Irish teenagers ‘more likely to use cocaine’ if they do not play sport regularly

Irish teenagers ‘more likely to use cocaine’ if they do not play sport regularly

Extracurricular activities shown to reduce likelihood of taking drugs

Teens benefit from sports in many ways. Stock image: Getty

Cocaine use is on the rise. Stock image

Teenagers who are involved in sports and other extracurricular activities are much less likely to use cocaine or ecstasy, a major new Irish study has found.

The findings show teenagers were about 50pc more likely to use cocaine and 54pc more likely to use ecstasy if they weren’t regularly involved in sport.

Research into the lifestyles of more than 5,000 Irish adolescents, aged 15 and 16, found 3.4pc of teenagers had used cocaine, while nearly 3pc had tried ecstasy.

“That’s an equivalent of one student in every class having used these by