New report outlines prevalence of drug use in Northern Ireland
By News Northern Ireland, , , ,

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has published key facts on drug prevalence in Northern Ireland.

The fact sheet presents some of the key findings from the Drug Prevalence Survey 2014/15. It includes analyses of the main types of illegal and prescription drug use over the last month, last year and lifetime of respondents. Information is also provided on New Psychoactive Substances (NPSs), polydrug use, alcohol use as well as both drug and alcohol related harm.

Key Findings

The Drug Prevalence Survey records drug use across three prevalence periods, over the last month, over the last year and throughout the respondents’ lifetime.

  • More than a quarter of respondents (27.3%) had used illegal drugs at some point during their lifetime, while 5.9% had used them over the last year and 2.9% in the month prior to the survey.
  • Cannabis was the main drug of misuse in all three prevalence periods.
  • Around a fifth of respondents had ever taken sedatives or tranquillisers while around a quarter of respondents had ever taken anti-depressants.
  • Over a fifth of respondents (22.2%) had ever taken other opiates (eg codeine, morphine and Tramadol).
  • Males (6%) were three times as likely as females (2%) to have ever taken NPSs. Younger respondents (aged 15-34) (7%) were over three times as likely to have ever used NPSs than older respondents (aged 35-64) (2%).
  • Over half of those who used other opiates also used sedatives and tranquillisers, while three-fifths of those who used other opiates also used anti-depressants.
  • Over three-fifths of respondents (61.8%) drank alcohol in the last month, and a fifth of adults thought that they should cut down on their drinking.
  • The proportion of respondents that had family or relationship problems as a result of alcohol (13%) was more than double that for drugs (5%).
  • The proportion of adults with children that felt that taking drugs affected their ability to interact with children was 5.5%.

For further information and to download the report, visit: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/statistics.htm