Decrease in alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use among school-aged children in Ireland

THERE HAVE BEEN reductions in alcohol, cannabis and cigarette use among school-aged children over the past 25 years, but 'concerning' trends regarding mental health issues.
The findings are contained in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Trends Report covering the period of 1998 to 2022.
The survey and analyses, contain data from over 70,000 children aged between 10 and 17 across Ireland, were carried out by the University of Galway's Health Promotion Research Centre.
While it found significant reductions in substance use and improvements in certain health behaviours, there has also been a 'worrying decline in mental health and increased pressure related to schoolwork'.
Cigarettes and alcohol
There was a dramatic decrease in the number of children aged 10-17 who reported bring current cigarette smokers, from 22.6% in 1998 to just 4.7% in 2022.
There was also a sharp decrease in the number of children in this cohort who reported having been 'really drunk' before, down from 33% in 1998 to 17.8%.
Of those aged 15-17, 24.8% reported having had their first alcoholic drink aged 13 or younger, down from 42.1% in 1998.
There was also a moderate decrease in the number of children who reported cannabis use over the previous 12 months, down from 12.3% in 1998 to 6.5% in 2022.
Healthier habits among children can be seen elsewhere also, with a dramatic decrease in the number of children drinking soft drinks on a daily basis, down from 37.4% in 1998 to just 6.6% in 2022.
Fruit consumption is also up, as is the rate of tooth brushing, while there has been a large increase in children reporting always wearing a seatbelt, up from 41% in 1998 to 81.2% in 2022.
Sexual and mental health
And while there's been a decline in reported sexual activity, fewer young people report using a condom.
Of those aged 15-17, 19.6% reported that they have had sex, down from 25.5% in 1998.
But when asked if they or their partner used a condom the last time they had sex, only 55.2% said this was the case, down from 78% in 1998.
Meanwhile, mental health indicators have worsened, with more young people reporting feeling low, fewer reporting high life satisfaction and fewer reporting feeling happy with their lives.
There was a slight decrease in the number of children who rated their mental health as excellent, down from 28.2% in 2002 to 25.5% in 2022, and a similar decrease in children reporting that they are happy with life at present, down from 88.1% to 78.5%.
There was a sharper decrease in the number of children reporting high life satisfaction, down from 76% in 2002 to 61.6% in 2022.
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However, there was a very large increase in the number of children who reported feeling low almost every week, from 23% in 1998 to 46.3% in 2022.
Home and school life
The report found there was an overall increase in the proportion of children who find it easy to talk to their mother and father.
Elsewhere, there was an overall decrease in the number of children who reported living with both parents.
While there was a slight increase in the number of children who reported finding it easy to talk to their mother about things that really bother them, there was a much more dramatic increase when it came to communication with fathers.
Some 81.9% found it easy to talk to their mothers about things that really bother them, up from 73% in 1998, but when it came to fathers, this figure jumped from 47.4% in 1998 to 70.2% in 2022.
Meanwhile, some 77.9% report that both their mother and father live in the main home, down from 90.8% in 1998.
When it came to school, there was a moderate increase in the numbers who feel pressured by school work, up from 32.9% in 1998 to 47.8%.
And while there was a decrease in the number of children who have bullied others, there's been an increased in the number who have been bullied themselves.
In 1998, 21.5% of children aged 10-17 reported having bullied others at school in recent months, which fell to 12.8% in 2022.
However, there was a small increase in those reporting having been bullied in recent months, rising from 24.6% in 1998 to 28.6% in 2022.
'Time to support teachers and parents'
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor, Minister of State at the Department of Health, said the report will 'serve as a foundation for future policy and programme development'.
She noted that it highlights positive trends, such as the reductions in tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use, but also the 'more concerning ones, such as many of the indicators relating to mental health and the pressures of schoolwork'.
Meanwhile, Professor Saoirse Nic Gabhainn, Principal Investigator at the Health Promotion Research Centre at University of Galway, remarked that the 'pressures children feel from school and society are increasing'.
'Now is the time for our society to support teachers and parents in schools and communities to protect and promote youth well-being,' she added.
The 2022 HBSC study comprised of a nationally representative sample of 8,061 pupils aged 10-17 years from 191 primary and post-primary schools across Ireland.
It is a school-based survey, with data collected through self-completion questionnaires administered by teachers in the classroom.
The researchers said that in general, Irish children fare well compared to their international peers and that there are particularly positive trends such as increased fruit consumption and communication with fathers.
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