Publication, Part of Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England
Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England, 2023
National statistics, Accredited official statistics
Correction to school lessons and guidance (part 12)
Following the initial publication it was discovered that teacher responses from volunteer schools had not been excluded from the analysis (see Appendix A8 for information about volunteer schools). This was corrected and the affected tables and commentary have been re-issued including only teacher responses from sampled schools.
Only Part 12: School lessons and guidance was affected, specifically tables 12.4, 12.5, 12.6, 12.7, 12.8, 12.9 and 12.10, and the associated charts and commentary in the sections 'Frequency of lessons about tobacco, alcohol and drugs' and 'Lesson contributors and sources of information used to prepare lessons'. Though some of the quoted figures changed by 0-5 percentage points, there was no effect to the order of the most common contributors and sources of information to lessons.
13 February 2025 17:00 PM
Part 7: Young people and alcohol: the context
Introduction
This part sets the context for alcohol consumption among young people.
It includes:
- perceived parental attitudes to drinking
- pupils’ attitudes towards what is acceptable for someone of their own age
- when pupils last drank alcohol by family affluence
- when pupils last drank alcohol by deprivation
Attitudes to pupils’ drinking
Perceived parental disapproval of pupil drinking, by age (current drinkers)
5% of these pupils said their parents did not like them drinking alcohol. 83% of these pupils said that parent doesn't mind them drinking as long as it isn't too much (not shown on chart).
Perceived parental disapproval of their drinking remained similar across all ages. The percentage of these pupils who said their parents would disapprove ranged from 7% of 13 year olds to 4% of 14 year olds.
Among pupils who drank alcohol in the last week, perceived parental disapproval was lower at 2% (see table 7.3).
Pupils’ attitudes to drinking by people of the same age
Pupils who thought it was OK to try getting drunk to see what it's like and thought it was OK to get drunk once a week has increased compared with 2021. In 2023, 27% of pupils thought it was OK to try getting drunk to see what it's like, compared with 23% in 2021. 12% of pupils thought it was OK to get drunk once a week, compared with 9% in 2021.
Nearly half (49%) of 15 year olds, and around a third (35%) of 14 year olds, thought it was OK to drink alcohol once a week. 23% of 15 year olds thought it was OK to get drunk once a week (see table 7.9).
For more data relating to this section:
Tables 7.1 to 7.11, Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people, 2023
Family affluence
Last time drank alcohol, by family affluence score
See Appendix B for family affluence scoring methodology.
Pupils were more likely to have drunk alcohol either in the last week, or ever, if they had a higher family affluence score; 9% and 33% respectively for higher scoring pupils, compared with 5% and 24% for lower scoring pupils.
For more data relating to this section:
Table 7.12 Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people, 2023
Deprivation level
Last time drank alcohol, by deprivation level
Deprivation level is measured using Index of multiple deprivation quintiles which are based on the location of the pupil's school.
Pupils were more likely to have drunk alcohol in the last week if they attended school in the least deprived areas. 9% for those that attended school in the least deprived, compared with 4% for those that attended school in the most deprived areas.
For more data relating to this section:
Table 7.13 Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people, 2023
Last edited: 13 February 2025 4:59 pm