Younger people drinking less but smoking more cannabis than older generations

Young adults are drinking alcohol far less regularly than older generations, but are vaping and smoking cannabis in much greater numbers, a new survey has found.The Central Statistics Office’s Irish Health Survey for 2024 found that 56% of people aged 55-64 said they drink alcohol at least weekly compared to just 27% of 18-24 year olds.On the other hand, almost a quarter (23.6%) of people aged 18-34 said they vaped daily or occasionally, compared to fewer than 10% of those aged 45 and over.And, while over one in five (22.1%) of 18-24 year olds said they’d smoked cannabis in the last year, only 5.5% of 45-54 year olds said they had.The statistics come amid recent commentary on young Irish people drinking less than their older counterparts. Speaking last week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin noted there is a growing use of cocaine across the country, while alcohol consumption has declined in recent years.While this survey does not contain data on cocaine use, it does show a disparity in alcohol consumption across age groups in Ireland.Health findings Elsewhere, the survey found that over three-quarters of people aged 18 years and over considered their health to be good or very good last year.And, while 70% of people considered their mental health to be good or very good, this fell to just over half (50.8%) for people aged 18-24.Of this age group, over one in six people (17.5%) said their mental health was bad or very bad.The survey also found that 18.7% of adults have been diagnosed with a specific neurodiverse condition or suspected they were neurodiverse.CSO statistician Sarah Crilly explained: “Someone may consider themselves to be, or be diagnosed as, neurodiverse if they are autistic; have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); have dyspraxia (difficulty in physical coordination) or other neurodivergent condition; have differences in social preferences; have differences in ways of learning; communicate or perceive the world around themselves differently; or are particularly sensitive to noise or lighting.” Ms Crilly also said that women were more likely to have gone to a GP in the last 12 months than men.While almost 85% of women had had a GP consultation in the last year, only 74% of men had.“Females (59.2%) aged 18 years and over were more likely than males (48.3%) to have used prescription medicine in the two weeks prior to completion of the survey,” she said. “This excludes contraceptive pills or hormones used solely for contraception. “Those aged 75 years and over (92.0%) were almost three times more likely to have used prescription medicines in the two weeks prior to completion of the survey in comparison with those aged 18 to 24 years of age (30.7%).”  Meanwhile, 18% of people said they provide care or are carers for somebody.As well as smoking and drinking, the survey also looked at some other health factors such as a person’s body mass index.It found that almost a quarter (23.8%) of people aged 18 years and over in Ireland were classified as obese.Older people were more likely to be obese, with three in 10 (30.1%) of 55-64 year olds classified as such, compared to 13.6% of 18-24 year olds.

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