A new report from the BC Adolescent Health Survey has highlighted the Okanagan as a provincial hot spot when it comes to teenage delinquency. 

Conducted in 2018, the survey of more than 38,000 youths between the ages of 12 and 19 showed Okanagan teenagers drink more, use more cannabis, vape and have more sex than the rest of their peers across BC. 

File Photo.

In school districts between the south Okanagan and the Shuswap, 54% of teenagers reported trying alcohol compared to the provincial average of 44%, with the most common age to start drinking being 14. 

Nearly half (45%) of teenagers who drank said they received the booze from an adult. 

Cigarette use among Okanagan teenagers sits 6% above the provincial average at 24% and 29% of local teens reported using nicotine vaporizers, also up from the provincial average of 21%. 

Cannabis use among teens in the valley is reported at 32%, an uptick of 7% compared to the rest of BC. 

Results also found Okanagan teenagers to be more sexually active on average.

Of those surveyed, 24% reported having sexual intercourse, a 4% increase over the rest of the province. 

At 34%, local females were more likely than other teenage females across the province to have experienced physical sexual harassment in the past year.

In 2018, they were also more likely to have experienced verbal sexual harassment.

Teens in the Okanagan were also more likely to work, play sports and feel safe in their neighbourhoods than are other BC youngsters. 

To read the full results of the report, click here.