For this survey the Mid-Western Health Board (MWHB) interviewed 2297 post-primary students from second year to pre-Leaving Cert from 69 schools in the mid-west region to estimate prevalence of alcohol, smoking and drug use. This was done using the 1999 ESPAD questionnaire. The survey showed that 61.3% of the students had smoked at least once in their life, with 30% classified as current smokers (smoked within the last 30 days). 90.2% of students had at least one drink in their lifetime, with 62.4% reporting drinking in the last 30 days. For illicit drugs, 39.4% of students reported lifetime experience of at least one drug, with cannabis (28.6%) and inhalants (21.3%) being the drugs most commonly used. The results from this survey are compared with a similar survey carried out by the MWHB in 1998 and the ESPAD survey in 1999.