Two adolescent drinking surveys carried out within 4 years in the same region of the UK were compared on three aspects of drinking behaviour. The results showed that there was a higher proportion of non-drinkers in 1992 as compared with 1988 for males aged 11-15 and females aged 11-13; more 11-13 year-old females in 1992 reported their home as the location of their first alcoholic drink without their parents; and younger boys were less likely, in 1992, to report ever being drunk. The relative increase in the proportion of non-drinking adolescents is in line with similar recent trends in national sample surveys of young adults.