years 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

12 years 2 2 2 1 2 2 3 2 3 4 3 2 3 2 2

13 years 7 10 5 5 7 7 4 6 10 8 6 8 7 6 6

14 years 16 17 11 10 13 14 16 17 18 19 12 15 15 16 13

15 years 25 28 22 20 25 23 22 28 30 24 23 23 22 23 22

Total 11 13 10 8 10 10 10 12 13 11 9 10 10 10 9

Bases

Boys

11 years 299 260 236 229 313 289 251 268 272 300 870 618 830 892 892

12 years 298 378 320 280 350 336 318 310 297 349 1011 751 944 1037 1047

13 years 303 416 347 318 313 351 349 307 282 302 946 736 951 1051 1077

14 years 277 376 352 311 305 311 337 306 298 612 918 752 902 961 1015

15 years 348 490 421 350 360 369 358 331 296 754 1046 797 1025 1123 1148

Total 1525 1920 1676 1488 1641 1656 1613 1522 1445 2317 4791 3654 4652 5064 5179

Girls

11 years 250 254 213 226 296 307 253 236 274 303 870 572 795 816 863

12 years 276 332 314 315 281 359 316 307 278 375 892 686 976 997 1072

13 years 303 355 266 297 292 335 325 329 278 390 924 697 956 943 1055

14 years 312 333 314 315 302 297 323 310 288 670 933 688 944 952 979

15 years 372 412 400 376 304 320 310 341 291 673 923 764 954 1022 1112

Total 1513 1686 1507 1529 1475 1618 1527 1523 1409 2411 4542 3407 4625 4732 5081

Total

11 years 549 514 449 455 609 596 504 504 546 603 1740 1190 1625 1700 1755

12 years 574 710 634 595 631 695 634 617 575 724 1903 1437 1920 2034 2119

13 years 606 771 613 615 605 686 674 636 560 692 1870 1433 1907 1994 2132

14 years 589 709 666 626 607 608 660 616 586 1282 1851 1440 1846 1913 1994

15 years 720 902 821 726 664 689 668 672 587 1427 1969 1561 1979 2145 2260

Total 3038 3606 3183 3017 3116 3274 3140 3045 2854 4728 9333 7061 9277 9796 10260


Table 7.4

Cigarettes smoked in the last 7 days, by smoking behaviourAll pupils 2003

Total cigarettes Usually smoked:

More than 1-6 a Less than Used to Tried Never Totala

6 a week week 1 a week smoke smoking smoked

% % % % % % %

None 3 9 52 91 97 100 88

1-6 2 38 38 7 2 0 4

7-69 67 53 10 2 0 0 6

70 or more 28 0 - - - - 2

Bases 581 268 509 833 1649 6059 10001



Table 7.5

Mean and median cigarette consumption in the last week, by smoking status and sex: 1982 – 2003All pupils 1982-2003

Smoking status Year

1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1993 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003a

Average number of cigarettes smoked in last week

Boys

Regular smokers

Mean 50 49 53 52 56 58 51 54 56 65 50 52 39

Median 40 40 43 49 48 51 40 44 46 55 43 39 29

Occasional smokers

Mean 7 5 5 7 7 6 6 7 8 11 7 14 4

Median 2 1 1 3 3 1 2 2 3 2 2 3 1

Total

Mean 6 7 4 4 6 5 5 6 7 7 5 6 3

Girls

Regular smokers

Mean 44 49 45 41 49 44 44 47 47 49 44 48 36

Median 36 38 36 38 40 34 34 37 40 41 36 41 30

Occasional smokers

Mean 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 5 6 6 7 3

Median 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1

Total

Mean 5 7 6 4 5 4 5 6 8 6 6 6 4

Total

Regular smokers

Mean 47 49 48 46 53 51 47 50 51 56 46 50 37

Median 38 39 38 41 43 42 36 39 44 46 40 40 30

Occasional smokers

Mean 6 4 5 6 6 5 5 5 7 8 7 10 3

Median 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1

Total

Mean 6 7 5 4 6 5 5 6 7 7 5 6 3

Bases

Boys

Regular smokers 166 251 123 107 148 134 131 147 154 207 304 437 319

Occasional smokers 106 168 88 70 98 96 110 138 107 174 262 294 287

Total 1460 1928 1676 1488 1640 1641 1610 1515 1442 2311 3475 4730 5026

Girls

Regular smokers 159 221 183 136 158 147 163 200 208 295 409 526 530


Total 1514 1689 1508 1529 1478 1597 1523 1521 1408 2413 3317 4494 4975

Total

Regular smokers 326 474 306 246 306 281 294 347 362 502 713 963 849


Total 2979 3658 3189 3017 3118 3245 3133 3036 2850 4723 6792 922410001

a The method of measuring the number of cigarettes smoked in the last 7 days changed in 2003. See

Chapter 1, Section 4 for details.


Table 7.6

Number of cigarettes smoked by current smokers, by sexCurrent smokers 2003

Cigarette consumption in the last week Sex

Boys Girls Total

% % %

Regular smokersNone 7 4 5

1-6 13 14 13

7-13 9 12 11

14-20 10 9 10

21-34 16 17 16

35-69 21 29 26

70 or more 24 16 19

Mean 39 36 37

Median 29 30 30

Occasional smokersNone 45 39 41

1-6 41 50 46

7-13 8 8 8

14-20 2 3 3

21-34 1 0 0

35-69 3 1 2

70 or more - - -

Mean 4 3 3

Median 1 1 1

Current smokersNone 25 18 21

1-6 26 28 28

7-13 8 10 9

14-20 7 7 7

21-34 9 10 9

35-69 12 17 15

70 or more 13 10 11

Mean 22 22 22

Median 6 8 7

Bases

Regular smokers 319 530 849

Occasional smokers 287 363 650

Current smokers 606 893 1499

Table 7.7

Days on which smoked cigarettes, by sexAll pupils 2003

Days on which smoked Sex

Boys Girls Total

% % %

Mon 6 10 8

Tue 6 10 8

Wed 6 10 8

Thu 6 10 8

Fri 7 11 9

Sat 7 11 9

Sun 6 9 7

Any day 9 15 12

Bases 5026 4975 10001


Table 7.8

Mean number of cigarettes smoked per day, by sexAll who smoked in the last week 2003

Cigarettes smoked per day Sex

Boys Girls Total

Mean number of cigarettes

Mon 4.0 3.6 3.7

Tue 4.1 3.5 3.7

Wed 4.0 3.6 3.7

Thu 4.0 3.6 3.8

Fri 5.1 5.2 5.2

Sat 6.0 5.7 5.8

Sun 4.7 3.9 4.2

Total 29.5 27.0 27.9

Bases 466 738 1204

Table 7.9

Days on which cigarettes smoked, by cigarette smoking statusAll pupils 2003

Days on which smoked Cigarette smoking status

Regular Occasional Totalsmoker smoker

% % %

Mon 84 20 8

Tue 84 20 8

Wed 82 17 8

Thu 81 19 8

Fri 87 27 9

Sat 83 30 9

Sun 75 18 7

Any day 95 59 12

Bases 849 650 10001

Table 7.10

Mean number of cigarettes smoked per day, by cigarette smoking statusAll who smoked in the last week 2003

Days Cigarette smoking status

Regular Occasional Totala

smoker smoker

Mean number of cigarettes

Mon 5.0 0.6 3.7

Tue 5.0 0.6 3.7

Wed 5.0 0.6 3.7

Thu 5.0 0.7 3.8

Fri 6.8 1.3 5.2

Sat 7.6 1.6 5.8

Sun 5.6 0.8 4.2

Total 38.8 5.2 27.9

Bases 807 382 1204



8 Drinking

Joseph Hewton and Alison Moody

8.1 Introduction

In 1988 a small number of questions were introduced that asked if pupils had ever drunkand if so when they last had an alcoholic drink. In 1990 questions on drinking wereexpanded to measure the amounts and types of drink consumed over the seven days priorto interview, for pupils who had drunk alcohol in that period. Alcoholic drinks were dividedinto five categories: beer, lager and cider; shandy; wine; martini and sherry; and spirits andliqueurs. With the advent of alcopops, a sixth category was added in 1996 and brandnames of alcopops have been updated throughout survey years

1. See Chapter 1, Section

1.6 for a detailed explanation of changes to alcohol consumption questions. Since the mainfocus of the 2003 survey was on taking drugs, questions on alcohol were not as expansiveas in some previous years.

It is reasonable to assume that young people are honest about their drinking behaviourgiven that the survey instrument used to collect the information is an anonymous self-completion questionnaire. Evidence suggests that young people are unlikely to deny thefact that they drink alcohol – however there may be some uncertainty about the accuracy ofreported levels of consumption. Pupils may under-report the amount of alcohol drunkthrough recall error (as can be the case in surveys which measure drinking among adults)

2,

or may over-report in an effort to appear more grown up. However, as questions aboutconsumption have been similar in every survey, it is possible to look at relative changes inreported alcohol consumption over time.

Estimates from 2002 have been revised since the publication of 2002 headline results inMarch 2003 and the main report in September 2003.

8.2 Whether pupils had ever drunk alcohol

Pupils were asked ‘Have you ever had a proper alcoholic drink – a whole drink, not just asip?’ In 2003, the overall proportion of pupils who had ever had an alcoholic drink was 61%,which was similar to previous years.

(Table 8.1)


Prevalence of ever having drunk increased with age from 27% of 11 year olds to 87% of 15year olds. There was no significant difference in the overall proportion of boys and girls whohad ever had an alcoholic drink (62% of boys and 61% of girls). There was no difference inthe proportion of boys or girls who drank at each age, except for 11 year olds where boys(30%) were more likely then girls (24%) to have ever drunk.

(Table 8.2, Figure 8.1 )

8.3 Prevalence of drinking in the last week

Pupils who reported ever having had a whole alcoholic drink were asked “When did you lasthave an alcoholic drink?”. In 2003, 25% reported that they had had an alcoholic drink in thelast week (a further 15% had drunk in the last four weeks). Since the survey was introducedin 1988, there has been no consistent change in the proportion of pupils drinking in the lastseven days, which fluctuated between 20% and 27%.

(Table 8.3, Figure 8.2 )


Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100


Boys

Girls

Figure 8.1

Ever had an alcoholic drink, by sex and ageAll pupils

Per

cent

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

Girls

Boys

All pupils

Figure 8.2

Prevalence of drinking in last week, by sex: 1988-2003All pupils

In 2003, as in most previous surveys, the overall proportion of boys who had drunk in theprevious week (26%) was slightly higher than the proportion of girls (24%). The proportionthat had drunk in the last week increased with age from 6% of 11 year olds to 49% of 15year olds.

Among younger pupils, boys were more likely than girls to have drunk in the last week (8%of 11 year old boys compared with 5% of 11 year old girls and 12% of 12 year old boyscompared with 9% 12 year old girls). Differences in the proportions of boys and girls whohad drunk in the last week were not found among pupils aged 13 or older. The increases indrinking prevalence with age were much greater than differences between genders.


