Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People surveys began in 1982, under the name Smoking among Secondary Schoolchildren. The series initially aimed to provide national estimates of the proportion of secondary schoolchildren aged 11-15 who smoked, and to describe their smoking behaviour. Similar surveys were carried out every two years until 1998 to monitor trends in the prevalence of cigarette smoking. The survey then moved to an annual cycle, and questions on alcohol consumption and drug use were included. The name of the series changed to Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young Teenagers to reflect this widened focus. In 2000, the series title changed, to Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People. NHS Digital (formerly the Information Centre for Health and Social Care) took over from the Department of Health as sponsors and publishers of the survey series from 2005. From 2014 onwards, the series changed to a biennial one, with no survey taking place in 2015, 2017 or 2019.In some years, the surveys have been carried out in Scotland and Wales as well as England, to provide separate national estimates for these countries. In 2002, following a review of Scotland's future information needs in relation to drug misuse among schoolchildren, a separate Scottish series, Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) was established by the Scottish Executive.
The main aim of the 1988 survey, which covered England only, was to continue the series of estimates of the prevalence of cigarette smoking among secondary school children and to draw attention to any changes in behaviour. However, one feature in particular of the 1988 survey distinguishes it from earlier surveys in the series - saliva specimens were obtained from half of the sample. These were analysed for the presence of cotinine, which is a metabolite of nicotine, and is a measure of exposure to tobacco. The main purpose of this was to enable some validation of the self-reported smoking data.
Main Topics:
The dataset includes variables from the questionnaire, diary and cotinine analysis. Topics covered in the questionnaire include: smoking behaviour, purchase of cigarettes, whether adults in household smoke, knowledge/use of Skoal Bandits (a type of chewing tobacco product), health education lessons in school, demographic characteristics. In addition, a short section of questions about drinking and alcohol use was included. For the diary, pupils were asked to record by retrospective recall all cigarettes smoked in the previous seven days.
Multi-stage stratified random sample
Self-completion
Clinical measurements
Diaries
Saliva specimen
