But while the decline in the use of ‘traditional substances’ has stagnated, there are various ‘new’ temptations such as alcohol-free drinks and nitrous oxide. These are substances that often have a more innocent image, but whose effects and risks in the short and longer term are insufficiently known.
Decline in smoking, drinking and cannabis use stagnates
Since 1999, the percentage of young people who have ever smoked a cigarette has fallen sharply (from 54% to 17% in 2019). This decline occurred mainly up to 2015. Between 2015 and 2017, the decline slowed (from 23% to 17%) and remained unchanged at 17% in 2019. The major differences in smoking between educational levels are striking. For example, 24% of students in the VMBO basic/intermediate vocational programme have ever smoked, compared with 12% of students in pre-university education (VWO). Almost two in five (38%) young smokers say they want to quit smoking within one month. This presents opportunities to reduce the prevalence of smoking among young people.
In 2019, almost half (47%) of 12- to 16-year-old schoolchildren had ever drunk alcohol, and just over a quarter (26%) had also done so in the month preceding the survey. In years 7 and 8 of primary education, one in eight pupils (13%) had already drunk alcohol at some point. The gradual decline in alcohol use between 2003 and 2015 has therefore come to a halt for the time being. This applies to all ages and to the various measures: alcohol use ever in life, in the past month, drunkenness and binge drinking.
Preventive policy necessary
The stagnating decline in alcohol and tobacco use among young people underlines the need for preventive policy, both nationally and regionally. There is still much to be gained. This could be achieved, for example, by intensifying actions under the National Prevention Agreement and the regional prevention agreements that are still being concluded, which are also referred to in the Progress Letter on the National Prevention Agreement.
Cannabis use shows a similar pattern to alcohol and tobacco use. Compared with 1999 (17%), significantly fewer schoolchildren had experience with cannabis use in 2019 (10%). However, both for use ever in life and in the past month, the percentages have remained approximately unchanged since 2015. For most hard drugs, such as ecstasy, cocaine and amphetamine, this stabilisation had already occurred since 2007.
New temptations: effects and risks largely unknown
While the use of traditional substances has stabilised, this does not apply to various new temptations. For virtually all new substances, little independent research has yet been conducted, and it is unclear what the effects and risks are in the short and longer term. However, they often seem to have a more innocent image than traditional substances. For all substances, the question is whether this is justified. Health professionals are concerned, for example, that drinking alcohol-free beverages may make the step towards drinking alcoholic beverages smaller. Research into such effects is still scarce, however.
E-cigarettes and heat-not-burn
The percentage of young people aged 12 to 16 who had ever smoked an e-cigarette fell between 2015 (34%) and 2017 (28%). From 2017 onwards, the percentage fell slightly to 25% in 2019. However, the use of e-cigarettes is still higher than that of regular cigarettes (17%).
For the first time, questions were asked about the use of heat-not-burn products – also known as heat sticks, with IQOS being a well-known brand name – due to signs of increasing popularity. The percentage of 12- to 16-year-olds who have ever smoked a heat-not-burn product currently stands at 3.0%. Of the young people who use a heat-not-burn product, 17% do so almost every week or more often.
Alcohol-free
In 2019, questions about the use of alcohol-free beverages (beer, wine or cider without alcohol) were also included for the first time. In years 7 and 8 of primary education, two in five pupils (40%) said they had drunk an alcohol-free beverage at some point, of whom nearly one in five (16%) had done so more than once. Almost one in ten (9%) schoolchildren aged 12 to 16 drink alcohol-free beverages at least weekly, with boys doing so more often than girls.
Nitrous oxide
Of the 12- to 16-year-old schoolchildren in secondary education, one in ten have used nitrous oxide at some point and 2.5% had done so in the past month. In 2019, 10% of schoolchildren in secondary education had experience with nitrous oxide, compared with 8% in 2015. For the first time, the use of nitrous oxide was also surveyed among the highest grades of primary education. Of these children, 2.3% had ever used nitrous oxide.