8.4 Measurement of units of alcohol

The following table lists the types of drink asked about in the 2003 questionnaire and showshow measures of each type of drink were converted into units of alcohol. One unit of alcoholis 8 grams by weight or 1cl (10ml) by volume of pure alcohol and approximately the amountcontained in: half a pint of ordinary strength beer or lager (4% alcohol by volume); a singlepub measure of spirits (25ml); a small glass of ordinary strength wine (9% alcohol byvolume); or a single pub measure of sherry or fortified wine.

Type of drink Measure Units of alcohol

Beer, lager or cider Pint 2(pupils were prompted to Large can 1.5exclude drinks labelled Half pint, small can or bottle 1low alcohol) Less than half a pint 0.5

Shandy Pint 1Large can 0.75Half pint, small can or bottle 0.5Less than half a pint 0.25

Wine Glass 1Less than a glass 0.5

Fortified wine: Glass 1Martini and Sherry Less than a glass 0.5


Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


Boys

Girls

Figure 8.3

Percentage of pupils who drank alcohol last week, by sex and ageAll pupils

Spirits and liqueurs Glass 1(eg whisky, vodka, gin, Less than a glass 0.5tequila, Baileys, Tia Maria)

Alcopops Can or bottle 1(eg Bacardi Breezer, Reef, Less than a bottle 0.5Smirnoff Ice, V2, WKD)

In calculating the number of units drunk, the alcoholic strength and volume measures ofdrinks of the same type are assumed to be the same – such that for example a pint of beeris defined as 2 units of alcohol regardless of the brand of beer, and a glass of wine is definedas 1 unit regardless of the size of the glass. It would be impractical to collect very detailedinformation on strength and volume in this type of survey. Pupils who drank beer and/orshandy in the last week were asked about the usual strength, although this was not takeninto account when calculating the number of units drunk. Additional questions wereincluded in the 2002 and 2003 surveys to ask about any other alcoholic drinks drunk in thelast week, but these questions have not been used in the analysis of drinking in the lastweek

3. Hence, total alcohol consumption is estimated using a set of consistent

assumptions, which nevertheless clearly imply a degree of approximation in thesemeasurements.

Previous research has found that if variations in alcoholic strength were taken into account,consumption by those aged 16-24 would increase by about one fifth for young men andone tenth for young women

4. While consumption among that age group is more than

among those aged 11-15, the alcohol consumption of those covered by this survey is likelyto be underestimated for the same reason.

8.5 Average consumption among pupils who drank last week

Pupils who drank in the last week were asked how much of each type of drink they haddrunk, using the measures outlined in the table above. Alcohol consumption in the lastweek, in terms of units was calculated for those pupils. Mean alcohol consumption amongthose who drank in the last week increased steadily between 1990 and 1998, from 5.3 unitsa week to 9.9 units a week. Mean alcohol consumption has fluctuated between 9.5 and 10.5units a week since 1998, and was 9.5 units in 2003.

(Figure 8.4)


Mea

n u

nit

s o

f al

coh

ol

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

Girls

BoysAll pupils

Figure 8.4

Mean alcohol consumption (units) in last week, by sex: 1990-2003All pupils who drank last week

Of pupils who drank last week, boys drank on average more units in the last week (10.5)than girls (8.5). The average number of units consumed increased with age, from 7.1 unitsper week for 11-13 year olds, to 11.3 for 15 year old pupils.


8.6 Types of alcoholic drinks

Among pupils who drank last week, two types of drink show a clear change in popularityover time. The proportion of pupils drinking spirits in the last week increased substantiallybetween 1990 and 2003 (35% of pupils who drank in the last week in 1990, compared with64% in 2003). The increase in proportion of pupils drinking spirits was significant between2002 (when it was 61%) and 2003. The proportion of pupils who drank shandy in the lastweek decreased from 31% in 1990 to 20% in 1996 and has remained around that levelsince then and was 21% in 2003.

The proportion of pupils drinking all other drinks remained relatively stable, or showed noclear pattern over time. Beer, lager and cider remained the most popular type of drink in2003 (69% of pupils who drank last week). The proportion of pupils who drank alcopops inthe last week was 68%, wine 43%, and fortified wine 13%

5.



Mea

n un

its

of

alco

hol

11-13 years 14 years 15 years

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

Boys

Girls

Figure 8.5

Mean alcohol consumption (units) last week, by sex and ageAll who drank last week

There were significant gender differences in the proportion of pupils drinking most types ofdrink. Among boys who drank in the last week, beer, lager and cider were the mostcommonly drunk types of drink (drunk in the last week by 85% of boys compared with 53%of girls). Boys were also more likely to drink shandy than girls (28% compared with 14%).Among girls who drank last week, alcopops were the most popular type of drink (76% ofgirls drank alcopops in the last week, compared with 61% of boys). Girls were also morelikely than boys to drink spirits (68% compared with 60%), and wine (52% compared with35%). There was little difference between the proportion of boys and girls who drankfortified wine (14% of boys, 13% of girls).



Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

Beer, lager, cider

Shandy

Wine

Fortified wine

SpiritsAlcopops

Figure 8.6

Types of alcohol drunk in the last seven days: 1990-2003All pupils who drank last week

Per

cent

Beer, lager,cider

Alcopops Spirits Wine Shandy Fortified wine0

20

40

60

80

100

Boys

Girls

Figure 8.7

Types of drink drunk last week, by sexAll who drank last week

The prevalence of drinking different types of drink varied by age. Of pupils who drank lastweek, the proportion of pupils drinking spirits increased with age, while the proportiondrinking shandy, wine and fortified wine tended to decrease with age. The proportion ofboys who drank beer, lager and cider increased with age, but there was little age differencefor girls. The proportion of girls who drank alcopops increased with age, but there was noclear pattern for boys.


Pupils who drank beer in the last week were asked whether they usually drank normalstrength or strong beer: 25% reported that they usually drank strong beer, and thisdecreased from 33% in 1998. There was no association with age or sex.

(Tables 8.8-8.9)

Pupils who had consumed shandy in the last week were asked about the usual compositionof the shandy they drank. Around two fifths (42%) drank shandy consisting mostly of lager,two fifths (40%) drank shandy consisting of about half lemonade, half lager and one fifth(18%) drank shandy that was mostly lemonade. There was an increase in the proportion ofpupils who drank shandy containing mostly lager from 35% in 2002 to 42% in 2003.

(Table 8.10)

8.7 Units of types of alcoholic drinks consumed in the last week

In 2003, the mean number of units consumed by pupils who drank alcohol in the last weekwas 9.5. The largest part of this was accounted for by beer, lager and cider (4.0 units),followed by alcopops (2.3 units), spirits (1.9), wine (0.9), shandy (0.3), and fortified wine (0.2units).

Between 1992 and 2003 there have been changes in the mean consumption of any alcohol,and in the consumption of particular types of drink. In 1992, the mean amount of alcoholconsumed by pupils who drank in the last week was 6.0 units, of which beer, lager and cideraccounted for the largest part (3.7 units). By 1998, mean consumption of alcohol in theprevious week had increased to 9.9 units. This increase was mainly due to an increase inconsumption of beer, lager and cider (3.7 units in 1992, 5.7 units in 1998), an increase inconsumption of spirits (0.8 units in 1992, 1.4 units in 1998) and the introduction of alcopopsinto the market in 1995 (1.0 units in 1998). Mean consumption in the last week in 2003 was


Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

Beer, lager,cider

Alcopops Spirits Wine Shandy Fortified wine

11-12 years

13 years

14 years

15 years

Figure 8.8

Types of alcohol drunk last week, by ageAll who drank last week

at a similar level to 1998, but the amount of units of different types of alcoholic drinkschanged over this period. The amount of beer, lager and cider consumed in the last weekdecreased from 5.7 units in 1998 to 4.0 units in 2003, while consumption of spiritsincreased from 1.4 units to 1.9 units and consumption of alcopops increased from 1.0 unitsto 2.3 units over the same time period.


Of pupils who drank in the last week, boys drank on average more than twice as many unitsof beer, lager and cider per week (5.7) as girls (2.4). Girls drank on average twice as manyunits of wine (1.2) as boys (0.6). Girls also drank more spirits than boys (2.1 compared with1.7 units) and more units of alcopops (2.6 compared with 2.0 units).



Mea

n un

its

of

alco

hol

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Wine or Fortified wine

Spirits

Alcopops

Lager, Beer, Cider or Shandy

Figure 8.9

Mean alcohol consumption by each type of drink:1992-2003

Mea

n un

its

of

alco

hol

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Boys Girls

Wine or Fortified wine

Spirits

Alcopops

Lager, Beer, Cider or Shandy

Figure 8.10

Mean alcohol consumption by each type of drink, by sexBase: All who drank last week


Questions about alcopops were introduced in 1996. In 1996 and 1998, pupils were asked about whetherin the last week they had drunk alcoholic lemonade, alcoholic cola or other alcoholic soft drinks. In 2000and 2001 the wording was changed to ask about alcopops or pre-mixed alcoholic drinks. In 2002,cognitive piloting of these questions led to dropping the term pre-mixed alcoholic drinks and pupils werejust asked about alcopops. As well as the overall generic term, pupils are given a list of examples of themost common alcopops, and as this is a fast changing market, these examples are updated every year.In 2003 the example brands were Bacardi Breezer, Reef, Smirnoff Ice, V2 and WKD.

2For example Willett WC Accuracy of food-frequency questionnaires. American Journal of ClinicalNutrition 2000; 72: 1234-5.

3The questions about drinking in the last week, a part of the survey questionnaire since 1990, ask abouteach of several categories of alcoholic drink in turn. Since 1996 these categories have been: Alcopops;Beer, lager and cider; Martini and sherry; Shandy; Spirits and liqueurs; and Wine. In 2002, a further set ofquestions about ‘other types of alcoholic drink’ was added to capture data on any alcoholic drinksconsumed which pupils did not associate with the specified categories and would therefore haveomitted to mention. Analysis of the other types of alcoholic drinks suggest that answers to the ‘othertypes of alcohol’ questions are not very reliable (e.g. pupils reported drinking pints of drinks that wouldhave been classified as spirits). Therefore answers from this additional set of questions have not beenincluded in survey estimates.

4The questions which measure drinking in the last week are updated to reflect changes in the drinksmarket – alcopops were introduced as a new category of drink in 1996, and the list of example alcopopsbrands is updated each year. Therefore estimates are not strictly comparable year-on-year. In the contextof these changes to questions, the addition of an extra set of questions about other types of alcoholicdrinks is likely to have only a very minor effect on comparability, given that they have been added afterthe questions which measure consumption and should not therefore influence the answers that pupilswould have given if these additional questions had not been added.

