2024 Guernsey & Alderney Substance Strategy: Cannabis Impact

Published in June 2025 by Public Health Services, the 2024 Combined Substance Use Strategy Annual Report¹ outlines a year of focused public health action and collaboration in Guernsey and Alderney. The report tracks progress across four major areas of concern: tobacco, alcohol, vaping, and drugs, and it reflects the ongoing efforts of local agencies and service providers to reduce harm, promote recovery, and improve community well-being.

Purpose and Framework of the Strategy

The Combined Substance Use Strategy (2021–2026) serves as a unified roadmap for addressing substance-related harms across the islands. Its overarching goal is to create a safer and healthier Guernsey and Alderney by minimizing the risks associated with alcohol, tobacco, and drug use, while empowering islanders to make healthier choices.

The strategy is built around three central pillars:

1. Promote and protect health and well-being
2. Minimize the harm caused by substance use and promote recovery and rehabilitation
3. Implement evidence-based policy through international treaties, legislation, and local action

Implementation is coordinated by a multidisciplinary substance use technical team with support from a network of up to 15 service providers across government and third sector organizations. This collaborative approach ensures that the strategy remains responsive to emerging local trends and rooted in community needs.

Let’s review the key takeaways from the annual report.

Youth: Protecting the Next Generation

One of the most significant achievements in 2024 was the legislative progress made to protect children from harmful substances.

A ban on smoking in vehicles carrying children was passed in May 2024 and came into effect on November 1, 2024, aligning Guernsey with other British jurisdictions. This move aims to protect children from second-hand smoke and further de-normalize smoking among youth.

Additionally, responding to growing concerns around youth vaping, a series of legislative changes were introduced, including:

• A ban on the sale of vapes to individuals under 18
• A complete ban on disposable vapes
• A licensing and advertising regulation plan is set to begin between October 2025 and January 2026

500 hours of school-based education were also delivered, including four new vaping-specific lessons co-developed with education and health stakeholders.

Furthermore, Public Health Services launched a three-tier stop vaping service for individuals aged 12–18 (and up to 25 for care-experienced youth), piloting in the summer term of 2025. The tiers include a self-help booklet, face-to-face support from Action for Children and nicotine replacement therapy from school nurses as well as access to a nicotine quit line.

Smoking: A Continued Downward Trend

Guernsey and Alderney continue to make progress in reducing smoking prevalence. According to the 2023 Wellbeing Survey, smoking rates dropped to 9.1%, a major decline from 13.1% in 2018.

These results are attributed to:

• Long-standing tobacco control policies (such as being the first in the British Isles to ban tobacco advertising and having the first smoke-free airline)
• Taxation increases, including a 13.2% rise in tobacco excise duty for 2025, align with the report’s previous recommendation of RPI + 5% (or higher)

Another trend noted is the shift in vaping behaviors. The survey found 17.3% of people who vape in 2023 had never smoked, up from 9% in 2018. These results highlight a growing concern that vaping is increasingly used recreationally rather than as a smoking cessation tool.

The strategy also introduced referrals to the quit line, ensuring that all hospitalized patients, pregnant individuals, and prisoners who smoke are automatically offered cessation support.

Alcohol: Shifting Norms and Reducing Harm

Guernsey and Alderney face entrenched cultural norms around alcohol, with many residents not recognizing harmful drinking patterns. The strategy aims to normalize safer alcohol behaviors through education, policy, and community initiatives.

Key efforts in 2024 included:

• Public campaigns like Dry January, Count 14, and Stoptober, focusing on moderation and low-risk drinking guidelines
• Recommendations by Health and Social Care for an annual alcohol duty increase of RPI + 5%, although the 2025 Budget instead froze alcohol duties, a decision viewed as inconsistent with health-based objectives

Education and workforce development also remained a strong focus. In 2024 over 200 individuals, composed of healthcare workers, parents, and employers, received training on substance use via a multi-agency approach. This included “train-the-trainer” sessions, ensuring knowledge is passed down through organizations.

The report continues to emphasize the importance of building environments that support healthier alcohol choices and prevent harm from excessive consumption.

Drugs: Harm Reduction and Rehabilitation

The strategy’s second pillar, minimizing harm and promoting recovery, was especially evident in its drug policy work throughout 2024. Key advancements included:

• The Prison Substance Use Service became fully operational, offering specialized support to incarcerated individuals and integrating recovery into rehabilitation.
• The Criminal Justice Substance Use Service, delivered through a partnership between Independence and Probation Services, remained a critical support system for justice-involved individuals navigating substance misuse.
• The Community Drug and Alcohol Team provided both short and long-term opioid substitute therapy using methadone and buprenorphine-based medications, aiming to stabilize individuals and support recovery goals.

Additionally, allied partners offered harm reduction services including needle exchange programs, interventions, and support for people with alcohol dependence, problematic drug use, and gambling issues, along with support for family members of those addicted to substances.

Importantly, the annual report also highlighted the need to discourage the misuse of substances for performance enhancement in sports. Guernsey complies with UNESCO’s anti-doping standards, and the Guernsey Sports Commission regularly delivers necessary education and compliance updates.

Cannabis: Trends, Misuse, and Monitoring

The 2023 Wellbeing Survey offered valuable insight into patterns of cannabis use across Guernsey and Alderney. According to the findings, 11.9% of respondents reported using cannabis within the past year, a figure largely unchanged from the 11.3% reported in 2018. This relative consistency suggests that cannabis use remains a stable, though noteworthy, aspect of the islands’ substance use landscape.

While medicinal cannabis prescribed by a licensed clinician falls outside the formal scope of the Combined Substance Use Strategy, the diversion of prescription cannabis raises concern. Of those who had used cannabis in the previous year, 79% said they did not have a prescription. Notably, among this group, 70% reported using medicinal-grade cannabis, indicating that a significant portion of cannabis consumed outside the medical system may originate from diverted legal prescriptions.

These findings point to the importance of clear regulatory oversight, proper prescribing practices, and education around medicinal cannabis use. While the strategy focuses on illegal and non-medical drug use, monitoring the flow of prescribed cannabis into unintended hands remains a public health priority to ensure medical access is not undermined by recreational misuse.

Final Thoughts: Next Steps & Future Priorities

The 2024 annual report reflects the strong cross-sector collaboration behind Guernsey and Alderney’s combined substance use strategy. By focusing on early intervention, education, robust legislation, and accessible support services, the strategy continues to move the islands toward a future where health and well-being are prioritized, and substance-related harms are significantly reduced.

The path forward will require continued public health leadership, sustained funding, and a commitment to evidence-based practice, but the progress made so far is both measurable and meaningful.

Studies Referenced:

^{1. Public Health Services. (2025, June). 2024 Combined Substance Use Strategy Annual Report. Government of Guernsey. https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=190748&p=0}