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Results from the Irish European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) survey were published today. The survey was carried out by the TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland at Technological University Dublin for the Department of Health, led by Principal Investigators Professor Luke Clancy and Professor Joan Hanafin.
ESPAD is the largest cross-national research project on teenage substance use in the world. It has been conducted in up to 50 European countries since 1995. In 2024, 37 countries participated, with Ireland participating in all 8 waves since 1995. This new report from TFRI, representing the eighth data-collection wave of ESPAD, is the first wave since the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report provides key insights into substance use among 15–16-year-old students across Europe. In Ireland, 5,587 students took part, including 2,002 born in 2008. The survey was carried out in a representative sample of post-primary schools between March and May 2024.
ESPAD Ireland Co-Principal Investigator Professor Joan Hanafin said,
“We are pleased to report many welcome reductions in substance use since 2019, and indeed over the last 30 years. Some areas of interest stand out. Smoking is at its lowest rate (12%) in 30 years, but reductions are not equal for all students. Almost 13% of 16-year-old girls smoke, and this figure has remained stable for the last 10 years. Girls also have higher e-cigarette use. We also report significant increases in alternative and emerging tobacco and nicotine products. As well as questions on cigarettes and e-cigarettes, students were asked about their use of nicotine pouches, moist snuff (snus), heated tobacco products and water pipes. More than a third (36%) of 16-year-olds had tried at least one nicotine product, and one in five (20%) currently use at least one nicotine product.”
Among the key findings of the ESPAD 2024 Ireland Report were the following:
Tobacco Use
- ESPAD Ireland 2024 has reported the lowest ever figures for ever, current and daily smoking among 15 – 16-year-olds.
- 24% of students reported that they have tried smoking, with 12% stating that they are current smokers and 2% smoke daily.
- The most common age for smoking initiation was 14 years.
E-cigarette Use
- 32% of respondents stated that they have tried e-cigarettes, with 16% stating that they are current users and 7% reporting daily use.
- 76% of e-cigarette users reported that they had never used traditional cigarettes when they first used e-cigarettes, with only 0.6% reporting that they used them for smoking cessation purposes.
- The most common age for e-cigarette initiation was 14 years.
Alternative Tobacco and Nicotine Products Use
- 10% of students reported having used moist snuff, with 7.6% reporting ever use of nicotine pouches.
- The use of nicotine pouches and moist snuff was significantly higher among male students than among female students.
- The most common age for initiating moist snuff and nicotine pouches was 15 years.
Alcohol Use
- 66% of 15–16-year-olds surveyed had consumed alcohol in their lifetime, a decrease of 10% from the 2019 figure of 72.6%.
- 28% of students reported having been drunk in their lifetime, as against 35.7% of students who had ever been drunk in their lifetime in 2019, showing a decrease of almost 22%.
- 35% had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, a decrease of 15% from the 2019 figure of 40.8%.
- 12% of students reported being drunk in the last 30 days, as against 16.1% in 2019, showing a significant decrease of over 25.5%.
Cannabis and Other Illicit Drugs and Substances
- There have been very significant decreases in both lifetime use of cannabis (19% in 2019 down to 12% in 2024) and current use (9% in 2019 to 5% in 2024).
- 11% of students reported having tried cannabis, with 10% using it in the last 12 months and 5% having used it in the previous 30 days.
- As regards other illicit drugs, inhalants were most frequently used at 6.3%, followed by synthetic cannabinoids at 3.2% and alcohol with pills at 3%.
- The most common age for cannabis first use was 14 years.
Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drug Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, today welcomed the publication of the ESPAD Ireland 2024 and said:
“While the downward trend is encouraging, the data also reveals the continuing challenge: young people are still being drawn into tobacco and nicotine use, be it cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or emerging nicotine products. We must act decisively to break this cycle.”
“The ESPAD data provides us with crucial insight into the behaviours, pressures and choices facing young people today. Behind every new smoker is a billion-euro health-harming industry, and every one of them deserves protection. With this insight, we can do better – we can design better interventions, address risk factors earlier and protect the health of the next generation.”
Co-Principal Investigator Professor Luke Clancy said that:
“These serial data sets, collected since 1995, enable us to monitor trends in use of alcohol, tobacco, nicotine, other drugs including illicit drug use such as cannabis and cocaine, as well as gambling, gaming, internet use, well-being, and other behaviours and to gauge the impact of preventative interventions and spot the continuing needs in a rapidly changing milieu”.
As well as reporting on addictive substance use, ESPAD Ireland has also reported on addictive behaviours including gambling, gaming and internet use. Professor Hanafin highlighted increases in gambling and problem gambling among 16-year-olds.
"About a third of 16-year-olds reported gambling for money in the last 12 months, a significant increase on the one in four who reported gambling for money in 2019. There has been a noticeable increase in problem gambling among teenagers, with almost half of those who gamble reporting at least one indicator of problem gambling, such as going back another day to try to win back money they had lost gambling or had felt like they wanted to stop betting but couldn’t. Problem gambling is particularly marked in boys. It is important that we respond decisively to issues of both substance addiction and behavioural addiction identified in our 8th Wave of ESPAD Ireland.”