5Goddard E (1991) Drinking in England and Wales in the late 1980s. HMSO, London

6The prevalence of drinking alcopops during the previous week dipped in 1998 to 37%. There are severalpossible explanations, such as rising alcopop prices, and the introduction of a voluntary code on thenaming, packaging and merchandising of alcoholic drinks by the Portman Group (drinks industry body)in 1996, in response to criticism of the growing ‘alcopop’ market. These factors could have made certain‘alcopops’ less appealing to children. The non-inclusion of emerging brands as examples and theevolving definition of ‘alcopop’ may have also caused under-reporting in this category. In 2000, the list ofbrands of alcopops and pre-mixed alcoholic drinks was extended to include emerging brands such asBacardi Breezer, Metz, Smirnoff Ice and V2. As a result of cognitive piloting in 2002, the category in the2002 survey referred to ‘alcopops’ only, and not ‘pre-mixed alcoholic drinks’.


Table 8.1

Ever had an alcoholic drink, by sex: 1988-2003All pupils 1988-2003

Ever had an alcoholic drink Year

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

% % % % % % % % % % %

Boys 65 65 63 66 63 62 62 59 62 62 62

Girls 59 63 56 65 61 58 59 59 60 60 61

Total 62 64 60 65 62 60 61 59 61 61 61

Bases

Boys 1472 1622 1650 1509 1431 2245 4823 3540 4620 5026 5221

Girls 1523 1466 1608 1511 1387 2356 4568 3313 4622 4711 5098

Total 3021 3088 3263 3020 2818 4607 9391 6853 9242 9737 10319

Table 8.2

Ever had an alcoholic drink, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

Ever had an alcoholic drink Age


% % % % % %

Boys 30 45 65 76 86 62

Girls 24 41 63 81 88 61

Total 27 43 64 79 87 61

Bases

Boys 897 1058 1087 1022 1157 5221

Girls 858 1079 1058 988 1115 5098

Total 1755 2137 2145 2010 2272 10319

Table 8.3

When last had a drink, by sex: 1988–2003All pupils 1988-2003

When last had a drink Year

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

% % % % % % % % % % %

Boys

During the last week 24 22 24 26 27 23 22 25 28 25 26

One to four weeks ago 19 15 12 14 15 15 16 13 14 14 14

One to six months ago 12 13 13 11 12 12 12 11 11 12 12

More than six months ago 11 15 14 10 9 12 11 11 9 11 10

Never had a drink 35 35 37 39 37 38 38 40 38 38 38

Girls





Never had a drink 41 38 44 40 38 42 41 41 40 40 39

Total





Never had a drink 38 36 41 39 38 40 40 40 39 39 39

Bases

Boys 1427 1619 1646 1503 1432 2249 4816 3656 4611 4961 5204

Girls 1518 1456 1606 1506 1391 2362 4558 3409 4621 4669 5086

Total 3015 3082 3252 3009 2823 4609 9374 7065 9232 9630 10290


Table 8.4

Percentage who drank last week, by sex and age: 1988-2003All pupils 1988-2003

Age Year

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Percentage who drank last week

Boys

11 years 7 8 8 8 7 4 7 5 8 7 8

12 years 12 9 13 10 12 14 10 11 14 12 12

13 years 20 17 15 22 27 16 16 18 22 20 22

14 years 25 32 32 34 37 28 28 34 35 34 32

15 years 45 42 49 52 50 48 48 51 54 49 49

Total 24 22 24 26 27 23 22 25 28 25 26

Girls

11 years 4 4 5 4 6 2 4 5 4 4 5

12 years 7 6 7 9 9 6 8 9 11 9 9

13 years 11 19 11 16 22 14 17 19 22 21 19

14 years 19 32 25 26 35 29 28 31 35 34 34

15 years 36 39 40 48 55 40 41 45 50 45 48

Total 17 20 17 22 26 18 20 23 25 23 24

Total

11 years 5 6 6 6 7 3 6 5 6 5 6

12 years 9 8 10 9 11 10 9 10 12 11 11

13 years 16 18 13 19 24 15 16 19 22 20 21

14 years 22 32 29 30 36 29 28 32 35 34 33

15 years 40 40 45 50 53 44 45 48 52 47 49

Total 20 21 21 24 27 21 21 24 26 24 25

Bases

Boys

11 years 227 309 284 266 269 285 882 612 814 866 894

12 years 279 340 335 307 296 336 1017 740 930 1003 1052

13 years 312 312 351 304 275 293 947 737 937 1035 1084

14 years 306 300 310 306 297 597 921 750 898 950 1017

15 years 348 358 366 326 295 745 1049 796 1032 1107 1157

Total 1473 1623 1652 1509 1432 2256 4816 3635 4611 4961 5204

Girls

11 years 225 289 304 231 266 291 881 564 800 798 856

12 years 312 277 354 304 272 365 896 681 967 978 1076

13 years 296 290 333 326 277 383 925 696 956 935 1057

14 years 311 298 298 309 285 657 933 691 942 946 983

15 years 374 302 317 341 291 666 923 764 956 1012 1114

Total 1518 1459 1614 1511 1391 2362 4558 3396 4621 4669 5086

Total

11 years 458 598 588 497 535 577 1763 1176 1614 1664 1750

12 years 598 617 690 611 568 702 1913 1421 1897 1981 2128

13 years 613 602 685 630 552 675 1872 1433 1893 1970 2141

14 years 621 598 608 615 582 1254 1854 1441 1840 1896 2000

15 years 725 660 683 667 586 1409 1972 1560 1988 2119 2271

Total 3018 3082 3271 3020 2823 4617 9374 7031 9232 9630 10290


Table 8.5

Mean alcohol consumption of those who had drunk in the last seven days, by sex: 1990-2003All pupils who drank last week 1990-2003

Sex and age Year

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2002b

2003

Mean number of units

Boys

Aged 11-13 a 3.6 5.2 7.1 6.2 8.3 5.5 7.3 7.7

Aged 14 a 5.3 6.7 7.3 12.3 9.5 10.0 10.7 9.4

Aged 15 a 9.6 8.8 12.9 12.9 14.5 13.8 14.3 12.9

Total 5.7 7.0 7.4 9.7 11.3 11.7 10.6 11.5 10.5

Girls

Aged 11-13 a 3.1 3.0 4.0 6.4 4.6 5.7 6.3 6.4

Aged 14 a 3.8 5.5 8.2 8.1 10.1 9.3 10.0 8.7

Aged 15 a 6.0 6.6 8.0 9.7 11.2 10.7 11.4 9.8

Total 4.7 4.7 5.4 7.0 8.4 9.1 8.9 9.6 8.5

Total

Aged 11-13 a 3.4 4.1 5.5 6.3 6.4 5.6 6.8 7.1

Aged 14 a 4.7 6.1 7.7 9.9 9.8 9.6 10.3 9.0

Aged 15 a 8.1 7.7 10.4 11.5 12.9 12.3 13.0 11.3

Total 5.3 6.0 6.4 8.4 9.9 10.4 9.8 10.6 9.5

Bases

Boys

Aged 11-13 70 104 101 78 55 163 283 256 312

Aged 14 60 98 87 85 122 205 253 254 267

Aged 15 101 169 140 129 266 351 491 463 490

Total 231 376 329 292 351 719 1027 973 1069

Girls

Aged 11-13 46 71 76 79 53 184 274 256 292

Aged 14 68 72 66 80 160 187 279 279 291

Aged 15 78 121 135 134 221 321 446 407 484

Total 192 264 277 293 334 692 999 942 1067

Total

Aged 11-13 116 176 177 157 108 347 557 512 604

Aged 14 128 170 154 165 282 392 532 533 558

Aged 15 179 290 276 263 487 672 937 870 974

Total 423 641 606 585 686 1411 2026 1915 2136

a Figures are not available by age group for 1990 data.




Table 8.6

Types of alcohol drunk in the last seven days, by sex: 1990-2003All pupils who drank last week 1990-2003

Types of drink Year

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003

% % % % % % % % %

Boys

Beer, lager, cider 76 81 82 81 78 85 83 85 85

Shandy 38 26 27 22 19 23 21 22 28

Wine 44 46 44 38 47 38 33 34 35

Fortified wine 14 15 12 11 16 17 10 13 14

Spirits 33 38 37 42 52 55 54 55 60

Alcopops a a a 52 33 55 59 61 61

Girls

Beer, lager, cider 56 67 70 67 63 63 57 55 53

Shandy 22 23 21 18 18 15 15 15 14

Wine 56 60 52 43 55 52 51 53 52

Fortified wine 22 20 18 19 24 21 14 15 13

Spirits 38 36 42 48 56 63 61 68 68

Alcopops a a a 58 42 69 77 76 76

Total

Beer, lager, cider 67 76 76 74 71 75 70 71 69

Shandy 31 25 24 20 18 20 22 19 21

Wine 50 52 48 40 51 44 42 43 43

Fortified wine 18 17 15 15 20 19 12 14 13

Spirits 35 37 39 45 54 59 57 61 64

Alcopops a a a 55 37 62 68 68 68

Bases

Boys 339 394 375 372 446 914 1027 1253 1335

Girls 284 275 324 349 410 790 999 1093 1217

Total 623 669 699 721 856 1704 2026 2346 2552

a Alcopops were first introduced in the 1996 survey.


Table 8.7

Types of alcohol drunk in the last seven days, by age and sexAll pupils who drank last week 2003

Type of drink Age

11/12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years Total

% % % % %

Boys

Beer, lager, cider 78 82 84 89 85

Shandy 49 37 24 19 28

Wine 47 40 29 31 35

Fortified wine 18 18 15 10 14

Spirits 47 59 62 63 60

Alcopops 58 69 61 58 61

Girls


Shandy 26 20 13 8 14

Wine 60 57 45 52 52


Spirits 58 63 72 70 68

Alcopops 68 75 78 77 76

Total


Shandy 40 29 18 14 21

Wine 52 48 38 41 43


Spirits 52 61 67 67 64

Alcopops 62 72 70 67 68

Bases

Boys 198 242 324 571 1335

Girls 138 206 334 539 1217

Total 336 448 658 1110 2552

Table 8.8

Whether usually drinks strong beers, by sex: 1998-2003All pupils who drank beer, lager or cider last week 1998-2003

Sex Year

1998 2000 2001 2002 2003

Percentage drinking strong beer

Boys 35 28 26 28 26

Girls 29 33 24 27 24

Total 33 30 25 28 25

Bases

Boys 393 625 892 870 886

Girls 246 345 422 427 421

Total 640 970 1314 1297 1307


Table 8.9

Whether usually drinks strong or normal strength beers, by sex and ageAll pupils who drank beer, lager or cider last week 2003

Type of beer, lager, cider Age


% % % %

Boys

Normal strength beer 73 70 77 74

Strong beer 27 30 23 26

Girls



Total



Bases

Boys 228 213 445 886

Girls 95 117 209 421

Total 323 330 654 1307

Table 8.10

Strength of shandy usually drunk, by sex: 2002, 2003All pupils who drank shandy last week 2002, 2003

Strength of shandy Year

2002 2003

% %

Boys

Mostly lemonade 21 18

About half lemonade, half lager 41 39

Mostly lager 38 43

Girls



Mostly lager 30 38

Total



Mostly lager 35 42

Bases

Boys 192 240

Girls 94 86

Total 286 326


Table 8.11

Alcohol consumption (units) of different types of drink: 1992-2003All pupils who drank last week 1992-2003

Type of drink (mean units) Year

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2002b

2003


Beer, lager, cider 3.7 4.0 4.7 5.7 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.0

Shandy 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3

Wine 1.0 0.9 0.7 1.2 1.0 0.9 1.0 0.9

Fortified wine 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2

Spirits 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.9 1.5 2.1 1.9

Alcopops a a 1.4 1.0 2.3 2.2 2.4 2.3

Total 6.0 6.4 8.4 9.9 10.4 9.8 10.6 9.5

Bases 544 569 585 686 1704 2026 1915 2136

a Alcopops were first introduced in the 1996 survey.



