Minister Murnane O’Connor welcomes the publication of the ESPAD Ireland 2024 Report
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 21 May 2025
- Last updated on: 22 May 2025
Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drug Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, today welcomed the publication of the Irish European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) Report.
ESPAD is the largest cross-national research project on adolescent substance use in the world and is conducted across over 40 European countries. This report offers valuable insights into substance use trends among 15 – 16-year-old students across Europe, including Ireland. The TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland has conducted the Ireland report for the Department of Health and includes data from 5,587 participants in 28 post-primary educational settings.
Among the key findings of the ESPAD 2024 Ireland Report were the following.
Tobacco use
ESPAD 2024 has reported the lowest ever figures for ever, current and daily smoking among 15 – 16-year-olds.
24% of students reported that they have tried smoking with 12% stating that they are current smokers and 2% revealing that they smoke daily.
The most common age for smoking initiation was 14 years.
E-cigarettes/vape use
32% of respondents stated that they have tried e-cigarettes, with 16% stating that they are current users and 7% reporting daily use.
76% of e-cigarette users reported that they had never used traditional cigarettes when they first used e-cigarettes with only 0.6% reporting that they used them for smoking cessation purposes.
The most common age for e-cigarette initiation was 14 years.
Alternative tobacco and nicotine products use
10% of students reported to have ever used moist snuff, with 7.6% reporting ever using nicotine pouches.
The use of nicotine pouches and moist snuff was significantly higher among male students than among female students.
The most common age for initiation of moist snuff and nicotine pouches was 15 years.
Alcohol use
66% of 15-16 year olds surveyed had consumed alcohol in their lifetime, a decrease of 10% from the 2019 figure of 72.6%.
28% of students reported having been drunk in their lifetime compared with the 35.7% reported in 2019, a decrease of almost 22%.
35% had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, a decrease of 15% from the 2019 figure of 40.8%.
12% of students reported that they have been drunk in the last 30 days compared with the 16.1% reported in 2019, a significant decrease of over 25.5%.
Cannabis and other illicit drugs and substances
There have been very significant decreases in both lifetime use of cannabis (19% in 2019 down to 12% in 2024) and current use (9% in 2019 to 5% in 2024).
11% of students reported to have tried cannabis, with 10% using it in the last 12 months and 5% having used it in the last 30 days.
Inhalants were most frequently used at 6.3%, followed by synthetic cannabinoids at 3.2%, and alcohol with pills at 3%.
The most common age for cannabis first use was 14 years.
Quotes
Commenting on the results relating to tobacco, e-cigarette and other nicotine products use, Minister Murnane O’Connor said:
"I warmly welcome the ESPAD Ireland 2024 report, which reveals the lowest rates ever recorded for lifetime, current, and daily smoking among 15–16-year-olds in the 30 years since Ireland began participating in ESPAD surveys. This is hugely positive news, reflecting the success of our policies and public health efforts to date. However, we must keep pushing forward to ensure that we reach our goal of a Tobacco Free Ireland.
"While the downward trend is encouraging, the data also reveals the continuing challenge: young people are still being drawn into tobacco and nicotine use — be it cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or emerging nicotine products. We must act decisively to break this cycle.
"The ESPAD data provides us with crucial insight into the behaviours, pressures and choices facing young people today. Behind every new smoker is a billion-euro health-harming industry, and every one of them deserves protection. With this insight, we can do better – we can design better interventions, address risk factors earlier and protect the health of the next generation."
In relation to the new findings on alcohol use among 15 – 16-year-olds, Minister Murnane O’Connor said:
"The significant decrease in alcohol consumption among this age group is hugely positive. This trend aligns with the objectives of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act to reduce consumption of alcohol generally but more particularly to delay the age of initiation of alcohol consumption among our children.
"A 25% decrease over a five-year period in students being drunk in the previous 30 days is encouraging as it may indicate change in dangerous patterns of consumption among this cohort. Children and adolescents are typically more vulnerable to alcohol-related harm from a given volume of alcohol than are other age groups."
As Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drug Strategy, Minister Murnane O’Connor said:
"The reduction in substance use among the ESPAD 2024 cohort is very welcome news. I’m delighted to see such significant reductions in both lifetime and current cannabis use. Many people feel that cannabis is not a harmful drug, however statistics from our adolescent drug treatment services show that cannabis is the number one drug that young people presenting to services seek support in relation to.
"Tackling the drug problem in Ireland continues to be a priority for this government and we have made significant investment in the prevention of drug use and drug-related harm. We are working on a new National Drug Strategy with a key focus on prevention and I hope that we will continue to see a decline in substance use amongst children and young people in the coming years."
ESPAD Ireland Co-Principal Investigator Professor Joan Hanafin said:
"We are pleased to present this report to the Ministers and to report many welcome reductions in substance use since 2019, and indeed over the last 30 years. Some areas of concern stand out. Smoking is at its lowest rate (12%) in 30 years but reductions are not equal for all students. Almost 13% of 16 year-old girls smoke and this figure has remained stable for the last 10 years. Girls also have higher e-cigarette use. We also report significant increases in alternative tobacco and nicotine products with one in five 16-year-olds currently using at least one nicotine product."
Professor Hanafin also highlighted increases in gambling and problem gambling among 16-year-olds:
"There has been an increase in problem gambling among teenagers, with almost half of those who gamble reporting at least one indicator of problem gambling. This is a particular problem for boys. It is important that we respond decisively to issues of both substance addiction and behavioural addiction identified in our 8th Wave of ESPAD Ireland."
Notes
Moist snuff (snus) is tobacco in a pouch that is placed under the lip. Oral tobacco products such as snus are illegal in Ireland and EU countries except Sweden.
Nicotine pouches do not contain tobacco, but are similar in appearance and use to snus, and are popularly referred to as “snus”. Nicotine pouches contain nicotine powder mixed with flavourings, sweeteners, fillers and other chemicals. The pouches are placed between the lip and gum.