There have been drops in the percentages of teens in Ireland using drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol, according to findings from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), released on Tuesday, May 20.

The study, carried out in collaboration with the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and coordinated by the Italian National Research Council, is based on a 2024 survey in 37 European countries, including Ireland - teens in Northern Ireland were not surveyed.

A total of 113,882 students (aged 15–16-years) participated in this latest survey round, responding to an anonymous questionnaire. 

Overall, the survey found that across the 37 European countries, teenage drinking and cigarette smoking are declining, but e-cigarette use is on the rise.

Similarly, the use of illicit drugs has fallen, but there are concerns about the non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs.

There has also been a rise in online and risky gambling behaviour, as well as a surge in gaming.

Illicit drugs, inhalants, and non-prescription use of medicines

The percentage of teens who reported having used illicit drugs within their lifetime has fallen from 38.12% in 1995 to 12.94% in 2024.

The percentage of teens in Ireland reporting lifetime use of illicit drugs other than cannabis has fallen from 16.73% in 1995 to 3.6% in 2024.

The percentage of teens in Ireland who reported use of inhalants within their lifetime has halved from 14.89% in 2017 to 7.19% in 2024.

The percentage of teens in Ireland who reported use of non-prescriptive medicines within their lifetime has also fallen from 6.97% in 1995 to 2.93% in 2024.

Cannabis

The percentage of teens in Ireland who reported use of cannabis within their lifetime has more than halved from 36.34% in 1995 to 11.84% in 2024.

Current cannabis use among teens in Ireland has fallen from 17.33% in 1995 to 4.92% in 2024.

The perceived availability of cannabis to teens in Ireland has also fallen from 62.14% in 1995 to 28.48% in 2024.

Early onset of cannabis use has dropped from 6.68% in 1995 to 3.04% in 2024.

Cigarettes / e-cigarettes

Ireland joins the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Sweden in seeing the greatest reduction in the lifetime prevalence of cigarette use.

Indeed, the percentage of teens in Ireland who reported having used cigarettes in their lifetime saw a huge decrease, falling from 73.29% in 1995 to 23.74% in 2024.

Current cigarette use among teens in Ireland has also fallen from 40.88% in 1995 to 8.99% in 2024.

Early onset of daily cigarette use among teens in Ireland dropped from 17.49% in 1995 to 2.99% in 2024. This marked a slight increase from 2.47% in 2019.

Meanwhile, in 13 out of 37 ESPAD countries, at least half of the teens surveyed have tried e‑cigarettes. However, Ireland is one of only six countries where fewer than one-third of teens report lifetime use.

The findings noted that early e‑cigarette use is more common among girls than boys in the majority of countries, with the largest differences observed in Estonia (37% for girls versus 29% for boys), Latvia (34% versus 27%), and Ireland (18% versus 12%).

The percentage of teens in Ireland who reported cigarette / e-cigarette use in their lifetime fell from 43.61% in 2019 to 34.2% in 2024.

Current cigarette / e-cigarette use decreased only slightly from 21.49% in 2019 to 18.09% in 2024. 

Early onset of daily cigarette / e-cigarette use among teens in Ireland has increased from 4.02% in 2019 to 5.21% in 2024.

Alcohol

The percentage of teens in Ireland who reported having used alcohol in their lifetime has fallen from 90.62% in 1995 to 67.02% in 2024.

Current alcohol use has fallen from 66.31% in 1995 to 35.12% in 2024. Ireland, as well as Iceland and Finland, were highlighted as having the greatest reductions in alcohol consumption in the past 30 days.

23.22% of teens in Ireland reported heavy episodic drinking, a decrease from the 47.11% in 1995.

Non-substance indicators

There has been a marked increase in the percentage of teens in Ireland who reported gaming in the last 12 months - 86.66% in 2024 compared to 56.52% in 2019.

There has also been an increase in the percentage of teens in Ireland who reported gambling in the past 12 months - 29.06% in 2024 compared to 21.8% in 2019.