Present e-cigarette use (vaping) stays at 9%, the identical as in 2021. 1 in 4 pupils (25%) within the 2023 survey reported having ever tried vaping. Apparently, 89% of these pupils who’ve ever tried vaping, have by no means frequently smoked tobacco cigarettes. An additional 6% reported beginning vaping earlier than smoking tobacco cigarettes, solely 5% of pupils reported smoking tobacco cigarettes earlier than utilizing vapes.
37% of pupils stated that they had ever had an alcoholic drink. Prevalence will increase with age, from 15% of 11 12 months olds to 62% of 15 12 months olds. 5% of all pupils stated they often drank alcohol not less than as soon as per week, just like 2021 (6%). The proportion will increase with age, from 1% of 11 and 12 12 months olds to 11% of 15 12 months olds.
Medicine
There was a big fall within the prevalence of lifetime illicit drug use. 13% of pupils reported that they had ever taken medicine (18% in 2021), 9% had taken medicine within the final 12 months, and 5% within the final month. Apparently 6% 15 12 months previous boys and 5% of their feminine counterparts had purchased medicine over the web or from a store. Specializing in pupils who had taken medicine within the final 12 months, 23% had purchased them over the web and 19% from a store.
Wellbeing
As beforehand acknowledged, questions on college kids’s wellbeing had been launched for the primary time on this survey. 10% of pupils reported feeling lonely typically or all the time. 18% of pupils felt that they typically had no-one to speak to, and 15% stated that they typically felt not noted.
Conclusions
Whereas the information isn’t offered in nice element (though there’s a breakdown by age and, typically, gender within the connected spreadsheets), NHS England does promise that an anonymised report stage file of the underlying information on which customers can perform their very own evaluation can be made accessible through the UK Information Service later in 2024 for individuals who wish to dig deeper.