Table 8.12

Alcohol consumption (units) of different types of drink, by sexAll pupils who drank last week 2003

Types of drink (mean units) Sex

Boys Girls Total


Beer, lager, cider 5.7 2.4 4.0

Shandy 0.4 0.1 0.3

Wine 0.6 1.2 0.9

Fortified wine 0.2 0.2 0.2

Spirits 1.7 2.1 1.9

Alcopops 2.0 2.6 2.3

Total 10.5 8.5 9.5

Bases 1069 1067 2136


9 Relationships between use ofcigarettes, alcohol, cannabis,volatile substances and ClassA drugs

Alice McGee

9.1 Ever used and recent use of substances

Different patterns emerged when examining whether pupils had ever used or recently usedsubstances. Alcohol was, by far, the most used substance with 61% of all pupils havingever drunk an alcoholic drink and 25% having done so during the last week. Of all pupils42% reported ever having smoked a cigarette compared to just 13% of pupils who reporteddoing so within the last week. Smaller numbers reported having ever used drugs. Sixteenper cent of all pupils had used cannabis and the same proportion reported having ever usedvolatile substances, while 6% had ever taken Class A drugs. Half of those who had evertried cannabis had also taken cannabis during the last month while a fifth of those who hadever tried volatile substances had also taken them during the last month (16% of pupils hadever taken cannabis and 8% had used cannabis in the last month). A third of pupils whoreported ever taking a Class A drug had done so during the last month.

When examining substance use in relation to age, different patterns emerged for eachsubstance. Use of cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis and Class A drugs increased with age andthis pattern was similar for those who had ever used these substances as well as those whohad used them recently. The proportion of pupils who had ever sniffed volatile substancesalso increased slightly with age, although not to the same extent as other substances, andprevalence of sniffing volatile substances in the last month was not related to age at all.

(Tables 9.1, 9.2, Figure 9.1)


Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

Cigarettes Alcohol Cannabis Volatile

substances

Class A drugs

Ever used

Recent use

Figure 9.1

Ever and recent use of substancesAged 15 years

9.2 Correlation coefficients between having ever takensubstances

Correlation is a statistical technique that enables comparison of the strengths of differentrelationships between behaviours. Comparisons can still be made where the behaviourshave differing levels of prevalence (see Appendix B). Correlation coefficient techniquescannot be used to explain the causality of relationships, only their existence.

The figure below shows the level of relationship (correlation co-efficient) between each ofthe five substances. The area of the circle denotes the correlation between having everused pairs of substances, with a higher correlation denoting a stronger relationship.Correlation coefficients above 0.3 and below 0.4 are coloured black, while correlationcoefficients above 0.4 (the strongest relationships) are coloured green.

We can see that, due to each score being more than zero, relationships do indeed existbetween ever use of all substances and all are statistically significant. The strongestcorrelation coefficients were found between cigarettes and cannabis, cigarettes andalcohol, and cannabis and Class A drugs although this does not imply that smoking,drinking or cannabis use leads to Class A drug use. Slightly weaker relationships existedbetween alcohol and cannabis, cigarettes and Class A drugs, and volatile substances andClass A drugs. The weakest associations were found between all other substances andvolatile substances, and alcohol and Class A drugs. These findings are similar to thefindings detailed in the 2002 report.

(Figure 9.2)


Correlations coefficients between having ever taken substancesAll pupils

Figure 9.2

<0.30

0.30<0.40

0.40+

Cigarettes

Alcohol

Alcohol CannabisVolatile

substances Class A

Cannabis

Volatilesubstances

0.46 0.48 0.22 0.26

0.32 0.16 0.18

0.20 0.41

0.23

9.3 Correlation coefficients between having recently takensubstances

As the proportion of pupils who had ever taken each substance differed considerably to theproportion who had recently used each substance, the pattern of correlation coefficients forrecent usage, might be expected to be different from the pattern for having ever usedsubstances. However relationships for recent use existed between all five substances, andthe patterns found were of similar strength to those for ever having used substances. Thestrongest association was found between cigarettes and cannabis, while slightly weakercorrelation coefficients were detected between alcohol and cigarettes, alcohol and cannabis,and cannabis and Class A drugs. These findings are similar to those found in 2002.

(Figure 9.3)

9.4 Age of first use of substances

Pupils were asked how old they had been when they first tried each substance. Taking theinformation given by 15 year olds, alcohol was by far the most commonly taken substancewith 14% of pupils having first tried it when they were aged 10 years or younger. This figureincreased with age with 81% of 15 year olds having first drunk alcohol by the time they were14 years old. Seven per cent reported having first tried a cigarette when they were 10 yearsor younger and 58% had first tried a cigarette by the time they were 14. Little change wasfound when examining the age at which 15 year olds first took volatile substances, 2% firsttried it when 10 years or younger and 15% first tried volatile substances by the time theywere 14 years old. Twenty seven per cent of 15 year olds first tried cannabis by the timethey were 14 and 5% first took Class A drugs by the time they were 14 years old. Thesefindings are similar to those found in 2002.



Correlations coefficients between having recently taken substancesAll pupils

Figure 9.3

<0.30

0.30<0.40

0.40+

Cigarettes

Alcohol

Alcohol CannabisVolatile

substances Class A

Cannabis

Volatilesubstances

0.33 0.49 0.10 0.25

0.31 0.09 0.17

0.11 0.32

0.15

9.5 Age of first use of Class A drugs relative to other substances

Given that a proportion of pupils reported using Class A drugs both ‘ever’ and ‘recently’ it isimportant to find out whether these pupils tried other substances before trying Class Adrugs to determine what may lead to them trying Class A drugs

1. If a substantial number of

pupils are found to have previously used other substances, these can been consideredpotential ‘predictors’ of Class A drug use

2. However, it is important to note that if the use of

an alternative substance precedes the use of Class A drugs, this does not necessarily implythat taking these substances leads to Class A drug use. Instead, it may assist in identifyinggroups of pupils who potentially have an increased likelihood of taking Class A drugs.

Among 15 year olds who had tried Class A drugs and/or tried cigarettes, 82% had smokedcigarettes but never taken Class A drugs and a further 16% had smoked cigarettes beforethey had first tried Class A drugs. One percent had taken Class A drugs and never smokedcigarettes and a further 1% had taken Class A drugs before smoking cigarettes. Thuscigarette smoking is a valid predictor of use of Class A drugs. The relationship betweendrinking alcohol and use of Class A drugs was similar, and thus drinking alcohol can also beconsidered to be a predictor.

Among 15 year olds who had tried Class A drugs and/or tried cannabis, 72% had nevertaken Class A drugs (but had taken cannabis) and a further 16% had taken cannabis beforethey had first tried Class A drugs. Thus taking cannabis is also a valid predictor of use ofClass A drugs.

There was a different relationship between sniffing volatile substances and taking Class Adrugs. Among 15 year olds who had tried Class A drugs and/or sniffed volatile substances,57% had never taken Class A drugs (but had sniffed volatile substances) and a further 13%had sniffed volatile substances at an earlier age than they had first tried Class A drugs.However, 22% had tried Class A drugs and not sniffed volatile substances, and a further2% had taken Class A drugs at an earlier age than they had first sniffed volatile substance.Thus given that in around a quarter of cases Class A drugs were taken before pupils hadsniffed volatile substances it is probably not valid to consider volatile substances as apredictor of use of Class A drugs.



Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

10 years oryounger

11 years 12 years 13 years 14 years

Alcohol

Cigarettes

Cannabis

Volatile substances

Class A drugs

Figure 9.4

Proportion of 15 year olds who had taken substances by each ageAll 15 year olds

9.6 Relationship between ever taking Class A drugs and age offirst use of other substances

This chapter has established that relationships exist between Class A drug use andcigarettes, alcohol and cannabis and that these substances can be considered ‘predictors’for Class A drug use. It is important to find whether an early onset of cigarette, alcohol orcannabis use leads to a greater risk of Class A drug use than a later onset. Information givenby 15 year olds has been used for this analysis, examining whether they have ever usedClass A drugs and comparing it to the age they first tried other substances.

From the figure below, we can see that there is a relationship between the age pupils firsttried smoking and Class A drug use. Pupils aged 15 who had tried smoking at an early agewere more likely to have taken Class A drugs than those who tried smoking at a later age(18% of those who smoked at 10 years old or younger had taken Class A drugs by the ageof 14, whereas 2% who smoked first smoked at 14 years old had taken Class A drugs bythe age of 14).



Per

cent

0

20

40

60

80

100

Cigarettes Alcohol Cannabis Volatile substances

Never taken substance

Class A drugs before substance

Class A drugs after substance

Never taken Class A drugs

Same age

a The base for cigarettes is those who have tried either cigarettes or Class A drugs,

Figure 9.5

Age first took Class A drugs relative to other substancesAll aged 15 years and taken either Class A or other substances a

0

10

20

30

40

50

10 years or

younger

11 12 13 14 Not smoked

by 14

Per

cent

Figure 9.6

Whether 15 year olds had taken Class A drugs by age 14, by age first smokedBase: All aged 15 years

A similar pattern can be found when comparing Class A drugs to alcohol use, though therelationship is not quite as strong as that found within cigarette smoking. Ten per cent of 15year olds who reported taking Class A drugs had first drank alcohol when aged 10 oryounger. The figure below shows how this proportion decreases as age increases and thatonly 1% of 15 year olds who had reported taking Class A drugs had first drank alcohol whenaged 14.


A stronger relationship was found between the age 15 year olds had first taken cannabisand whether they had ever taken Class A drugs. Forty per cent of 15 year olds who had everused Class A drugs had started taken cannabis when 12 years old or younger. Nineteen percent were 13 years old and 9% were 14 years old when they first took cannabis. It isimportant to note that this does not necessarily mean that pupils who took cannabis at anearly age will go on to use Class A drugs. Other factors must be taken into account, forexample, socio-economic, cultural and peer group factors.



