Gen Z are shunning millennial vices like downing alcopops and smoking while adopting their own risky habits, from vaping to taking ketamine.
Older generations’ predilection for binge drinking and cigarettes have typically been among the biggest causes of ill health.
Most drugs – from ecstasy to cannabis – were also consumed at higher rates by millennials than the teenagers of today.
But while Gen Z drink less and take fewer drugs, experts warn other social changes are putting their health at risk.
While traditional cigarettes now seem desperately uncool to many members of Gen Z, vaping is now at endemic levels
Professor Iain Buchan, a public health expert from the University of Liverpool, said youngsters are living very different lives from their parents.
‘If you look at the change in our energy balance, the way we eat, what we eat, the way we move around and relate to each other, all these things have changed dramatically in the last 20 years,’ he told MailOnline.
‘Although we are more connected we are also more sedentary as everything is done sitting down, online, or fixed to a device.
‘Our bodies didn’t evolve to spend so little energy. We need to move around and interact physically and spend time disconnected in order to reflect.’
The expert also warned of dietary changes that were creating ‘the perfect storm’.
‘Life has become so different in terms of pace and food has changed too: we now have unhealthy diets, with high fat, high salt and high sugar junk foods that provide rapid energy, and that’s not good for health,’ he said.
‘We have created a quick fix environment that’s all about short term pleasure and it’s causing long-term pain.
‘It’s the perfect storm, to combine that with being fixed to the spot and a lack of physical interaction – all of these things are causing problems with the way children develop. It’s not what our bodies have evolved to do.
‘These problems have been baked into a generation and we’re now seeing the effects of that. We see a rise in mental health problems, obesity and other diseases, and drug use.’
So just how healthy are young people today? Below, MailOnline analyses some of the trends that have been worrying experts.
Vaping: The new health menace now traditional cigarettes are uncool
While traditional cigarettes now seem desperately uncool to many members of Gen Z, vaping is now at endemic levels.
Shocking stats show a quarter of today’s children have tried puffing on the nicotine-laden gadgets that litter shops across the country.
What’s worse, a tenth are now regular users, sparking fears of a future health crisis given the mystery surrounding the long-term safety of e-cigarettes.
Despite protestations that vapes are only intended for ex smokers, many are brazenly targeted at children, with bright packaging and funky flavours like Blue Razz Lemonade and Fairground Wizz.
NHS Digital data shows the number of children who are current vapers has soared in recent years, jumping from 6 per cent in 2018 to 9 per cent in 2021
In stores on Oxford Street, shelves of vapes are located alongside shelves of imported sweets like Blue Raspberry Jolly Ranchers and Sour Apple Laffy Taffy – suggesting a clear bid to tempt younger customers.
A MailOnline investigation also discovered ‘dupe’ vapes mimicking Chupa Chups, Skittles, Jolly Rancher, Rubicon and Calypso, with near-identical branding to the popular sweets and drinks.
Professor Bush, from Imperial College London, condemned the predatory duplications, saying ‘anything that gives the impression these are harmless, child-friendly things is an outrageous attempt to prey upon children and young people’.
Vapes, which are currently sold for as little as £3, have been compared to highlighter pens because of the snazzy displays in shops across the UK. Brands such as Elf Bar and Lost Mary are hugely popular among teenagers
Prime Candy on Oxford Street, where MailOnline found huge vape displays alongside many different types of American sweets
Rishi Sunak previously announced a ban on disposable vapes – the weapon of choice for teenagers in 2024.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would also end predatory marketing tactics and bring in new on the spot fines for shops illegally selling vapes to children.
The legislation is backed by all major parties, but Rishi Sunak’s decision to call an election for July 4 means no vote will take place before the new Parliament.
Ketamine: Party drug ‘of choice’ used by one in 25 youngsters
Young people may be refraining from drugs more than previous generations, but one is providing worryingly popular.
Ketamine use hit a record among 16 to 24-year-olds last year with almost one in 25 people in this group in England, official figures show.
