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Binge drinking rates among gen Z have risen sharply since their teenage years, according to research that challenges their reputation as “generation sensible”.
Almost seven in 10 (68%) 23-year-olds reported binge drinking in the past year, while nearly a third (29%) said they did so at least monthly, up from 10% at age 17.
While drug use is relatively limited in the teenage years, by their 20s almost half (49%) have used cannabis and a third (32%) have tried harder drugs such as cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy, analysis by University College London (UCL) found.
Researchers from the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) analysed data from nearly 10,000 people born across the UK in 2000-02 who are taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study.
They compared substance use at 17 and again at 23 within the same group. The proportion of 23-year-olds who reported binge drinking at least once in the past year was 15 percentage points higher than at 17 (68%, up from 53%). Binge drinking is defined as consuming six or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting.
Drug use among gen Z also increased “substantially”. Those who said they had tried cannabis increased by 18 percentage points between 17 and 23 (31% to 49%), while the proportion who had tried harder drugs more than tripled (10% to 32%). Those using harder drugs 10 times or more in the past year rose from 3% to 8%.
Looking at other potentially addictive behaviours, almost a third (32%) of the cohort reported gambling at 23 – though just 4% described it as problematic. Daily vaping rose from 3% at 17 to almost one in five (19%) at 23, while cigarette smoking rates remained almost the same (8% to 9%).
The lead author, Dr Aase Villadsen, said: “Recent reports have suggested that young people are increasingly turning their backs on drinking alcohol compared to earlier born generations. However, our new study appears to show that this might not be the case for some members of gen Z as they reach their early 20s.”
Although late adolescence and early adulthood is a period when young people tend to experiment, Villadsen said increased binge drinking and drug use in their 20s was cause for concern, particularly if such behaviours become more ingrained.
She said: “The sharp rise in many behaviours between adolescence and early adulthood shows how risks intensify during this stage of life.
“Policy interventions, education and advice should be aimed at the most at-risk groups, such as young males, who are around seven times more likely to report having gambling difficulties than females, and are more likely to use harder drugs.”
Dr Katherine Severi, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, warned that young people are particularly vulnerable to alcohol’s effects as the brain continues to develop into the mid‑20s.
She said: “It is therefore worrying that, despite frequent claims that young people are drinking less, this study suggests that gen Z drinkers in their early 20s may now be drinking as much as – or more than – millennials did at a similar age.”
Severi said findings that university students report higher rates of heavy drinking were particularly concerning.
She added: “This points to the role of the wider alcohol environment, rather than individual choice alone.
“We know that affordability, availability and promotion are the key drivers of alcohol harm, and many students are exposed to all three.
“Universities have a clear duty of care to ensure that students are able to thrive in a safe environment, and that commercial relationships with alcohol companies – including sponsorship of sports clubs and events – do not take priority over student health and wellbeing.”
Substance Use and Addictive Behaviours: Initial Findings From the Millennium Cohort Study at age 23 by Aase Villadsen and Emla Fitzsimons will be published as a briefing paper on the CLS website.