Per

cent

10 years or

younger

11 12 13 14 Not drunk by

age 14

0

10

20

30

40

50

Figure 9.7

Whether 15 year olds had taken Class A drugs by age 14, by age first drank alcoholBase: All aged 15 years

Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

12 years or younger 13 years 14 years Not taken cannabis by 14

Figure 9.8

Whether 15 year olds had taken Class A drugs by age 14, by age first taken cannabisBase: All aged 15 years

Among 15 year olds, those who had sniffed volatile substances before age 14 were morelikely to take Class A drugs than those who had not. However among those who had sniffedvolatile substances, there was no clear relationship between age of first sniffing volatilesubstances and taking Class A drugs by age 14.

(Table 9.8)


If pupils had first taken Class A drugs at a different age to one of the other substances they could beclassified as having taken Class A drugs either before or after that particular substance. Pupils who hadnot taken either a Class A drug or the other substance were excluded from the analysis.

2A variable would be a predictor if knowing this information would result in a more accurate ‘prediction’ ofan outcome variable. It is important to distinguish between it being valid to consider a variable as apredictor and then whether statistically it is a predictor.

For example, consider the age at which people first drive a car, eat ice cream or smoke a cigarette inrelation to whether they take Class A drugs. As a substantial proportion of people first drive a car at alater age than first taking Class A drugs, the age at which people first drive would not be a valid predictorof taking Class A drugs. However, the vast majority of people will eat ice cream or smoke a cigarette at anearlier age than taking Class A drugs, so it is valid to consider both of these as potential predictors ofClass A drug use. However, there is probably no statistically significant relationship between the age offirst eating ice cream and taking Class A drugs, therefore age of first eating ice cream would not apredictor, even though it would be valid to test whether it was. Finally if there was a statisticallysignificant relationship between the age at which people first smoke and whether they take Class Adrugs, then the age at which people first smoke is a predictor of Class A drug use.


Table 9.1

Ever used cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis, volatile substance or Class A drugs, by ageAll pupils 2003

Ever used substances Age


% % % % % %

Cigarettes 15 26 43 56 64 42

Alcohol 27 43 64 79 87 61

Cannabis 1 3 11 24 37 16

Volatile substances 13 14 18 19 18 16

Class A drugs 2 3 5 8 12 6

Bases 1780 2152 2162 2015 2281 10390

Table 9.2

Recently used cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis, volatile substance or Class Adrugs, by ageAll pupils 2003

Recently used substances Age


% % % % % %

Cigarettes (last week) 3 4 11 18 28 13

Alcohol (last week) 6 11 21 33 49 25

Cannabis (last month) 0 1 5 13 19 8

Volatile substances (last month) 3 3 4 4 3 3

Class A drugs (last month) 1 1 2 3 4 2

Bases 1780 2152 2162 2015 2281 10390

Table 9.3

Proportion of 15 year olds who had taken substances by each ageAll aged 15 years 2003

Cumulative proportions taken substance by each age Substances

Cigarettes Alcohol Cannabis Volatile Class A

substances drugs

% % % % %

10 years or younger 7 14 0 2 0

11 years 15 24 1 3 0

12 years 27 42 4 6 1

13 years 45 64 12 11 2

14 years 58 81 27 15 5

Bases 2253 2243 2271 2269 2213


Table 9.4

Whether 15 year olds had taken Class A drugs before, at the same age, orafter other substancesAll 15 year olds who had taken Class A or other substance 2003

Taken Class A drugs before, at the same age as, or after other substance Other substance taken

Cigarettes Alcohol Cannabis Volatile

substances

% % % %

Never taken Class A drugs 82 87 72 57

Class A drugs after substance 16 12 16 13

Same age 1 1 6 6

Class A drugs before substance 1 0 2 2

Never taken substance 1 0 3 22

Basesa

1381 1886 809 492

a The base for cigarettes is those who have tried either cigarettes or Class A drugs, similarly for alcohol,

cannabis and volatile substances

Table 9.5

Whether 15 year olds had taken Class A drugs by the age of 14, by age first smoked cigarettesAll 15 year olds 2003

Taken Class A drugs by age 14 Age first smoked cigarettes

10 years 11 years 12 years 13 years 14 years Not smoked Totala

or younger by age 14

% % % % % % %

Taken Class A drugs 18 14 9 5 2 1 5

Bases 163 179 277 387 302 945 2281

a Total column includes pupils who did not answer the question about which the age at which they first

smoked.

Table 9.6

Whether 15 year olds had taken Class A drugs by the age of 14, by age firstdrank alcoholAll 15 year olds 2003

Taken Class A drugs by age 14 Age first drank alcohol

10 years 11 years 12 years 13 years 14 years Not smoked Totala

or younger by age 14

% % % % % % %

Taken Class A drugs 10 8 7 5 1 1 5

Bases 313 222 397 514 379 418 2281


drank.


Table 9.7

Whether 15 year olds had taken Class A drugs by the age of 14, by age first took cannabisAll 15 year olds 2003

Taken Class A drugs by age 14 Age first took cannabis

12 years 13 years 14 years Not taken Totala

or younger cannabis by age 14

% % % % %

Taken Class A drugs 40 19 9 1 5

Bases 87 182 340 1662 2281


took cannabis.

Table 9.8

Whether 15 year olds had taken Class A drugs by the age of 14, by age first sniffed volatile substancesAll 15 year olds 2003

Taken Class A drugs by age 14 Age first sniffed volatile substances

12 years 13 years 14 years Not sniffed Totala

or younger volatile subs by age 14

% % % % %

Taken Class A drugs 15 21 13 3 5

Bases 144 99 100 1926 2281


sniffed volatile substances.


10 Ethnic group, receipt of freeschool meals, truanting andexclusions

Sarah Blenkinsop

10.1 Introduction

Smoking and drinking behaviour among adults has been shown to be related to socio-economic characteristics and other classificatory variables.

1The aim of this survey is to

measure prevalence of smoking, drinking and drug taking; however there is scope forcollection of some information about pupils’ backgrounds. This information allows forlimited investigation of the relationships between social classificatory characteristics, suchas ethnic group and being in receipt of free school meals, and smoking, drinking and drugtaking among pupils. Measures of pupils’ behaviour at school, such as truancy andexclusion, are also collected to enable their relationships with smoking, drinking and drugtaking to be explored.

The measures of smoking, drinking and drug taking examined in this chapter are thefollowing key indicators: being a regular smoker (smoking at least one cigarette in the lastweek), having drunk alcohol in the last week, having taken at least one drug in the lastmonth, and having taken at least one drug in the last year. The classificatory variables usedin this chapter are defined in each of the relevant sections below.

10.2 Ethnic group

Analysis by ethnic group has been conducted by combining 2001-2003 surveys because ofthe small numbers of pupils in the sample from minority ethnic groups. Pupils were asked toselect one of the following categories that best described their ethnicity: White, Mixed,Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, Chinese and Other. Due to the small number ofpupils describing their ethnicity as Chinese, this group was combined with those answering‘Other’. In order to ensure that any differences found between groups were not due todifferences in age profile, the data for each ethnic group has been standardised so thateach age year represents 20% of the sample for boys and girls. Only the age-standardisedfigures are presented in the charts and referred to in the text; the observed figures can befound in the tables at the end of the chapter. Standardising for age did not change figuressubstantially. Age standardisation is explained further in Appendix B.

White pupils and pupils from Mixed ethnic groups were substantially more likely than pupilsin other ethnic groups to have drunk alcohol in the last week. Around a quarter of Whitepupils (28% boys and 25% girls) and pupils from Mixed ethnic groups (24% boys and 23%girls) reported having drunk alcohol in the last week, compared with around one in ten Blackpupils (9% boys and 13% girls) and around one in twenty Asian pupils (6% boys and 5%girls).



White pupils and pupils from Mixed ethnic groups were also more likely than Black or Asianpupils to report being a regular smoker, although differences were smaller than those foundfor alcohol. Around one in ten White pupils (12% girls and 8% boys) and those from Mixedethnic groups (11% girls and 8% boys) were regular smokers, compared with one in twentyBlack pupils (7% girls and 4% boys). The same proportion of Asian boys as Black boyswere regular smokers (4%), although Asian girls were less likely than other girls to smokeregularly (3%).



Per

cent

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Boys Girls

White

Mixed

Asian

Black

Figure 10.1

Whether pupils drank in last week, by ethnic group (age-standardised)All pupils

Per

cent

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Boys Girls

White

Mixed

Asian

Black

Figure 10.2

Whether pupils were regular smokers, by ethnic group (age-standardised)All pupils

There was less variation across ethnic groups in prevalence of having taken drugs. Pupilsfrom Mixed ethnic minority groups were more likely than those in other groups to havetaken drugs in the last month (15% of boys and girls) and in the last year (25% of boys andgirls). Just over a tenth of White pupils had taken drugs in the last month (13% boys and11% girls) and a fifth had done so in the last year (21% boys and 19% girls). A similarproportion of Black pupils had taken drugs; just over a tenth had done so in the last month(12% boys and 13% girls) and around a fifth had in the last year (17% boys and 21% girls).Asian pupils were less likely than pupils in other ethnic groups to have taken drugs; 8% ofboys and 7% of girls had done so in the last month, and 13% of boys and 12% of girls hadin the last year.


10.3 Receipt of free school meals

Investigating the relationship between socio-economic status (such as social class) andsmoking, drinking and drug use is problematic as pupils are unable to provide sufficient oraccurate information about their parents’ occupation to allow for useful classification. Proxymeasures of social class, such as the number of cars owned by pupils’ families, have beenused in the past, but have also proved unreliable.

2Being in receipt of free school meals (or

vouchers for free school meals) was one indicator of social disadvantage collected in thissurvey.

3In 2003, 13% of pupils reported receiving free school meals.

Pupils in receipt of free school meals were more likely than those who were not in receipt offree school meals to have taken drugs in the last year (26% compared with 20%), to havetaken drugs in the last month (16% and 12%) and to be regular smokers (12% and 9%).However, pupils who received free school meals were slightly less likely to have drunkalcohol in the last week (23% compared with 25%). These patterns existed for boys andgirls. This relationship between being in receipt of free school meals and reporting smoking,drinking and drug taking is broadly similar to that found in the 2001 and 2002 surveys.



Per

cent

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Boys Girls

White

Mixed

Asian

Black

Figure 10.3

Whether pupils had taken drugs in the last yearby ethnic group (age-standardised)All pupils

10.4 Truanting and exclusion from school

Pupils were asked whether they had ever ‘stayed away from school without permission’(truanted) or been excluded from school. Recorded levels of truancy and exclusions shouldbe viewed with caution as they are based on self-report data. Despite an additional visitbeing undertaken if four or more pupils were absent when the survey was first administered,it is likely that regular truants and those excluded from school during the fieldwork periodwill be underrepresented in the sample. In 2003, 17% reported that they had played truant,and 8% had been excluded from school at least once.

There was a strong relationship between truancy and smoking, drinking and drug use.Pupils who had ever played truant were much more likely than those who had not to havetaken drugs in the last year (54% compared with 14%), to have drunk alcohol in the lastweek (52% and 19%), to have taken drugs in the last month (38% and 7%) or to be regularsmokers (33% compared with 4%). This was the case for boys and girls.



