Cocaine use by young women in Ireland rising significantly, study finds

Young adults are drinking less but their cocaine use is increasing significantly, especially among young women, a report from the Health Research Board warns.

Illegal drug use, including cannabis use, is also on the rise among young women despite falling among their male peers, while drunkenness is greater among schoolgirls than schoolboys.

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Drawing on Irish and European data-sets, the report on alcohol and other drug use finds the number of young people presenting for problem cocaine use increased by 171 per cent between 2011 and 2019, from 254 cases to 688.

Published on Wednesday, it says the age at which young people had their first drink increased from 15.6 years in 2002 to 16.6 years in 2019. However, almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of 15- to 24-year-olds who consume alcohol were “hazardous drinkers”, and more than a third (38 per cent) had an alcohol-use disorder.

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Among school-age children (16 to 17 years), between 2014 and 2018, self-reported drunkenness increased, especially among girls. “Rates of lifetime drunkenness in 2018 were similar for males and women, with women reporting slightly higher rates of drunkenness,” the report says.

“[This] is a concern given the findings from a systematic review that the neurotoxic effects on developing adolescent brains are more pronounced in women than in males.”

Almost a third (27 per cent) of 15- to 24-year-olds in 2019/20 had used illegal drugs and 19 per cent had in the last year. More males than women had. However, the data shows while last-month use fell among young men, from 13 per cent in 2014/15 to 12 per cent in 2019/20, it increased from 5.8 per cent to 8.6 per cent among young women.

Irish young adults have the second highest rate of cocaine use in Europe (6.8 per cent) after the UK (11.3 per cent). This increase, from 4.9 per cent in 2002/03, appears to be being driven by young women.

Last-year use of cocaine decreased among young men fell from 5.1 per cent to 4.2 per cent between 2014/15 and 2019/20, but more than quadrupled from 0.8 per cent to 4.5 per cent among young women.

Young women’s use of cannabis is rising too, even as its popularity falls among 15- to 24-year-olds. The proportion smoking it fell from 16 per cent in 2014/15, to 15 per cent in 2019/20. The proportion of young men using it fell from 22 per cent to 16 per cent, but increased among young women, from 11 per cent to 13 per cent.

“The decrease in alcohol use among younger adolescents is certainly a positive,” says the report. “But has alcohol been replaced with other drugs such as cocaine? It is important to ensure real-time drug monitoring so we are informed and understand what combinations of drugs are being used in order to be proactive in tackling the issue.”

The HRB report on Alcohol and other drug use among children and young people in Ireland can be found here.