Cannabis, alcohol and cigarette use among Irish teenagers in their mid-teens has dropped dramatically over the last 30 years — a trend that has continued in the past five years.
But, since 2019, this has coincided with an increase in gambling and gaming among Irish children, with Ireland above the European average for both in 2024.
A major European study of pupils aged 15-16 across 40 countries reveals while Irish children were way above the European average back in 1995, they are now well below it for alcohol and cigarettes and at average for cannabis use and e-cigarettes, or vapes…
Gambling figures, which have only been collected since 2019, show 29% of Irish 15-16-year-olds in 2024 said they gambled in the previous 12 months, compared to 24% in 2019 (European average 23% and 22% respectively).