Per

cent

Regularsmoker

Regularsmoker

Drank in last week

Took drugs in last year


Girls

Drank in last week

Boys

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Received free school meals

Not received

Figure 10.4

Whether pupils were regular smoker, drank in last week or took drugs in last year,by receipt of free school mealsAll pupils

Per

cen

t

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Regularsmoker

Regularsmoker

Drank in last week


Boys

Drank in last week


Girls

Truanted

Never truanted

Figure 10.5

Whether pupils were regular smoker, drank inlast week or took drugs in last year, by truantingAll pupils

Similarly, there was a relationship between exclusion and smoking, drinking and drug use.Pupils who reported having been excluded from school were more likely than those whohad not to have taken drugs in the last year (47% compared with 18%), to have taken drugsin the last month (35% and 10%), to be regular smokers (32% and 7%) or to have drunkalcohol in the last week (41% compared with 23%). This pattern existed for boys and girls.


Older pupils, however, were more likely to have played truant (and to have been excluded),and were also more likely to have smoked, drunk alcohol or taken drugs, potentiallycompounding the relationship between truanting and these behaviours. Some of thisrelationship, therefore, is likely to be due to the effects of age. Previous surveys in this serieshave shown, however, that even once age differences are taken into account there is still astrong relationship between smoking, drinking and drug use, and truanting and exclusion.

4

Conclusions about causality cannot be drawn from this data because association does notimply causality or indicate the direction of effects. Therefore it is not clear whether playingtruant or being excluded makes pupils more likely to smoke, drink or take drugs, or whetherthose who already smoke, drink, or take drugs are more likely to start playing truant or to beexcluded from school.


See Erens B, Primatesta P and Prior G (2000) Health Survey for England: The Health of Minority EthnicGroups. London: TSO.

2For discussion of this see p.31, Goddard E and Higgins V (2000) Drug use, smoking and drinking amongyoung teenagers in 1999. London: TSO.

3In this survey, pupils are asked whether they receive free school meals or vouchers for free school meals,rather than whether they were eligible. Eligibility for free school meals depends on parental income.Some children may be eligible for free school meals, but the parent or young person may not be aware ofthis fact. Therefore, while it would be most useful to know about eligibility, the more reliable measurewould be to ask about receipt of free school meals.

4For discussion of this see Blenkinsop S ‘Chapter 8: Social and educational factors’ in Boreham R andShaw A eds. (2002) Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England 2001. TheStationery Office, London.


Per

cent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Regularsmoker

Regularsmoker

Drank in last week


Girls

Drank in last week


Boys

Excluded

Never excluded

Figure 10.6

Whether pupils were regular smoker, drank in last week or took drugs in last year, by exclusion All pupils

Table 10.1

Whether pupils were regular smokers, drank in the last week, took drugs inthe last month or took drugs in the last year, by sex and ethnic group: 2001-2003 combined (observed and age-standardised)All pupils 2001-2003 combined

Regular smoker, drank in last week, took drugs in last month, took drugs in last year Ethnic group

White Mixed Asiana

Blackb

Otherc

% % % % %

Boys

Observed

Regular smoker 9 7 4 4 6

Drank in last week 29 22 6 10 14

Took drugs in last month 13 14 8 12 13

Took drugs in last year 22 23 14 17 20

Age-standardised





Girls

Observed





Age-standardised





Total

Observed





Age-standardised





Bases

Boys 12546 539 1019 453 293

Girls 12390 513 820 427 258

Total 24936 1052 1839 880 551

a The full category specified on the questionnaire was ‘Asian or Asian British’.

b The full category specified on the questionnaire was ‘Black or Black British’.

c This includes some pupils who identified themselves as Chinese, as numbers were insufficient for

separate analysis.


Table 10.2

Whether pupils were regular smokers, drank in the last week, took drugs in the last month or took drugs in the last year, by sex and receipt of freeschool mealsAll pupils 2003

Regular smoker, drank in last week, took drugs in last month, took drugs in last year Receipt of free school meals

Yes No Totala

% % %

Boys

Regular smoker 11 6 7

Drank in last week 24 26 26

Took drugs in last month 17 12 13

Took drugs in last year 27 21 22

Girls





Total





Bases

Boys 673 4431 5257

Girls 643 4387 5133

Total 1316 8818 10390

a The total column includes those who did not answer the question about being in receipt of free school

meals.


Table 10.3

Whether pupils were regular smokers, drank in the last week, took drugs in the last month or took drugs in the last year, by sex and self-reportedtruantingAll pupils 2003

Regular smoker, drank in last week, took drugs in last month, took drugs in last year Ever truanted

Yes No Totala

% % %

Boys





Girls





Total





Bases

Boys 923 4179 5257

Girls 831 4208 5133

Total 1754 8387 10390

a The total column includes those who did not answer the question playing truant.


Table 10.4

Whether pupils were regular smokers, drank in the last week, took drugs in the last month or took drugs in the last year, by sex and self-reportedexclusionAll pupils 2003

Regular smoker, drank in last week, took drugs in last month, took drugs in last year Ever excluded

Yes No Totala

% % %

Boys





Girls





Total





Bases

Boys 605 4502 5257

Girls 237 4803 5133

Total 842 9305 10390

a The total column includes those who did not answer the question about having been excluded.



11 School policies

Sarah Blenkinsop

11.1 Introduction

In each school involved in the survey, a member of staff was asked to complete aquestionnaire about the school’s policies relating to smoking, drinking and drugs. Changeswere made in 2003 to the questions about smoking policies for adults, in order to establishmore clearly whether smoking was prohibited on school premises or if it was permitted incertain areas, and whether the policy applied at all times or varied outside school hours.The policy questionnaire also included questions on the action which would be taken ifpupils were found smoking, drinking alcohol or taking illegal drugs on the premises; thesequestions were expanded in 2003 so that more detail could be provided by staff. Inaddition, new questions were included in 2003 which asked about the school’s policy onteaching about drugs (legal and illegal drugs), alcohol and tobacco. Replies were receivedfrom 313 of the 329 schools which took part in the survey (a response rate of 95%).

11.2 Policies on teaching about drugs

Schools were asked a series of questions about policies on drugs, where the definition ofdrugs included both illegal and prescribed drugs, alcohol and tobacco. All references todrugs in this section use this definition.

All schools reported that pupils were taught about drugs (illegal and prescribed) and alcoholand almost all (99%) reported that pupils were taught about tobacco. Overall, 93% ofschools had a policy on teaching pupils about drugs (both illegal and prescribed drugs,alcohol and tobacco). A third (34%) of all schools had updated their policy on teachingabout drugs in the last year, and three-quarters (76%) of schools had updated their policy inthe last two years. A smaller proportion of schools had amended their policy on teachingabout drugs 3-5 years ago (16%) or even longer ago (2%).

(Tables 11.1, 11.2)

A school drug adviser/Personal and Social Education (PSE) co-ordinator was most likely tohave contributed to the policy on teaching about drugs (96%). The head teacher or schoolgovernors contributed to the policy in around three-quarters of the schools which had sucha policy (77% and 73% respectively). In two-thirds (67%) of schools with a policy, the LocalEducation Authority (LEA) contributed to developing it. It was less usual for pupils, parentsor others to have been involved in the policy development. However, pupils had contributedin two-fifths (42%) of schools with a policy, although they were more likely to havecontributed in schools which had updated their policy in the last year (47%) than in thosewhich had done so longer ago (39%). In a third (34%) of schools with a policy on teachingpupils about drugs, parents had contributed to its development, although again this wasmore likely in schools which had updated their policy in the last year (42%) than in thosewhich had done so less recently (30%). These findings suggest that it is becoming morecommon for pupils and parents to contribute to policy development in relation to teachingabout drugs. In just over a quarter (27%) of schools, ‘someone else’ had contributed to thepolicy development (there were a range of other different sources who contributed includingother teachers, school nurses, the police and drug workers).


11.3 Smoking policies

Overall, 88% of schools had a policy that covered smoking for adults (that is teaching staff,non-teaching staff and adult visitors). More than half of all schools (56%) reported thatsmoking was prohibited anywhere on school premises (including the school grounds). In afifth of schools (22%), smoking was permitted in certain areas of the school building; 19%had special smoking rooms, 2% allowed smoking in private offices and 1% allowed it inteachers’ staffrooms. In 9% of all schools, smoking was permitted in the school groundsbut was prohibited in the buildings.

In almost all (93%) schools with a smoking policy for adults, the policy applied at all times;in only 7% did the policy differ outside school hours.

(Tables 11.4, 11.5, Figure 11.2)


0 20 40 60 80 100

Percent

School drug advisor/PSE co-ordinator

Head teacher

School governors

Local Education Authority

Pupils

Parents

Someone else

Figure 11.1

Who contributes to policy on teaching about drugsBase: All schools

No policy on smoking

Smoking prohibited

anywhere on school

premises

Smoking permitted in

grounds but prohibited

in buildings

Smoking permitted in

certain areas of

buildings

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Percent

Figure 11.2

Smoking policy for adultsBase: All schools

The policy questionnaire included a question on who was responsible for deciding thesmoking policy for adults (more than one answer could be given). This was usually theresponsibility of the head teacher (77%) and governors (73%). The Local EducationAuthority was involved to a lesser extent (33%). Only 17% of schools with a smoking policyfor adults had involved the school drug adviser/PSE co-ordinator in deciding the policy.Parents and pupils had been involved in deciding the smoking policy for adults to a lesserextent (5% and 4% respectively). Other people had helped decide the policy in 18% ofschools (this was mostly other members of staff). It seemed that schools had consultedmore widely when developing drug education policies than was the case when developingsmoking policies for adults.


11.4 Policies on managing incidents

Almost all schools had a policy on managing incidents on the school premises involvingpupils taking drugs (98%), smoking (95%) or drinking (91%). Although a definition of drugswas not included in the questionnaire, given that there were separate questions on smokingand drinking, it is likely that in this context drugs would not include cigarettes or alcohol.

(Table 11.7)

In almost all cases, parents would be contacted if a pupil was found smoking (93%),drinking alcohol (95%) or taking drugs (94%) on the school premises.

Schools tended to be more lenient if pupils were found smoking than if they were founddrinking alcohol or taking drugs. For example, 77% of schools would give a pupil adetention if they were found smoking compared with 46% if pupils were found drinking and23% if pupils were found taking drugs. In contrast 2% of schools would call the police if apupils was found smoking, 11% if they were found drinking and 71% if they were foundtaking drugs.



