It had then declined quickly, with prevalence now much lower than 20 years ago. But levels of adolescent binge-drinking in Aotearoa remained high by international standards, and disparities in tobacco and cannabis use by ethnicity and socioeconomic status were wide.
“Prevention is still a really important focus,” Ball said.
The youth offending rate had declined by over 60% in the decade between 2009/10 and 2019/20, and by nearly 70% for Māori.