This report presents information from the Australian Secondary Students' Alcohol and Drug Survey (ASSAD) on the use of tobacco, alcohol, over-the-counter drugs (for non-medicinal purposes), and other substances in school students aged 12 to 17 in Australia.
The 2017 ASSAD survey was conducted during the academic school year of 2017. This was the twelfth survey in a series that began in 1984. The first six ASSAD surveys measured adolescents' use of only tobacco and alcohol. Since the seventh survey, ASSAD has also included questions about the use of over-the-counter drugs (for non-medicinal purposes), and other substances.
In 2017, around 20,000 secondary students aged between 12 and 17 participated in the survey. Students answered questions about their current and lifetime use of tobacco, alcohol, analgesics, tranquilisers, and other substances, and their behaviour related to the use of these substances.
Included in the report are detailed tables on the prevalence of use of these substances by adolescents aged between 12 and 17 in Australia during 2017, and trends in their use over time since 2011. For these comparisons, we focused on estimates for three age groupings: 12 to 15; 16 to 17; and 12 to 17.
Access the full report - Secondary school students use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs in 2017 (PDF)