0 20 40 60 80 100

Head teacher

School governors

Local Education Authority

School drug advisor/PSE co-ordinator

Parents

Pupils

Someone else

Percent

Figure 11.3

Who decides school's smoking policy for adultsBase: All schools


Parents contacted

Warning

Detention

Note on record

Loss of privileges

Temporary exclusion

Counsellor contacted

Police contacted

Permanent exclusion

0 20 40 60 80 100Percent

Found smoking

Found drinking

Found taking drugs

Figure 11.4

Actions taken against pupils for particular types of behaviourAll schools

Table 11.1

Whether pupils were taught topicsAll schools 2003

Topics

Total

%

Drugs (Illegal and prescribed) 100

Alcohol 100

Tobacco 99

Bases 312

Table 11.2

When last updated policy on teaching about drugs (illegal and prescribed,alcohol and tobacco)All schools 2003

When last updated policy

Total

%

In the last year 34

1-2 years ago 42

3-5 years ago 16

Longer ago 2

Don't have a policy 7

Bases 305

Table 11.3

Who contributes to policy on teaching about drugs (illegal and prescribed,alcohol and tobacco)All schools with teaching policy 2003

Who contributes to policya

When last updated policy

In last year Longer ago Total

% % %

School drug advisor/PSE co-ordinator 95 97 96

Head teacher 78 76 77

School governors 77 70 73

Local Education Authority 66 67 67

Pupils 47 39 42

Parents 42 30 34

Someone else 28 27 27

Bases 102 184 300

a More than one answer could be given.



Table 11.4

Smoking policy for adultsAll schools 2003

Smoking policy

Total

%

No policy on smoking 12

Smoking prohibited anywhere on school premises 56

Smoking permitted in grounds but prohibited in buildings 9

Smoking permitted in certain areas of buildings 22

In special smoking rooms 19

In private offices 2

In teachers’ staffrooms 1

In other rooms 2

Bases 308

Table 11.5

Whether smoking policy for adults applies at all timesAll schools with smoking policy 2003

Variability of smoking policy

Total

%

Applies at all times 93

Different outside school hours 7

Bases 271

Table 11.6

Who decides smoking policy for adultsAll schools with smoking policy 2003

Who decides smoking policya

Total

%

Head teacher 77

School governors 73

Local Education Authority 33

School drug advisor/PSE co-ordinator 17

Parents 5

Pupils 4

Someone else 18

Bases 268


Table 11.7

Whether have policies on managing incidents with pupils on school premises All schools 2003

Whether have policies

Total

%

If pupil found smoking on premises 95

If pupil found drinking on premises 91

If pupil found taking drugs on premises 98

Bases 313

Table 11.8

Actions taken by schools for particular types of behaviour by pupilsAll schools 2003

Action takena

Behaviour

Pupils smoking Pupils drinking Pupils taking drugs

% % %

Parents contacted 93 95 94

Warning 78 64 54

Detention 77 46 23

Note on record 65 80 81

Loss of privileges 48 50 40

Temporary exclusion 31 79 80

Counsellor contacted 15 39 62

Police contacted 2 11 71

Permanent exclusion 2 9 49

Other action 13 14 14

Bases 313 313 313



Sample design

An achieved sample of about 10,000 secondary school children in England was requiredfor the 2003 survey. The target population consisted of pupils in secondary school years 7to 11 inclusive, or at an equivalent level in middle and upper schools.

The survey covered almost all types of secondary school (comprehensive, secondarymodern, grammar and other secondary schools) in both the maintained and non-maintainededucation sectors. Only special schools (for children with learning disabilities) and hospitalspecial schools (for children spending a period in hospital) were excluded from the survey.

On the basis of previous recent surveys in this series, it was expected that about 70% ofschools would co-operate, and that 90% of selected pupils take part in the survey. In linewith these assumptions, 447 schools were selected with the aim of selecting an average of35 pupils per participating school. As in previous years, schools with fewer than 40 pupilsin the required age ranges were removed from the sampling frame.

The sample was selected in two stages. At the first stage 447 schools were selected fromthe NFER database

1which was first sorted by type of school (comprehensive, secondary

modern, grammar and private), whether schools were single sex or mixed, local educationauthority and then finally by number of eligible pupils (in years 7 to 11 or equivalent). Foreach school, the probability of selection was proportional to the number of pupils in years 7to 11 recorded on DfES annual school census data, collected in January 2002. This meansthat larger schools had a higher chance of inclusion.

At the second stage approximately 35 pupils were selected in each school to give anappropriately sized group for conducting the survey in one place during a single lesson.Clearly, at this stage, each pupil in larger schools had a relatively small chance of beingselected. This counter-balances the method of selecting schools to fulfil the criterion that,overall, every pupil had an equal chance of participating.

Probabilities of selection

Given the requirement that each child in the target population should have the sameprobability of being selected to take part in the survey, the overall probability of selection(or sampling fraction) is the product of the sampling fractions at the first and secondstages, i.e.

F = f1 x f 2

where f1 = probability of selecting the schoolf 2 = probability of selecting the pupil.

Schools were sampled with probability proportional to the number of pupils aged 11-15, sothat roughly equal numbers of pupils could be sampled from each selected school. Thus:

f1 = n1 x siS

where n1 = total number of schools to be selectedsi = number of pupils in an individual school aged 11-15S = total number of pupils in England aged 11-15


Appendix A Survey design

and f 2 = n2

siwhere n2 = number of pupils to be selected from each school

Overall, therefore, for each pupil the sampling fraction is:

F = ( n1 x siS

) x ( n2

si) =

n1 x n2

and thus all pupils have an equal chance of selection.

Stratification of the sampling frame

Previous surveys in the series have shown that children’s behaviour varies according to thecharacteristics of the school more than by region, so schools were stratified in England asfollows:

1. Into four main school types:

ComprehensiveGrammarSecondary ModernPrivate

2. Within these types by:

boys onlygirls onlymixed

3. In each of the 12 major strata formed, schools were ordered by local educationauthority within region.

Table A1 shows the estimated number of schools in each stratum, based on the number ofpupils in each strata compared with the total number of pupils in England, and the numberof schools actually selected.

(Table A1)

Sampling within selected schools

Sampling fractions at the second stage (i.e. within schools) were calculated by NFERbased on information about the number of pupils in years 7 to 11 at each school, collectedin the DfES’s annual school census of January 2002, to provide a sample of 35 pupils perschool. A random start (between 1 and the sampling fraction) was generated for eachschool. As the actual sampling was carried out in the academic year after the samplingfractions had been generated, the number of selected pupils varied to the extent to whichthe size of the school had changed in the interim.

Fieldwork procedures

All 447 schools were approached and invited to take part.2

Schools were sent an initialletter during the Summer term of 2002, explaining that they had been selected to take partin the survey and that they would be contacted by NFER at the start of the Autumn term.Booklets summarising key results from the 2001 survey were enclosed with the letters.

NFER began telephoning schools in the first week of the Autumn term, explaining thesurvey, asking schools to take part, and requesting that they provide an electronic copy oftheir registers. NFER continued to contact schools over the next four weeks. After the firstthree weeks information about schools that had been successfully contacted were passedto NatCen’s interviewers. Information about the remaining schools were issued tointerviewers as a second batch, after a further week of contacting. Schools issued tointerviewers were classified into five types and the following procedures followed:


S

Once a sample of pupils had been selected, schools were given letters for the selectedpupils to take home and give to their parents or guardians informing them of the survey.Parents were asked to reply only if they did not want their child to take part.

Interviewers arranged with schools a convenient time to conduct the survey. If four or morepupils were absent on this occasion, interviewers organised one further visit to the schoolso that these pupils had a second opportunity to take part. A follow up visit was required in54% of schools.

All pupils taking part in the survey gathered together in a classroom for one school periodto complete a questionnaire, under the supervision of an interviewer. The interviewer gave abrief introduction explaining why the survey was being carried out, and how thequestionnaire should be filled in. The questionnaire used is contained in Appendix C.

Pupils were not allowed to discuss the questions with each other or look at other pupils’answers. Thus ‘exam-like’ conditions were sought, though pupils could request and receivehelp if they did not understand questions. In general, teachers were not present during thecompletion of questionnaires in order to encourage pupils to give honest answers.

Interviewers stressed that pupils’ answers would be completely confidential and that theiranswers would not reflect on them or their school. Questionnaires were serial numbered foradministrative purposes, but serial numbers were not linked to pupils’ names.

A short questionnaire was also asked of the main contact person in each school (usuallyeither the head teacher or the teacher responsible for co-ordinating the schools’ personal,social and health education). This collected information about the schools policies onsmoking, drinking and drug use. It was usually administered by the interviewer face to face,but could also be carried out as a self-completion.

Fieldwork management, achieved response rates and sample size

Interviewers recorded the progress that had been made at each school in their assignment,and reported progress to fieldwork managers at NatCen on a weekly basis using thefollowing categories:� no contact with the head teacher or school contact� school has agreed with NFER to take part, no contact by interviewer with named person� sampling visit arranged� sampling done, first visit arranged� first visit done, follow up visit required� completed or refused.


Type A School participating, and

electronic register supplied

Type B School participating and register

supplied but too late for NFER to

select the sample centrally

Type C School participating, but no

register supplied

Type D School not contacted/decision

about participation not made

Type E School refused

Systematic sample of pupils taken by NFER and details

of the selected pupils were passed back to the school

and onto interviewer

Registers sent to interviewers who used them to take a

manual sample of pupils

Interviewers contacted schools and arranged an initial

visit to take a manual sample of pupils

Interviewers were passed details of any contact with

schools so that they could contact schools face to face

to persuade them to take part, then interviewers took a

manual sample of pupils

Interviewers were passed details of all contact with

schools, including any reasons for refusal, so that they

could recontact schools face to face to persuade them to

change their minds and participate, the interviewers took

a manual sample of pupils.

The anticipated response rate (70%) was achieved, with 74% of selected schoolsparticipating and 87% of selected school children taking part. This yielded an overallresponse rate of 65% and a total of 10,390 completed useable questionnaires for analysis(see Chapter 1 for more detail on response rates).

Data cleaning

Questionnaires were sent to an external keying agency. The data from each questionnairewere entered initially and then entered again to verify that there were no mistakes in theinitial keying. The computerised data were then subjected to an additional edit check whichincluded the following:

� checking that the questionnaire’s filter instructions were correctly followed;� checking ranges on consumption variables and age of first use variables;� checking whether answers given as other answers can be backcoded into existing

codes;� resolving inconsistencies between answers.

An SPSS dataset was created for analysis purposes. Coding and editing instructions arearchived along with the survey data.

Precision of results and the measurement of change

Since the data in this report were obtained from a sample of the target population, they aresubject to sampling error. Any sample is only one of an almost infinite number that mighthave been selected, all producing slightly different estimates. Sampling error stems fromthe probability that any selected sample is not completely representative of the populationfrom which it is drawn.

Sampling error shows the amount by which the value of a sample estimate of a variable canbe expected to differ from the true value of that variable in the population. With a simplerandom sample, the formula for calculating the sampling error for a percentage p, is:

where n is the sample size.

Since the sample of pupils was clustered in schools, sampling errors are not the same asthey would have been for a simple random sample of the same size. Sampling errors forfour key variables which take account of the complex design are described later on in thisAppendix.

The formula for calculating sampling errors of differences in percentages p1 and p2between surveys (assuming simple random samples) is:

In general, attention is drawn to differences between estimates only when they aresignificant at the 95% confidence level, thus indicating that there is less than 5%probability that the observed difference could be due to random sampling variation whenno difference occurred in the population from which the sample is drawn.

