A fifth of 15 and 16 year olds in Ireland have used drugs.
A newly-released European study has looked into the prevalence of drug and alcohol use and gambling among school students.
Out of the 20% of 15 and 16 year olds who’ve used drugs in their lifetime, 19% have used cannabis, with 3% using cocaine.
The data is contained in the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs for 2019, which has just been released.
Almost 100,000 students were surveyed across 35 countries, including nearly 2,000 in Ireland.
Across the board, drug-use is more common among boys than girls – with a 25% versus 15% divide in Ireland.
37% of those surveyed have used an e-cigarette in their lifetime, compared 31% who’ve smoked a cigarette – while 72% have drank alcohol.
Out of the 15 and 16 year olds who said they used cannabis in the last 12 months, 5.7% are classified as high-risk users.
The study also looked at the perceived availability of drugs – with Ireland and Denmark ranking the highest for cocaine – while cider accounts for a third to a quarter of all alcohol drank.
Just under a quarter said they gambled in the last year, with 1 in 10 of those classified as doing so excessively.
