Young People
This section contains information about the pharmaceutical drug use patterns of Australian school students aged 12 – 17 years.
Data are derived from the 2022-23 Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) Survey (Cancer Council of Victoria, 2024). To ensure consistency with the source data, this section of the NADK includes the following pharmaceutical drugs:
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the medical or non-medical use of analgesics (defined as: pain-killers/analgesics such as paracetamol (e.g., Panadol), ibuprofen (e.g., Nurofen), or aspirin (Dispirin))
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the non-medical use of tranquillisers (defined as sleeping tablets, tranquillisers, sedatives or benzodiazepines, such as Valium, alprazolam (Xanax, Xannies), Mogadon, Diazepam, Temazepam (Mazzies, Vallies, Moggies, Jellies), Serepax (Serries) or Rohypnol (Rohies, Roofies, Barbs)).
Not all of these drugs are included in each FAQ, due to small numbers of people using some drug types. Footnotes have been provided in each FAQ to identify exactly which drugs are referred to and how they have been defined according to the data source.
What proportion of Australian school students aged 12-17 years have used pharmaceutical drugs?
The majority of Australian school students aged 12-17 years have used analgesics (for either medical or non-medical purposes) in their lifetime (87%), in the past year (83%), and in the past month (65%). Forty-one percent used analgesics in the past week.
Smaller proportions had used tranquillisers (for non-medical purposes) in their lifetime (18%), past year (11%), past month (6%), and past week (4%).
Source: Cancer Council Victoria. (2023). ASSAD 2022–2023: Australian secondary school students’ use of alcohol and other substances.
Please note: This FAQ uses data from the Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey, which defines the pharmaceutical drugs referred to in this question as: the medical or non-medical use of analgesics (defined as: pain-killers/analgesics such as ‘Disprin®’, ‘Panadol®’ or ‘Nurofen®’) and the non-medical use of tranquillisers (defined as sleeping tablets, tranquillisers, sedatives or benzodiazepines, such as valium, mogadon, diazepam, temazepam (mazzies, vallies, moggies, jellies), serepax (serries) or rohypnol (rohies, barbs)).
Are male or female Australian school students aged 12-17 years more likely to have used pharmaceutical drugs?
Among Australian school students aged 12-17 years, more 16-17 year olds than 12-15 year olds used analgesics in the past month (for either medical or non-medical purposes), while lifetime, past year, and past week use was similar among younger and older students.
Tranquillisers appear to be used (for non-medical purposes) at similar rates among younger and older students.
Source: Scully, M, Koh, I, Bain, E, Wakefield, M, & Durkin, S (2023). ASSAD 2022-23: Australian secondary school students' use of alcohol and other substances. Cancer Council Victoria, Australia.
Please note: This FAQ uses data from the Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey, which defines the pharmaceutical drugs referred to in this question as: the medical or non-medical use of analgesics (defined as: pain-killers/analgesics such as paracetamol (e.g., Panadol), ibuprofen (e.g., Nurofen), or aspirin (Dispirin)) and the non-medical use of tranquillisers (defined as sleeping tablets, tranquillisers, sedatives or benzodiazepines, such as Valium, alprazolam (Xanax, Xannies), Mogadon, Diazepam, Temazepam (Mazzies, Vallies, Moggies, Jellies), Serepax (Serries) or Rohypnol (Rohies, Roofies, Barbs)). Differences were considered significant at p<.01.
Are younger or older Australian school students aged 12-17 years more likely to have used pharmaceutical drugs?
Among Australian school students aged 12-17 years, more 16-17 year olds than 12-15 year olds used analgesics in the past month (for either medical or non-medical purposes), while lifetime, past year, and past week use was similar among younger and older students. Tranquillisers appear to be used (for non-medical purposes) at similar rates among younger and older students.
Source: Cancer Council Victoria. (2023). ASSAD 2022–2023: Australian secondary school students’ use of alcohol and other substances.
Please note: This FAQ uses data from the Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey, which defines the pharmaceutical drugs referred to in this question as: the medical or non-medical use of analgesics (defined as: pain-killers/analgesics such as ‘Disprin®’, ‘Panadol®’ or ‘Nurofen®’) and the non-medical use of tranquillisers (defined as sleeping tablets, tranquillisers, sedatives or benzodiazepines, such as valium, mogadon, diazepam, temazepam (mazzies, vallies, moggies, jellies), serepax (serries) or rohypnol (rohies, barbs)).