Availability of substances

ESPAD average Perceived availability of substances (%) ^a
	Average	Min.	Max.
Cigarettes	61	22	80
Alcohol	78	52	96
Cannabis	30	5	50
Ecstasy	12	2	24
Amphetamine	9	2	23
Methamphetamine	7	1	17
Cocaine	11	2	19
Crack	8	1	14

^a Percentage of students rating a substance as either ‘fairly easy’ or ‘very easy’ to obtain.

Cigarettes

Over 60 % of the students in the participating countries replied that they would find it fairly or very easy (hereafter referred to as easy) to get hold of cigarettes if they wanted to (Table 3a). Students in the Czech Republic were most likely to find it easy (80 %). In Austria, Liechtenstein and Denmark, the perceived availability was also comparatively high, with 79 %, 77 % and 76 % of the students, respectively, reporting access to be easy. Particularly low figures of perceived availability were found in Moldova (22 %) and figures of less than 40 % were observed in three other countries in the eastern part of Europe: the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (38 %), Romania (37 %) and Ukraine (39 %). Gender differences were negligible at the aggregate level (62 % for boys versus 60 % for girls). Where differences were observed, figures were generally higher for boys than girls. In Albania, Belgium (Flanders), Finland and Moldova, differences between the genders reached 10 percentage points or more. In 10 countries, figures of availability were higher for girls than boys, with rates for girls 6 percentage points higher in Bulgaria.

Alcohol

Alcoholic beverages were perceived to be easily available in most countries and gender differences were rather uncommon (Table 3a). More than three in four students (78 %) stated that they would find it easy to acquire alcoholic beverages if they wanted to. In the Czech Republic, Denmark and Greece, more than 90 % of the students reported easy access. The lowest proportions were found in Moldova (52 %), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (53 %) and Romania (60 %). In most countries, perceptions of availability among boys and girls were rather similar. Notable gender differences could be found in Liechtenstein, Moldova and Romania (9-10 percentage points), with rates among boys being higher than among girls, and in the Faroes and Sweden, with a higher rate among girls than boys (5 percentage points).

Illicit drugs

About three in ten students (30 %) rated cannabis to be easily obtainable (Table 3a). In the Czech Republic (50 %), more students than in any other ESPAD country perceived cannabis to be easily available. High proportions were also found in Slovenia (45 %) as well as in Liechtenstein and Bulgaria (44 % each). The countries with the lowest perceived availability of cannabis were Moldova (5 %) and Ukraine (11 %). Boys were more likely than girls to consider cannabis to be easily available (ESPAD average: 32 % versus 29 %). This was the case in most countries, with differences between the genders of up to 15 percentage points. Countries in which more girls than boys (5 percentage points or more) reported easy availability of cannabis were Bulgaria (47 % versus 40 %) and Slovakia (46 % versus 41 %).

Perceived availability of other illicit drugs was relatively low (Table 3a, 3b): ecstasy (12 %), cocaine (11 %), amphetamine (9 %), methamphetamine (7 %) and crack (8 %). In Bulgaria (e.g. amphetamine 23 %, methamphetamine 17 %), illicit drugs were overall perceived as more easily available than elsewhere in Europe. In addition, 10 % or more of the students in Croatia, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland thought that any of the listed illicit drugs were easily available. Perceived availability of ecstasy was highest in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Ireland (over 20 %), and perceived availability of cocaine was highest in Bulgaria, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Poland (17-19 %). The countries with the lowest perceptions of availability on nearly all illicit drugs were the Faroes, Finland, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Countries with noticeable gender differences for all illicit drugs were Liechtenstein and the Netherlands (higher rates for boys than girls), Bulgaria and Slovakia (higher rates for girls than boys).

Table 3a. Perceived availability of substances: prevalence of students responding substance ‘fairly easy’ or ‘very easy’ to obtain (percentage)

