Today’s students are avoiding drugs more than ever before.
Only one in ten Generation Zs has ever used a Class A drug such as cocaine or ectasy.
Use was twice as high among Generation Xers during their party years in the late 1990s, official figures show.
The health-conscious generation not only avoids drugs, but also drinks less alcohol and avoids red meat.
Cannabis is still the drug of choice for 16-24 year olds, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) annual drug survey.
Just over a quarter of all young adults surveyed between April 2023 and March 2024 said they had smoked pot at some point in their lives.
Eight percent have tried cocaine.
Although declines in use have been recorded for all 22 drugs studied, today’s young adults are using more ketamine than previous generations.
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Nearly 7 percent of today’s 16-24 year olds have experimented with Ket, which is often used at all-night raves.
By comparison, 2.3 percent of Gen Xers surveyed before the turn of the century had ever tried the substance, which was originally used as an anesthetic in animals such as horses and humans.
The slight year-on-year decline is the result of increasing warnings about the ‘campus killer’.
Dozens of student deaths in recent years have been linked to Ket, including those of Sophie Russell and Rian Rogers.
Russell, from Lincolnshire, first took ketamine – which killed TV star Matthew Perry – in 2021 when it was offered to her during a night out with friends. The 20-year-old soon developed a rampant addiction, using the drug daily.
Her mother Tracy Marelli begged ministers to reclassify the party drug as Class A after her death.
Rogers, from Atherstone in Warwickshire, died after taking a dose 10 to 20 times more powerful than normal.
His mother Clare also called for ketamine to be made one of the strictest requirements.
Dozens of student deaths in recent years have been linked to Ket, including those of Sophie Russell and Rian Rogers. Russell, from Lincolnshire, first took ketamine – which killed TV star Matthew Perry – in 2021 when it was offered to her during a night out with friends. The 20-year-old soon developed a rampant addiction, using the drug daily. Her mother Tracy Marelli (pictured together) pleaded with ministers to reclassify the party drug as Class A after her death
Rogers, from Atherstone in Warwickshire, died after taking a dose 10 to 20 times more powerful than normal. His mother Clare (pictured together) also called for ketamine to be made one of the strictest requirements
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Ketamine – which can be bought for the same price as takeaway coffee – is said to be the drug of choice for dealers as its Class B status means less jail time than being caught with Class A drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy or heroin.
Nitrous oxide – poured into balloons and inhaled to create a temporary feeling of relaxation and euphoria – has also gone wildly out of fashion.
Only 3.3 percent of Gen Zers said they used “hippie crack” in the past 12 months, while rates are at an all-time low.
The decline in nitrous oxide also comes amid warnings about its main side effects, including dizziness, leg weakness and impaired memory.
The ONS report, based on a survey of thousands of people, also took place after the government’s ban on hippie crack.
Possession was made illegal last autumn under plans to tackle the scourge of anti-social behaviour.
Overall, 3 percent of adults – which the ONS estimates is equivalent to 1 million people aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales – reported using a class A drug in the past 12 months.
Although drug use is declining, vaping is at endemic levels.
Shocking statistics show that a quarter of today’s children have tried puffing on the nicotine-laden gadgets found in stores across the country.
What’s worse is that a tenth of them are now regular users, raising fears of a future health crisis given the mystery surrounding the long-term safety of e-cigarettes.
It comes after reports that boozy office Christmas parties are being replaced by crazy golf and ping-pong tournaments as Gen Z workers demand sober celebrations and companies try to avoid sexual harassment claims.
A huge cultural shift in the past decade has seen more than a fifth of major companies eschew traditional pubs and bars for their festive events, in favor of frugal ‘activities’ – which leave none of the usual embarrassment or hangover.
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While the vast majority of workplace Christmas parties were held in pubs a decade ago, the number of alternative venues has grown steadily in the years since.
A fifth of office parties today will be completely alcohol-free.
The move comes after new laws made companies responsible for protecting staff from sexual harassment, including unwanted drunken frolicking under the mistletoe.
But a new generation of young workers are also drinking less often and are keen to maintain stricter boundaries between their work and social lives.