Teenagers adopting harder attitudes towards drugs and alcohol

The proportion of 11 to 15-year-olds in England who have tried alcohol fell from 51 per cent to 45 per cent between 2009 and 2010, according to data from the NHS Information Centre.

This continues a downward trend since 2003, when 61 per cent had tried alcohol.

The proportion of youngsters drinking alcohol in the week before the study has also dropped, from a peak of 26 per cent in 2001 to 13 per cent in 2010.

But of those who did drink in 2010, six out of 10 said they consumed more than four units.

Overall, 27 per cent of pupils surveyed had smoked at least once (down from 44 per cent in 2001), while 18 per cent had tried drugs at least once (down from 29 per cent in 2001).

The survey, of almost 7,300 pupils from 246 schools, found youngsters were also less likely to think drinking and drunkenness was acceptable.

Just under a third (32 per cent) said it was okay for someone their own age to drink alcohol once a week, compared to 46 per cent in 2003.

Some 11 per cent thought it was okay to get drunk once a week, down from 20 per cent in 2003.

Reasons given for why teenagers have a drink included looking cool in front of friends, peer pressure, to appear more sociable and “for the buzz”.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: “Our figures point to an increasingly intolerant attitude among young people in today’s society when it comes to the use of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs.

“As well as a reduction in the percentage who say they partake in these behaviours, a shrinking number think that drinking and drunkenness is acceptable among their peers.”

Today’s report showed that pupils who drank in the last week consumed 12.9 units on average.

Some 36 per cent of pupils had obtained alcohol in the last four weeks, most commonly through friends (23 per cent), parents (20 per cent) or by asking someone else to buy it (15 per cent).

Some 16 per cent said their alcohol had come from an off-licence, and 12 per cent said a shop or supermarket.

Pupils were most likely to drink alcohol in their own homes (49 per cent), at parties with friends (44 per cent), in someone else’s home (43 per cent) or on the street, in a park or elsewhere outside (25 per cent).

About half (54 per cent) of pupils who had drunk alcohol in the last four weeks said they had been drunk at least once in that time.