School pupils more than three times as likely to drink alcohol if they live with other drinkers, survey suggests

School pupils aged 11 to 15 in England are estimated to be more than three times as likely to drink alcohol if they live with other drinkers, a survey from The NHS Information Centre suggests.

And the likelihood of a pupil drinking alcohol increases with the number of drinkers per household, according to; Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England, 2008.

For the first time in its history, the survey asked pupils about their household's drinking habits. The percentage of 11-15 year old pupils who drank alcohol in the week prior to the survey was five per cent in non-drinking households, increasing to 31 per cent in households with three or more other people who drank alcohol.

Pupils aged 11-15 are also estimated as more than twice as likely to smoke regularly if they live in a household with other smokers, with the likelihood increasing with the number of smokers per household. Three per cent of pupils living in households where no-one else smoked smoke regularly, compared to just over a fifth (21 per cent) of pupils who lived with three or more smokers.

Less than half (46 per cent) of pupils said their family would disapprove of them drinking alcohol, while nearly all (98 per cent) of pupils said their parents would disapprove if they smoked.

The annual survey took place across 264 English secondary schools and surveyed nearly 7,800 pupils aged 11-15, representing an estimated population of around 3.1 million pupils.

It suggests a downward trend in the proportion of pupils aged 11-15 who try or regularly consume alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. It estimates:

  • Six per cent (around 190,000) of pupils were regular smokers, down from a peak of 13 per cent in 1996. Nearly a third (32 per cent) of pupils had tried smoking at least once.
  • 18 per cent (around 550,000) of pupils drank alcohol in the week prior to the survey, compared to a peak of 26 per cent in 2001. Just over half (52 per cent) of pupils had tried alcohol at least once.
  • Eight per cent (around 250,000) of pupils had taken drugs in the month prior to the survey, compared to 12 per cent in 2001. Just over a fifth (22 per cent) had tried drugs.
  • In 2008 girls and boys were as likely as each other to have drunk alcohol in the week prior to the survey, while girls were more likely to be regular smokers and boys more likely to have taken drugs in the month prior to the survey.

NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: “Our survey provides valuable insight into the behaviour of young people and shows an apparent connection between their behaviour towards drinking and smoking and that of others in their household.

“Pupils think their families would disapprove much more of them smoking than drinking. Nearly all pupils aged 11-15 who answered the survey question said their parents would frown upon cigarettes, but just under half said the same about alcohol.”

The full report is at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/sdd08fullreport

Notes to editors

  1. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care (The NHS IC) is England's authoritative, central, independent source of health and social care information. It works with a wide range of health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researcher, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS IC also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.
  2. The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) carried out the survey on behalf of The NHS Information Centre for health and social care. This is the most recent survey in a series that began in 1982. Each survey since 1998 has included a core set of questions on smoking, drinking and drug use and, since 2000, the remainder of the questionnaire has focused in alternate years on smoking and drinking or on drug taking. The emphasis of the 2008 survey is on smoking and drinking.
  3. The survey report presents information on the proportion of pupils who have ever smoked, tried alcohol or taken drugs. The report explores the attitudes and beliefs of school children towards smoking and drinking and where children obtain cigarettes and alcohol. Relationships between smoking, drinking and drug use are explored along with the links between smoking, drinking, and drug use with other factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, previous truancy or exclusion, and school policies in these areas.
  4. Regular smokers are classified as those who smoke at least once a week.
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