Europe’s teens are less likely to try drugs and drink alcohol, but more likely to vape
Teenagers across Europe are progressively choosing e-cigarettes over traditional substances such as drugs and alcohol, reveals an latest examination of student behaviors throughout the continent.
The new report Known as the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), this study involved almost 114,000 students aged 15 and 16 from 37 different European nations.
For 30 years, it has monitored trends in European adolescents' drug usage, smoking behaviours, alcohol intake, and so forth. Below is how these young people fared in 2024.
Cigarettes and alcohol
Although smoking prevalence has decreased since the 1990s, the data reveals that young girls are increasingly likely to smoke cigarettes every day.
The usage of e-cigarettes is still increasing, with 44 percent of students admitting to trying e-cigs at least once and 22 percent stating they vape frequently, which has risen from 14 percent about five years ago.
Many teenagers believe that vaping devices are easily accessible, and this pattern "is fueling worries about the concurrent use of conventional and electronic cigarettes, as well as indicating a wider move towards alternate nicotine products," according to the report.
Significantly, alcohol appears to be becoming less fashionable, with a decline in both total intake and heavy episodic drinking observed over the last twenty years.
Nevertheless, excessive alcohol consumption amongst teenagers continues to be an issue in certain areas, particularly in Denmark where 55 percent of adolescents partake, followed by Germany at 49 percent, and Austria at 48 percent.
Adolescents are also drinking at younger ages, the report found. About three in four students have tried alcohol, and one in three had their first drink at age 13 or younger.
Illegal drug use
In 2024, 12 per cent of students had tried cannabis – making it the most commonly used illegal drug in Europe , despite the fact that this is the lowest level recorded since 1995.
Young males tend to be more prone to using cannabis compared to their female counterparts; however, this disparity is decreasing.
Cocaine and ecstasy (known also as MDMA) rank second in popularity among illicit substances, with roughly 2 percent of students admitting to have experimented with them at some point. This is then trailed by LSD or other hallucinogenic drugs and amphetamines.
In total, 13 percent of adolescents have experimented with illegal substances at least one time, and this rate has gradually decreased since approximately 2015. Nevertheless, there are significant variations among nations, with percentages varying from 3.9 percent in Georgia and Moldova up to 25 percent in Liechtenstein.
Significantly, European students are more frequently using prescription medications without medical justification; 8.5 percent have experimented with tranquilisers and sedatives, whereas 6.9 percent have consumed painkillers to achieve euphoria, according to the analysis.
Gaming, social platforms, and betting
Five out of every six teenagers engage in playing video games at least monthly, according to the report, which also revealed that gaming is no longer solely the domain of teenage boys.
Although boys remain more inclined towards gaming, the proportion of girls who game has more than tripled since 2015, increasing from 22 percent to 71 percent in the past year.
Conversely, girls are more prone to using social media in a manner they consider troublesome. However, boys have experienced a larger rise in detrimental social media usage over the last ten years.
In total, approximately half of the students indicated this observation. problematic social media use in 2024.
Approximately one out of every four teenagers has engaged in gambling activities for money over the last twelve months, which includes operating slot machines, participating in lotteries, engaging in card or dice games, as well as making wagers on sporting events or animal races.
Most of this gambling takes place in person, though 65 per cent of teen gamblers do it online.
Boys are more prone to gambling compared to girls, although significant differences can be observed across various nations. The likelihood of engaging in gambling ranges from as low as 9.5 percent in Georgia up to 45 percent in Italy.
"Despite numerous European nations implementing more stringent gambling laws recently, particularly those aimed at safeguarding young people, the incidence of gambling amongst European teenagers has stayed constant," according to the report.
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