Secondary School Statistics

A 2005 survey of over 21,000 Australian secondary school students aged 12 - 17 years found:

• By the age of 12 over 90% of students had ever used analgesics (painkillers) in their lifetime
• By the age of 14 around 90% of students had tried alcohol
• 35% of students were involved with tobacco at some level
• 18% of all secondary students had used cannabis at some stage in their life
• 17% had deliberately used inhalants (such as glue, paint, petrol) at least once during their lives
• 3% of students had ever used hallucinogens
• 7% of students had ever used amphetamines
• A small proportion of students (2%) had ever used opiates, such as heroin and morphine
• A small proportion of students (3%) reported having used cocaine
• Parents were the most common source of alcohol among students who drank in the last week

Sources:
White, V. & Hayman, J. (2006). Australian secondary students' use of over-the-counter and illicit substances in 2005. National Drug Strategy Monograph Series No. 60. Canberra . Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

White, V. & Hayman, J. (2006). Australian secondary students' use of alcohol in 2005. National Drug Strategy Monograph Series No. 58. Canberra : Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

White, V. & Hayman, J. (2006). Smoking behaviours of Australian secondary students in 2005. National Drug Strategy Monograph Series No. 59. Canberra : Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.