Parents ‘stoned, drunk’

Older generations biggest users of substances

(16.2 per cent) than those aged 14-19 (15.9 per cent). Illicit drug use has almost doubled among the over 60s in the last 16 years and it’s also rising among those aged 35-44 and 45-54.

Fewer people aged 12-17 drank alcohol in 2016 and the proportion of teens abstaining from alcohol significantly increased from 72 to 82 per cent between 2013 and 2016.

However, among their parents’ and grandparents’ age group, alcohol consumption is rising. In 2016, 20 per cent of the over 50s drank at risky levels compared to 1.3 per cent of 12-17 year olds and 18.5 per cent of 18-24 year-olds.

Fewer teenagers are taking up smoking with the proportion who have never smoked rising from 95 per cent in 2013 to 98 per cent in 2016.

The age group with the most daily smokers was the 40-49 year old group where over 22 per cent smoked daily.

Foundation of Alcohol and Research Education chief Michael Thorn says a combination of factors is behind the trend for teens to stick to the straight and narrow road.

Parents were more willing to suggest their children delay having their first drink, he said.

“How kids interact has changed and drinking is less important for interacting with peers, they are instead using Facebook and other digital platforms. There may well be some impact of price increases on some of the things young people like for their first tipple – beer and alcopops,” he said.

It was also becoming harder for teens to acquire alcohol with increased vigilance by authorities and new laws that restricted trading hours, he said. He also said studies had zeroed in on cheap wine as the reason why older people were more likely to drink.

The report found cannabis was the most commonly used drug (10 per cent), misuse of pharmaceuticals (5 per cent), cocaine (3 per cent), and ecstasy (2 per cent). Methamphetamine use fell from 1 per cent to 0.8 per cent. However, more than half of methamphetamine users were using ice – up from 22 per cent in 2010.