It is important to recognise that sampling error is only one of the sources of error whichaffect the accuracy of any survey results. Other sources of inaccuracy include non-response bias, and over-and under-reporting, both of which are difficult to quantify. Sincethe results compared in this report are from surveys conducted in a similar way and usingthe same methods of collecting information, non-sampling errors should be similar on each


p1(100 - p1 ) +p2(100 - p2 )

n1 n2

p(100 - p)

n


survey and so should not affect comparisons (apart from the question format change in2001 for drug use discussed in Chapter 1). However it is also possible that socialdesirability of behaviours may affect whether pupils over-report or under-report, and associal desirability may change over time this may affect comparability.

Sampling errors

As the survey used a multi-stage sample design which involved both clustering andstratification, this needs to be taken into account when calculating standard errors, ratherthan assuming a simple random sample design. Tables A2-A5 give true standard errors and95% confidence intervals for this complex sample design for four key variables. Thecalculation of the standard errors and design effects (defts) was carried out using Kish’smethodology.

3

(Tables A2-A5)

Non-response weighting

Response rates among pupils in year 10 (86%) and year 11 (81%) were slightly lower thanfor younger pupils (89-91%). These differences in response, however, were small and notlikely to make a difference to survey estimates. Therefore the data in this report are notweighted and are comparable with all other surveys in the series.


NFER maintains a database containing records for all schools in England, Northern Ireland, Scotlandand Wales. It also contains schools in the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Service Children’s EducationAuthority (armed forces) schools and British schools around the world. In addition, details are held for allcolleges in the Further and Higher Education sectors and for all Universities.

2Two selected schools closed subsequent to the sample being drawn, and were thus deemed ineligible.This left a sample of 445 potentially eligible schools.

3Kish, L. (1970) Survey Sampling, London: John Wiley.

Table A1

Allocation of schools to strata2003

Type of school Populationa

Estimated schools Actual schoolsb

Comprehensive

Boys 85,676 12.65 13

Girls 129,488 19.12 19

Mixed 2,409,803 355.83 357

Grammar

Boys 36,668 5.41 5

Girls 40,594 5.99 6

Mixed 27,868 4.11 5

Secondary Modern

Boys 7,591 1.12 0

Girls 9,968 1.47 2

Mixed 85,484 12.62 12

Private

Boys 48,159 7.11 7

Girls 60,855 8.99 9

Mixed 91,859 13.56 13

Total 3,034,013 448.00 448

a DfES annual school census data, collected January 2001.

b Small strata have been combined in order to improve the efficiency of the sampling, so expected and

actual number of schools may differ.

Table A2

True standard errors and 95% confidence intervals for the prevalence ofregular smoking, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003

95% confidence interval

Sample % (p) True standard lower upper Defta

size error of p

Boys

11 years 892 0.7% 0.2% 0.2% 1.2% 0.89

12 years 1047 1.1% 0.4% 0.4% 1.8% 1.09

13 years 1077 4.7% 0.7% 3.4% 6.0% 1.03

14 years 1015 9.5% 1.0% 7.6% 11.3% 1.05

15 years 1148 17.8% 1.1% 15.5% 20.0% 1.01

Total 5179 7.1% 0.4% 6.4% 7.9% 1.10

Girls

11 years 863 0.5% 0.2% 0.0% 0.9% 1.00

12 years 1072 2.8% 0.5% 1.7% 3.9% 1.07

13 years 1055 8.2% 1.0% 6.4% 10.1% 1.14

14 years 979 16.0% 1.3% 13.5% 18.6% 1.10

15 years 1112 26.1% 1.5% 23.2% 28.9% 1.11

Total 5081 11.2% 0.5% 10.1% 12.3% 1.24

Total

11 years 1755 0.6% 0.2% 0.2% 0.9% 0.94

12 years 2119 2.0% 0.3% 1.3% 2.6% 1.09

13 years 2132 6.5% 0.6% 5.3% 7.6% 1.08

14 years 1994 12.7% 0.8% 11.0% 14.3% 1.12

15 years 2260 21.9% 0.9% 20.0% 23.7% 1.09

Total 10260 9.1% 0.3% 8.5% 9.8% 1.20

a The design effect (deff) is a number which shows how much larger or smaller a sample you need to get

the same precision as a simple random sample. A related measure is the square root of this (deft) and

shows how the width of the confidence interval compares.


Table A3

True standard errors and 95% confidence intervals for the proportion whodrink at least once a week, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003



size error of p

Boys

11 years 896 4.9% 0.7% 3.6% 6.2% 0.91

12 years 1053 7.2% 0.9% 5.5% 8.9% 1.07

13 years 1083 15.7% 1.2% 13.4% 18.0% 1.07

14 years 1016 26.7% 1.4% 23.9% 29.4% 1.02

15 years 1150 42.1% 1.6% 38.9% 45.3% 1.12

Total 5198 20.1% 0.7% 18.8% 21.4% 1.18

Girls

11 years 857 2.0% 0.5% 1.0% 3.0% 1.04

12 years 1074 5.7% 0.8% 4.2% 7.2% 1.07

13 years 1057 13.5% 1.1% 11.3% 15.7% 1.07

14 years 983 25.4% 1.5% 22.6% 28.3% 1.05

15 years 1114 36.9% 1.5% 33.9% 39.9% 1.04

Total 5085 17.3% 0.6% 16.1% 18.6% 1.19

Total

11 years 1753 3.5% 0.4% 2.7% 4.3% 0.90

12 years 2127 6.4% 0.6% 5.3% 7.6% 1.07

13 years 2140 14.6% 0.8% 13.0% 16.3% 1.10

14 years 1999 26.1% 1.0% 24.1% 28.1% 1.04

15 years 2264 39.5% 1.1% 37.4% 41.7% 1.07

Total 10283 18.7% 0.5% 17.8% 19.7% 1.24





Table A4

True standard errors and 95% confidence intervals for the proportion whohave taken drugs in the last month, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003



size error of p

Boys

11 years 810 4.1% 0.7% 2.7% 5.5% 1.04

12 years 973 5.4% 0.8% 3.9% 7.0% 1.11

13 years 1005 10.6% 1.1% 8.5% 12.7% 1.10

14 years 951 16.5% 1.4% 13.8% 19.2% 1.13

15 years 1101 24.5% 1.4% 21.7% 27.3% 1.10

Total 4840 12.8% 0.6% 11.6% 14.0% 1.28

Girls

11 years 806 3.5% 0.7% 2.2% 4.8% 1.05

12 years 1017 5.0% 0.7% 3.6% 6.4% 1.04

13 years 997 8.3% 0.9% 6.6% 10.1% 1.03

14 years 929 18.2% 1.4% 15.5% 20.9% 1.10

15 years 1069 21.6% 1.4% 18.9% 24.3% 1.09

Total 4818 11.7% 0.6% 10.6% 12.8% 1.22

Total

11 years 1616 3.8% 0.5% 2.8% 4.8% 1.09

12 years 1990 5.2% 0.5% 4.2% 6.3% 1.06

13 years 2002 9.5% 0.7% 8.2% 10.8% 1.03

14 years 1880 17.3% 0.9% 15.5% 19.2% 1.07

15 years 2170 23.1% 1.0% 21.1% 25.1% 1.11

Total 9658 12.2% 0.4% 11.4% 13.1% 1.29





Table A5

True standard errors and 95% confidence intervals for the proportion whohave taken drugs in the last year, by sex and ageAll pupils 2003



size error of p

Boys

11 years 812 8.3% 1.0% 6.4% 10.1% 1.00

12 years 976 10.9% 1.1% 8.7% 13.0% 1.09

13 years 1012 18.8% 1.3% 16.3% 21.3% 1.05

14 years 964 26.7% 1.4% 24.0% 29.4% 0.97

15 years 1112 39.1% 1.7% 35.9% 42.4% 1.13

Total 4876 21.6% 0.7% 20.2% 23.1% 1.24

Girls

11 years 808 7.4% 1.0% 5.5% 9.3% 1.05

12 years 1020 9.4% 1.0% 7.5% 11.3% 1.07

13 years 1004 17.1% 1.3% 14.6% 19.6% 1.07

14 years 936 29.0% 1.6% 25.8% 32.1% 1.09

15 years 1077 36.4% 1.6% 33.2% 39.6% 1.10

Total 4845 20.5% 0.7% 19.1% 21.8% 1.18

Total

11 years 1620 7.8% 0.7% 6.5% 9.2% 1.02

12 years 1996 10.1% 0.7% 8.7% 11.6% 1.09

13 years 2016 18.0% 0.9% 16.2% 19.7% 1.03

14 years 1900 27.8% 1.0% 25.8% 29.8% 1.01

15 years 2189 37.8% 1.2% 35.5% 40.1% 1.12

Total 9721 21.0% 0.5% 20.0% 22.1% 1.24





Appendix B Analysis techniques

In addition to extensive two and three-way cross-tabulations of data, this report includesanalyses which made use of the statistical techniques outlined here.

Age-standardisation

Age is a key factor in both attitudes and behaviour related to smoking, drinking and druguse and most of the survey estimates show significant differences between pupils ofdifferent ages. When different subgroups’ answers to particular questions are beingcompared, it is necessary to consider the potential effect of the age profiles of thesesubgroups. If the age profiles differ substantially, then this may account for all or part of anydifferences observed on the measures concerned.

Age-standardisation is a technique which is used to weight the data so that the age-profiles of different subgroups become the same (are standardised). Thus one is able toestablish whether or not attitudinal or behavioural differences found between subgroupsare due solely to the ages of pupils in different subgroups.

Correlation

Correlation is a technique which measures the strength and direction of the linearrelationship between two variables. The correlation between two variables is measured bythe correlation co-efficient which has a value between -1 and 1. A correlation co-efficientwith a value close to 0 implies that there is no linear relationship between two variables. A correlation co-efficient with a value close to 1 implies a strong positive relationship (asone variable increases or decreases so does the other), and a value close to -1 implies astrong negative relationship (as one variable increases the other variable decreases andvice versa). The Kendall’s Tau co-efficient for non-parametric data has been used in thisreport.



Appendix C: Questionnaire


Appendix D: Policy questionnaire

About the National Centre for Social ResearchThe National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is an independent institute specialising insocial survey and qualitative research for the development of public policy. Research is inareas such as health, housing, employment, crime, education and political and socialattitudes. Projects include ad hoc and continuous surveys, using face to face, telephoneand postal methods; many use advanced applications of computer assisted interviewing.NatCen has over 180 staff, a national panel of over 1,200 interviewers and 300 nurses whowork on health-related surveys.

About the National Foundation for Educational ResearchThe National Foundation for Educational Research has been engaged in educationalresearch since 1946 and is an independent foundation with charitable status. TheFoundation undertakes research and evaluation for local and national agencies, in thegovernment, commercial and charitable sectors. The research programme is concernedwith all aspects of education and training, a major part being concerned with the publiceducation system.

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