Britain sees huge drop in underage smoking and drinking - Polidicks

Smoking, drinking and drug use among secondary school pupils have more than halved over the past 10 years, figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre suggest (HSCIC). Between 2003 and 2013, regular smoking fell from 9% to 3% of 11- to 15-year-olds. Regular alcohol drinking dropped from 25% to 9%. [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28461530[/url] Note that the legal smoking age rose from 16 to 18 in 2007

Boredom [i]had[/i] a lot to do with it, there is not a lot to do in certain places like the Highlands of Scotland

Good, at least it's demonstrated that kids are making smart life choices.

[QUOTE=joshdasmif;45515270]Boredom [i]had[/i] a lot to do with it, there is not a lot to do in certain places like the Highlands of Scotland[/QUOTE] Wearing a kilt isn't fun enough anymore? Damn kids.

maybe they are just getting better at not getting caught

How about kids are more into playing videogames than smoking. Underage Drinking might still be occuring but majority of gamers nowadays dont smoke due to the fact that you need all fingers on the keyboard and mouse and smoking will cause a distraction to your hands. You would not want to smoke infront of a computer. Do you know what cigerette ash can do to your computer? Plus a cigerette burn mark on a laptop is certainly unsightly

[QUOTE=BCell;45515319]How about kids are more into playing videogames than smoking. Underage Drinking might still be occuring but majority of gamers nowadays dont smoke due to the fact that you need all fingers on the keyboard and mouse and smoking will cause a distraction to your hands. You would not want to smoke infront of a computer. Do you know what cigerette ash can do to your computer? Plus a cigerette burn mark on a laptop is certainly unsightly[/QUOTE] All in all, I'd rather have people playing video games than smoking. Not to say that either is particularly healthy, but video games are definitely more healthy than smoking.

*legal smoking age is still 16, its only 18 to buy baccy/lighters/ect

[QUOTE=J$ Psychotic;45515329]All in all, I'd rather have people playing video games than smoking. Not to say that either is particularly healthy, but video games are definitely more healthy than smoking.[/QUOTE] That's not true, my brother OD'd on Halo. RIP

Again, it's because Scotland are leaving!

[QUOTE=cdr248;45515280]maybe they are just getting better at not getting caught[/QUOTE] Must be. In the first year of school there were only 20 or so people who smoked everyday at school but in my last year there were at least 100

[QUOTE=BCell;45515319]How about kids are more into playing videogames than smoking. Underage Drinking might still be occuring but majority of gamers nowadays dont smoke due to the fact that you need all fingers on the keyboard and mouse and smoking will cause a distraction to your hands. You would not want to smoke infront of a computer. Do you know what cigerette ash can do to your computer? Plus a cigerette burn mark on a laptop is certainly unsightly[/QUOTE] I don't think the people who smoked are the same people who spent all day inside playing games.

Around here like ~70% of people drink/smoke, starting in middle school.

[QUOTE=BCell;45515319]How about kids are more into playing videogames than smoking. Underage Drinking might still be occuring but majority of gamers nowadays dont smoke due to the fact that you need all fingers on the keyboard and mouse and smoking will cause a distraction to your hands. You would not want to smoke infront of a computer. Do you know what cigerette ash can do to your computer? Plus a cigerette burn mark on a laptop is certainly unsightly[/QUOTE] I don't think so man, I think it's more the fact that governments have been running relentless campaigns to make smoking and drinking uncool.

More likely because everyone is just smoking pot now.

It's a very odd feeling to hear of "underaged drinking" in other countries where the drinking age isn't so ludicrous as the US's 21. Cripes, what a hard post to word.

Find it hard to imagine that in the 5 years since I left school that there has been such a drop. 80% of my year must have been getting on it every weekend at 15/16. PS I am not from Hungary, I am from Essex, UK..

[QUOTE=Noss;45515448]I don't think the people who smoked are the same people who spent all day inside playing games.[/QUOTE] a bit of a generalization. also, i'd say it's not just games, it's technology in general. people didn't have as much to do inside the house a few decades back

[QUOTE=proch;45515466]Around here like ~70% of people drink/smoke, starting in middle school.[/QUOTE] The fuck are you rating me hearts for parties here are fucking great :v:

[QUOTE=Puni;45515999]Find it hard to imagine that in the 5 years since I left school that there has been such a drop. 80% of my year must have been getting on it every weekend at 15/16. PS I am not from Hungary, I am [B]from Essex, UK[/B]..[/QUOTE] I thought 80% was pretty high until I got to this bit

[QUOTE=Complifused;45516309]I thought 80% was pretty high until I got to this bit[/QUOTE] I work in Essex (thankfully don't live there) and I agree

[QUOTE=cdr248;45515280]maybe they are just getting better at not getting caught[/QUOTE] The figures are based on (anonymous?) surveys, according to the source, so these kids are admitting/not admitting to it. I don't think the figures are based on how many kids were caught by the police or school officials. Though yeah, it's true that they could be better at not getting caught, I don't think that's relevant to the study. The surveys basically either affirm that less kids are drinking/smoking, or that more kids are lying when being asked.

