<p>
	The number of children who have never had an alcoholic drink has increased, while fewer children have ever smoked a cigarette, according to the Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2014 report.</p>
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	58% of children surveyed have never had a drink, compared with 52% in 2010, while the proportion of those who have ever smoked a cigarette fell from 28% in 2010 to 16% last year.</p>
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	Since 2010, more children are also eating fruit, 23% compared with 20%; eating vegetables more than once a day, 22% compared with 20%.</p>
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	Fewer are eating sweets or drinking soft drinks.</p>
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	However, there has been a disimprovement in the number of children who report having gone to bed hungry (22% in 2014 compared with 21% in 2010) and in the number of children exercising four or more times a week (52% in 2014 compared with 50% in 2010).</p>
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	In terms of physical activity, significant differences are seen when the figures are broken down by gender.</p>
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	For example, 30% of boys reported being physically active every day compared to 16% of girls.</p>
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	More young children also reported being physically active compared with older children.</p>
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	This is the fifth study of its kind.</p>
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	Ireland is one of 44 countries that carries out this research.</p>
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	&nbsp;</p>
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	It involved 230 schools and 13,611 children aged between ten and 17.</p>
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	In relation to smoking, the number who said they were &#39;currently smoking&#39; is down from 12% in 2010 to 8% in 2014.</p>
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<p>
	However, 30% of those aged 12-17 reported it was easy to buy cigarettes where they live and go to school and 59% reported that it was easy to get someone else to buy cigarettes for them.</p>
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<p>
	The number of children who reported having been &#39;really drunk&#39; fell from 31% in 2010 to 21% in 2014, and the number of children who had reported being drunk in the past 30 days was down from 20% to 10%.</p>
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	It was the first time that questions designed by children were included in the study.</p>
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	They included a question on whether children felt self confident. It showed significant differences between boys and girls, with 66% of boys reporting always or often being self-confident compared to just 35% of girls.</p>
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	Other questions designed by children included if they always love their family (84% of boys compared to 89% of girls), whether they always felt comfortable with friends (72% of boys compared to 68% of girls).</p>
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	Overall, more children are trying to lose weight (16% compared to 13% in 2010).</p>
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	The number of children who reported being in a fight in the past year was down from 34% in 2010 to 29%.</p>
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	The number of children who said they had bullied others was down from 16% to 13%, however the numbers who reported being bullied increased slightly from 24% to 25%.</p>
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	It was also the first time cyberbulling was included.</p>
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	13% reported being bullied by being sent mean messages, or having them posted about them.</p>
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	15% said someone had taken an unflattering or inappropriate picture of them and posted it online, with 19% of girls saying they had suffered that kind of abuse compared to 11% of boys.</p>
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	27% of those aged 15-17 reported that they had had sex.</p>
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	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Of those 33% reported using birth control the last time they had sex, and 73% reported using condoms.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1209/752380-children/">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1209/752380-children/</a></p>
