Prevalence of Analgesic Use Among Young People in Australia

"The reported use of painkillers/analgesics such as ‘Disprin’, ‘Panadol’ or ‘Nurofen’ was extremely high among 12- to 17-year-old students. Among the entire sample, only five per cent of students had never used analgesics.
"Over two-thirds of all students had used these medications in the past month.
"The proportion of students using analgesics in the past week increased from 35% of 12-year-olds to 45% of 16-year-olds and 44% of 17-year-olds. The age increase was more evident for females than males.
"At all ages, females were significantly more likely than males to have used analgesics in their lifetime, in the past year, past month and the past week (p<0.01).
"Regularity of use: Of students who had used analgesics in the past year, 54% of females and 43% of males had used analgesics 10 or more times in the previous year. Sixteen per cent of males and 10% of females reported use of analgesics only once or twice in the past year.
"Of the male students who had used analgesics in the past week, 71% had used them only once or twice, while 20% had used them 3-5 times. Of the female students who had used analgesics in the past week, 68% had used them once or twice and 22% had used them 3-5 times."