This is a jump of a fifth on 2020’s figure, and also stands four times higher than the levels recorded a decade ago.
It comes on the back of another horrific case where a young man attacked and killed his ‘beloved’ mother while high on the Class B substance.
Finn Henry, an experienced boxer, was jailed for seven years on Monday after attacking and killing his ‘beloved’ mother at their family home.
The court was told the 21-year-old had suffered an ‘adverse reaction’ and was acting ‘irrationally’ as a result of ‘confusion and excitement’ brought about by his use of the drug.
His mother, Suzanne Henry, 54, was left ‘unrecognisable’ following the ‘sustained and lengthy assault’ by her son and died two days later in hospital having suffered severe traumatic brain injury.
Special K, Ket, or Kit Kat was popular as a party drug in the late 1990s, when it was commonly taken at all-night raves.
But its popularity slipped in the 2000s when it became a Schedule III drug and concerns were raised over side effects including hallucinations and, in rare cases, seizures.
Finn Henry, an experienced boxer, was yesterday jailed for seven years after attacking and killing his ‘beloved’ mother at their family home while high on Ketamine
His mother, Suzanne Henry (pictured), 54, was left ‘unrecognisable’ following the ‘sustained and lengthy assault’ by her son and died two days later in hospital having suffered severe traumatic brain injury
Figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, show one in twenty (4.8 per cent) 20 to 24-year-olds last year admitted to taking the drug, more popular among men.
This compared to just 0.9 per cent across all age groups.
Age isn’t the only factor that makes some Brits more likely to use ketamine.
People in Yorkshire and the Humber recorded the highest rate of use by any region at (1.7 per cent). This is followed by the South West (1.4 per cent) and London (1.3 per cent).
By comparison, just 0.1 per cent of 16 to 59-year-olds reported using the drug in the West Midlands last year.
Experts have long warned that rising ketamine use has been driven by both its affordability and availability.
Cannabis: Still most popular drug and ‘more dangerous’ for young brains than previously thought
Cannabis remains Gen Z’s most popular illicit drug, with 15 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds admitting to taking it last year.
While usage has declined over time, concerning new research suggests it may pose an even greater risk to young people than previously thought.
Under a landmark trial of more than 100 adults and children in London, scientists found teens who used the drug reported far worse problems with memory and concentration than adults who smoked cannabis.
This was seen regardless of the strength or amount of consumed.
Scientists warned this was a sign it could be ‘significantly more dangerous’ for adolescents, and ‘disrupt’ their development.
It comes as intriguing data this week suggested Americans are now ingesting the drug more regularly than alcohol.
Roughly 17.7million people in the US are using the drug daily, compared to 14.7million daily drinkers, according to findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
This is the first time since records began in 1979 that marijuana has overtaken alcohol — a trend experts say is a direct result of widespread legalisation.
Dr Rachel Lees, study author and expert in addiction and cannabis use disorder at the University of Bath, said: ‘We already knew, from earlier research, that adolescents have higher rates of cannabis use disorder than adults.’
Cannabis use disorder — a recognised psychiatric disorder — occurs when people cannot stop using marijuana, even though it is causing health and social issues such as affecting their work and relationships.
Dr Lees added: ‘Until now we didn’t know if this was because younger people were simply using more or stronger cannabis than adults. We now know this isn’t the case.’
Mental health: Nearly a quarter of kids have a ‘probable mental disorder’
The pressures of modern life and the after-effects of Covid have contributed to what is being widely described as a ‘crisis’ in children’s mental health.
Nearly a quarter of children in England now have a ‘probable mental disorder’, according to a report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The rate of these disorders, recorded based on answers from a questionnaire of eight to 16-year-olds, is on the increase.
Data for 2023 suggested 23.3 per cent of children had a probable mental disorder, such as anxiety or depression, up from 19 per cent the year prior.
