Number of teens trying cigarettes and alcohol hits record low

A quarter of secondary school pupils now admit to vaping with one in ten doing so frequently – but the number trying cigarettes or alcohol has hit a record low, official figures reveal.

Use of illegal drugs has also fallen among these 11 to 15-year-olds as they increasingly adopt clean lifestyles and turn their backs on their parents' vices.

It means the number of youngsters who have smoked is now only a quarter of what it was in the 1980s, while the number experimenting with booze has almost halved.

The Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People report – published by NHS England – shows 25 per cent had tried vaping in 2023.

This is up from 22 per cent in 2021, when the report was last published. Around one in ten (9 per cent) say they vape frequently, which is unchanged. 

Of those who had tried e-cigarettes last year, 89 per cent had never regularly smoked tobacco, despite attempts by health officials to position the devices as aids to quitting.

Meanwhile, the number of 11 to 15-year-olds who have tried smoking fell to 11 per cent in 2023, down from 12 per cent two years earlier.

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More than half (55 per cent) of secondary school children had tried smoking at least once in the early 1980s and the figure remained at 49 per cent as late as 1996.

In 2023, 37 per cent of pupils had had an alcoholic drink, compared to 62 per cent in 1988. And 68 per cent now say they do not drink at all, compared with 43 per cent in 1988.

Illicit drug use has also plummeted among this age group, from around 30 per cent in 2003 to just 13 per cent last year, and down from 18 per cent in 2021.

Dr Will Haydock, executive director of Collective Voice, an alliance of drug charities, said: 'It's welcome news that fewer children and young people are smoking or using alcohol and other drugs, as we know use at an early age can be particularly harmful and set patterns for problems in later life.

'This good news is thanks to effective policies around tobacco control over several decades - and crucially the hard work of parents as well as staff in schools, charities and other organisations ensuring children understand the risks and aren't exposed to them so early in their life.'

However, Matt Fagg, director for prevention and long-term conditions at NHS England, described the vaping figures as 'incredibly concerning'. And health minister Andrew Gwynne admitted they were 'worrying'.

Public health charity Action on Smoking and Health is urging the Government to bring forward the Tobacco and Vapes Bill 'as soon as possible' to now combat the rise in vaping. 

The Bill was shelved as a result of the general election being called but was revived by the Labour Government in July.

The proposed legislation seeks to prevent anyone born after January 1 2009 from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought.

It also wants restrictions on the sale and marketing of vapes to children.