[QUOTE=joshdasmif;45515270]Boredom [I]had[/I] a lot to do with it, there is not a lot to do in certain places like the Highlands of Scotland[/QUOTE] wait, let me get this straight - One of the most unspoiled, beautiful and yet utterly accessible wildernesses on the planet - Some of the most liberal land use policies in the world, almost all non-destructive outdoor activities legal almost everywhere - Mild tempatures, rarely never gets too hot or too cold to endanger human health - Pretty much everything within walking distance[sp](canadian standards for walking distance)[/sp] - Some of the largest concentrations of iron age stonework and artifacts in Europe, if you're into historical crap = [t]http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-smithicide.gif[/t] Maybe this is just because Canada is basically structured like -City -> 1000~ kilometers of empty wilderness where you die from exposure-, but I feel like you'd need to be a terribly boring person to not be able to find anything to do, at least from the outdoor activity standpoint

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;45516660]wait, let me get this straight - One of the most unspoiled, beautiful and yet utterly accessible wildernesses on the planet - Some of the most liberal land use policies in the world, almost all non-destructive outdoor activities legal almost everywhere - Mild tempatures, rarely never gets too hot or too cold to endanger human health - Pretty much everything within walking distance[sp](canadian standards for walking distance)[/sp] - Some of the largest concentrations of iron age stonework and artifacts in Europe, if you're into historical crap = [t]http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-smithicide.gif[/t] Maybe this is just because Canada is basically structured like -City -> 2000~ kilometers of empty wilderness where you die from exposure-, but I feel like you'd need to be a terribly boring person to not be able to find anything to do, at least from the outdoor activity standpoint[/QUOTE] I've been up Fyrish several times, been up Ben Nevis, through the canals of Loch Ness, fished in many places, been motorbiking, camping etc etc. It's all good but I'm not going to devote my life to doing these same things over and over. There is a pictish rock covered in a big glass box which I see on a daily basis There's a few things to see but everywhere you like it's old, just [i]old[/i]. Like living 200 years in the past. My internet is so slow I need to wait overnight for an episode I want to watch, took me a week to download Rome 2 through Steam. The public transport is a joke busses are always late and you can't even travel out of the villages on a Sunday because busses don't run. All the businesses are in Inverness which you need a car to get to or public transport, which can be difficult. Roads are almost impassible in winter and I got off School one day because a storm washed away the bridge I needed to cross to get into School Plus a lot of the people are insane round here, one woman got shot in the face by another woman who was wielding a .22 air rifle because she asked her not to [url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/277692/highland-woman-shot-forehead-air-rifle/]shoot at the seagulls[/url]

I would bet money on the reality being very different to them percentages, 9% underage drinking seems way too low. I'm not so sure about drinking but I would agree there is a drop in smoking over the last 10 years, because you need to be 18 to buy them [I]instead of 16 like you could 10 years ago[/I]. Progress is progress though

cus they're all smoking weed instead

[QUOTE=Puni;45515999]Find it hard to imagine that in the 5 years since I left school that there has been such a drop. 80% of my year must have been getting on it every weekend at 15/16. PS I am not from Hungary, I am from Essex, UK..[/QUOTE] Essex is a shithole so not surprised.

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;45516083]a bit of a generalization. also, i'd say it's not just games, it's technology in general. people didn't have as much to do inside the house a few decades back[/QUOTE] Well, it's a true generalisation. The kids here who smoked tended to either be the people who went out all the time and/or the chavs. The people who sat inside playing WoW all the time did not tend to be among those who smoked. Most people's parents would flip their shit if their child was smoking inside the home. I guarantee you nobody has had the line of thought: "We'll, I'd better not start smoking or I might damage my keyboard!"

[QUOTE=Noss;45517413]Well, it's a true generalisation. The kids here who smoked tended to either be the people who went out all the time and/or the chavs. The people who sat inside playing WoW all the time did not tend to be among those who smoked. Most people's parents would flip their shit if their child was smoking inside the home. I guarantee you nobody has had the line of thought: "We'll, I'd better not start smoking or I might damage my keyboard!"[/QUOTE] i'm not saying that's not the case, but the people who smoked are also playing more games now, or using their computers and phones more

their kids are home from school for the summer, they can't go out drinking anymore