Experts have previously highlighted the impact of the Covid pandemic, and the disruption it caused to children’s education and social lives, alongside the cost-of-living crisis and social media as damaging kids’ mental wellbeing.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, has warned that the challenges of modern life are placing an unprecedented toll on youngsters’ emotional wellbeing.
She said the NHS is ill-equipped to cope with the fallout caused by ‘harmful’ social media, a cost of living crisis and the pandemic.
It means those in need are forced to wait ‘far too long’ for care, during which time their fragile mental state is at risk of worsening..
Dame Rachel said this generation of children has experienced ‘uniquely uncertain and challenging times’, and highlighted that an increasing number are ‘exposed to the harmful impact of social media, cyber bullying, and online exploitation’.
‘I do not think it is an overstatement to speak of a crisis in children’s mental health and the services needed to support them,’ she said in a report published in March.
‘For children who need it, support should be put in place quickly and locally: no child should be left on a waiting list for months or years.’
The NHS estimates that 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 in England have a probable mental health condition.
Exercise: ‘Largely disappearing’ from young people’s lives
Outdoor play on streets and local parks was a staple of childhood for previous generations – but concerns around safety mean it is increasingly shunned.
This change appears to be reflected in data, with England and Wales recently coming bottom of a global fitness league that found just one in ten 15-year-olds getting 60 minutes physical activity a day.
Published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and covering 44 countries, the study shows England, Wales and Scotland performed poorly on markers such as day-to-day exercise like brisk walking.
Data shows England and Wales rank near the bottom of a world league table on how much children move
Over a million children had their height and weight measured under the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). Nationally, the rate among children in Year 6 stands at over a third, despite having fallen slightly since Covid began
Furthermore, there are stark differences – particularly in the UK – between children from affluent families and those who are poorer, with youngsters from poorer backgrounds far less likely to exercise or eat well.
Dr Jo Inchley, international co-ordinator for the study and an expert in social and public health science at the University of Glasgow said: ‘In the UK, we’re consistently low on physical activity.
‘We do see relatively high levels of young people involved in what we call vigorous activities, that might be sort of organised sports… But we’ve got big gender differences and big socio-economic differences.
‘At age 15, we’ve got two thirds of boys in the UK, roughly, who are taking part in vigorous physical activity four or more times a week, but only a third of girls. So that’s twice as many boys as girls.
‘On more day-to-day moderate to vigorous physical activity, where the heart is beating a little bit faster but it’s not high-impact exercise, that’s largely disappearing from young people’s lives.
‘So previously, when young people would have spent a lot of time outdoors just playing in the local streets or walking to friends’ houses or going to the park, that (figure) would have been a lot higher.
‘Now we’re really seeing that coming down very low. I think that’s quite worrying because that can have a big impact on young people’s health and wellbeing.’
Diabetes: Spike in diagnoses a side-effect of ballooning obesity
Despite being seen as a disease that mainly affects older people, type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children.
Britain’s ballooning obesity levels have fuelled a staggering 39 per cent rise in the condition among people under 40, with 168,000 Brits now living with the illness, a report has suggested.
Britain’s ballooning obesity levels have fuelled a staggering 39 per cent rise in type 2 diabetes among people under 40
Diabetes is now a ‘rapidly escalating crisis’ in the UK, as the number of people with the condition is thought to have exceeded five million for the first time
The study, from Diabetes UK, said people face a more aggressive and acute form of diabetes when it develops at a younger age, with thousands of people and children living undiagnosed with the condition across the country.
The report argues ‘drastic changes’ over the last 25 years to the food people eat and the environments they live in are taking their toll.
NHS data reveals that there were 192 appointments for children with diabetes in 2021, almost three times the number in 2014.
This included 22 children under the age of four. Experts warn that when type 2 diabetes occurs in children, it is far more aggressive than in adults.
Diabetes UK has called for ‘bold action’ to tackle the issue.
Research by the Food Standards Authority found members of Gen Z had a ‘typical teenage diet’ and were eating less fruit and vegetables than other age groups.
Meanwhile, Brits as a whole now eat more ultra-processed foods than any other European nation.
