Six in ten Britons (58%) say they have never taken any drugs. The YouGov Big Survey on Drugs investigated what their opinions and attitudes are when it comes to drugs.
Among Britons who have never taken drugs, nine out of ten (91%) say they have never felt any temptation to try them. Nine percent say they have been drawn to taking drugs, with this applying to 15% of Britons under 40 years of age, to 9% of those in their 40s and 50s and 3% of those aged 60 or older.
Eight out of ten Britons who never took drugs (79%) say they didn’t do so because they were never interested.
Four in ten (38%) say they are put off because of the effects drugs have, with this reason being cited slightly more by women than men (40% vs 35%). The fact that drugs are illegal (33%), fear of becoming addicted (28%) and the belief that they are morally wrong (21%) are other common reasons why many Britons have chosen not to take any drugs.
The moral argument is most widely cited among the 16-24-year-olds: 34% vs 17-22% among older age groups. Also, half of 16-24-year-olds who never took drugs (53%) say that the fact that drugs are illegal puts them off, while this is noted by 27-33% among those who are older.
One in ten Britons (10%) said they had not taken drugs because they had never had an opportunity.
One in ten Britons (10%) who have never consumed drugs say they would take soft drugs if they knew there would be no negative consequences for their health or social life. This view is more present among Britons under 40 (16-19%), than among the older generations (5-9%).
Eight in ten Britons (78%) who don’t take drugs say they wouldn’t try soft drugs even if there were no negative consequences.
When the same question is asked about hard drugs, just 2% said they would try them, while 94% said they would not.
Among Britons younger than 40, 4-5% said they would try hard drugs if there would be no negative health or social implications.
See full results here
