Today's report is the first in a series of three which covers all aspects of the life of typical 15 to 24 year-olds in Ireland today.
The survey upon which the findings are based was conducted in-home over the period 20th August-6th September last. In terms of subject matter, the interview ranged from general attitudes on the one hand to sexual activity and illicit drug-taking behaviour on the other.
In order to protect the sensitivities of the younger adults being interviewed, as well as ensuring as honest a response as possible, the questions relating to the more personal topics were completed in private by the respondent by way of a self-completion form.
Any queries the respondent may have had in relation to these questions were dealt with on the spot by the surveyor, although the majority of interviewees were happy to complete this form unaided, place it into a sealed envelope, and return it to the surveyor with their anonymity guaranteed.
The result is one of the most comprehensive social studies of the youth of Ireland in recent times, a constituency which, according to the most recent Central Statistics Office data, equates to 640,000 individuals.
Today we look at this generation's attitudes towards, and usage of, tobacco, drugs and alcohol.
In terms of tobacco consumption, it is perhaps not surprising that four in ten 15 to 24 year-olds claim to smoke cigarettes, while the average age at which youngsters begin smoking is 14. A small majority (53 per cent) agree with the ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants from next January, with a sizeable 43 per cent opposed to it.
It is clearly a fact of life that a majority of 15 to 17 year-olds drink alcohol nowadays, with a quarter of them allowed to do so at home. On average, young Irish people who do drink alcohol start doing so at 16 years of age, a finding which is consistent across all areas of the country, and amongst those from all socio-economic backgrounds.
It could be argued that this entry age to alcohol is not particularly low in itself compared, for example, to continental Europe where many young adults drink alcohol with their meals as a matter of course.
Indeed, in Ireland the debate in relation to alcohol consumption amongst young people tends to have centred on the types of drink consumed and the role of the alcohol industry in recruiting younger drinkers to their own brands.
On the first point, it is true that a 15 to 17 year-old is more likely to prefer drinking an alcopop or cider than is a 23 or 24 year-old who is relatively more likely to opt for lager or even stout.
Surely the question, though, is whether younger drinkers have been drawn into consuming alcohol per se by way of advertising and promotions for alcopop and cider brands, or whether they are likely to begin drinking as a rite of passage at 16 years of age regardless, and choose these types of drinks simply because they represent a more palatable alternative to beer and spirits.
The results of this survey suggest that teenage drinkers are actually consuming less alcohol per capita than are those in their early 20s - the real volume is being driven by lager, the consumption of which increases with age.
Perhaps the emphasis therefore should be less on the route by which young people are introduced to alcohol and more on the promotion of healthy and moderate consumption patterns as per other countries around the world.
It is interesting to note, for example, that just under half of all 15 to 24 year-olds agree with the statement "I love the buzz of drinking".
Coupled with the fact that drinkers in this age bracket consume a considerable eight drinks "on a good night out", a campaign focusing on the role of alcohol as a social lubricant as just one of the elements of a good night out might strike a chord.
In addition to alcohol and tobacco, the survey sample was asked which of a number of illicit drugs, including cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and speed, they had ever tried, or indeed use regularly. In interpreting the responses to these questions, some findings from previous studies may prove useful.
Historically, surveys of drug use in Ireland have tended to focus on adolescents and young adults in Dublin. For example, a study of teenage drug use in North Dublin conducted by the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland as long ago as 1996 indicated that lifetime use of the four commonest used drugs stood at 60 per cent.
Today's survey shows that 59 per cent of 15 to 24 year-olds in the greater Dublin area have tried at least one of the five drugs listed. Research conducted by TNS mrbi for the Decode* consortium in 2000 found that of all 18 to 24 year-olds in Ireland, 41 per cent had ever tried an illicit drug. Today's survey shows that 44 per cent of 15 to 24 year-olds nationwide have behaved similarly.
While not directly comparable due to differing sample universes and data collection methods, all of these studies do nevertheless show us that experimentation with drugs by younger individuals in Ireland has been widespread for quite some time now, and is likely to remain so for some time to come.
As to how to deal with this issue, it is key to note that there is a vast difference between the manner in which younger people view the softer drugs such as hash and cannabis, and harder drugs such as heroin.
Indeed, focus group research amongst this population consistently suggests that a "continuum of acceptability" exists, ranging from hash or cannabis which are seen by many to be no more harmful than alcohol, to ecstasy which although widely available, is recognised to have potentially catastrophic physical side-effects, to cocaine and heroin which are very much at the outer extremities of acceptability.
It is for this reason that the vast majority of respondents who tell us they are regular users of drugs are in fact using cannabis/marijuana/hash, and have in the main rejected all others.
If the predominantly male use of such soft drugs is to be reduced, their users will first need to be convinced that they are likely to be as harmful to them as is the alcohol which their parents consume so conspicuously.
* Decode is a grouping of media and marketing practitioners which at the time of the 2000 research included Irish International, 98FM, TV3, TDI, The Star and Carlton Screen.