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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.