Let’s start with alcohol. The youth of today are definitely less likely than previous generations to reach for a drink, especially those aged 11-15. That's a positive step for health and well-being.

When it comes to drugs, it’s a bit more complicated. Overall, there's been a substantial 40% decrease in drug use among young people since 2002. There was a blip between 2014-18, where drug use rose again, but rates dropped back down again during the pandemic.

And the number of young people smoking has been steadily plummeting since 1996. Girls used to have higher smoking rates than boys, but since 2018, both genders are on a more even keel in this department.

But here's the curveball: e-cigarettes. While still not hugely popular among young people, there was a surge in usage between 2018 and 2021, especially among girls. Amongst boys, there wasn’t much change. It's definitely a trend we'll need to keep an eye on as more recent data rolls in. Something else to note is that in 2023 data for young people not identifying as male or female was differentiated in this survey and although numbers are small they appear to be more vulnerable to engaging in these risky behaviours - 17% for ecig, 11% for smoking, 22% for drugs and 11% alcohol.