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Country	Cigarettes	Alcohol	Cannabis	Ecstasy	Cigarettes		Alcohol		Cannabis		Ecstasy
Country	Cigarettes	Alcohol	Cannabis	Ecstasy	Boys	Girls	Boys	Girls	Boys	Girls	Boys	Girls
Albania	51	71	22	14	56	46	72	69	28	16	14	14
Austria	79	89	39	12	80	79	88	90	40	37	12	12
Belgium (Flanders)	61	81	36	13	66	56	81	80	41	32	13	12
Bulgaria	68	88	44	21	65	71	87	90	40	47	18	25
Croatia	72	87	42	17	73	72	86	87	41	42	15	20
Cyprus	56	88	21	10	58	54	88	88	24	18	11	8
Czech Republic	80	92	50	24	79	81	91	93	48	51	23	24
Denmark	76	96	40	14	79	73	96	95	44	37	15	13
Estonia	58	73	34	11	60	56	71	75	34	33	10	13
Faroes	64	76	15	5	64	65	73	78	15	15	4	7
Finland	65	71	15	5	71	61	72	71	17	14	6	5
FYR Macedonia ^a	38	53	14	7	39	36	56	50	17	10	9	6
France	59	76	41	10	62	56	78	75	43	38	10	9
Georgia	60	81	21	9	61	59	81	81	23	18	11	8
Greece	65	91	23	8	64	66	90	91	25	20	9	6
Hungary	68	84	25	13	68	67	85	83	25	26	11	14
Iceland	44	61	27	11	44	44	60	62	29	26	11	11
Ireland	62	77	43	22	65	58	75	79	47	39	26	19
Italy	63	81	37	8	62	65	81	81	41	34	9	8
Liechtenstein	77	88	44	13	81	74	93	84	52	38	18	9
Lithuania	64	70	25	9	65	63	69	72	26	24	7	10
Malta	56	85	26	13	54	57	83	87	26	26	12	15
Moldova	22	52	5	2	28	15	56	47	6	4	2	2
Monaco	58	75	34	6	56	60	74	75	36	31	6	7
Montenegro	63	72	27	18	64	61	75	69	30	23	19	17
Netherlands	61	78	42	18	64	59	78	77	50	34	21	15
Norway	64	74	30	10	66	63	72	76	33	27	11	10
Poland	73	82	39	16	73	73	81	83	41	38	16	16
Portugal	60	79	31	10	60	60	78	81	32	31	10	9
Romania	37	60	14	6	38	36	65	55	15	13	5	7
Slovakia	70	88	43	15	70	70	86	90	41	46	12	18
Slovenia	66	85	45	17	66	66	84	86	47	44	16	18
Sweden	74	77	28	13	72	75	75	80	27	29	13	13
Ukraine	39	66	11	3	42	37	65	68	13	8	3	3
AVERAGE	61	78	30	12	62	60	78	78	32	29	12	12
Latvia	60	70	24	9	62	58	68	72	24	23	7	11
Spain	80	81	45	10	77	83	79	83	47	43	12	9
United States	67	75	66	19	65	68	73	77	65	66	19	19

^a Official name former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Table 3b. Perceived availability of substances: prevalence of students responding substance ‘fairly easy’ or ‘very easy’ to obtain (percentage)

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Country	Amphetamine	Methamphetamine	Cocaine	Crack	Amphetamine		Methamphetamine		Cocaine		Crack
Country	Amphetamine	Methamphetamine	Cocaine	Crack	Boys	Girls	Boys	Girls	Boys	Girls	Boys	Girls
Albania	6	6	11	6	6	6	6	6	13	9	7	4
Austria	13	7	13	9	13	14	6	7	12	13	9	8
Belgium (Flanders)	10	5	14	8	10	10	5	5	13	15	8	7
Bulgaria	23	17	19	13	19	28	14	20	16	23	11	16
Croatia	16	11	14	12	16	17	10	12	12	17	11	13
Cyprus	7	6	11	8	8	6	7	6	12	10	8	7
Czech Republic	7	12	11	8	7	8	12	13	10	12	9	8
Denmark	12	8	16	9	14	10	9	7	18	15	10	7
Estonia	9	.	10	.	8	10	.	.	6	13	.	.
Faroes	2	2	5	4	1	4	1	3	3	7	4	4
Finland	3	3	4	.	4	3	3	2	4	4	.	.
FYR Macedonia ^a	5	5	6	4	6	5	6	3	6	6	5	3
France	10	6	13	10	10	10	6	6	13	13	10	11
Georgia	6	5	3	3	7	4	7	3	4	3	3	2
Greece	5	4	8	5	6	4	5	4	9	8	6	4
Hungary	12	10	12	7	11	13	10	11	11	13	8	7
Iceland	12	7	9	6	12	12	7	7	9	10	6	7
Ireland	14	8	19	14	15	14	9	6	19	19	13	15
Italy	8	6	11	8	8	8	7	5	12	11	8	7
Liechtenstein	15	7	17	8	21	11	11	4	21	13	11	5
Lithuania	6	5	9	5	5	6	5	5	8	10	5	5
Malta	9	5	15	10	8	10	5	5	12	18	8	11
Moldova	2	1	2	1	2	2	2	1	2	1	1	1
Monaco	7	4	9	6	7	8	4	5	9	10	7	5
Montenegro	13	10	12	8	14	12	11	8	13	11	10	7
Netherlands	14	10	14	11	17	12	12	8	17	11	14	9
Norway	11	.	11	11	11	10	.	.	11	11	11	10
Poland	17	13	17	11	16	18	12	14	16	19	11	11
Portugal	7	6	11	6	8	7	6	5	11	12	7	5
Romania	4	4	7	4	4	5	4	4	6	8	4	4
Slovakia	8	11	12	8	7	9	9	13	9	16	7	9
Slovenia	8	8	16	12	8	8	8	9	14	19	11	12
Sweden	9	8	13	10	9	10	8	8	11	15	9	11
Ukraine	3	3	2	2	4	3	4	2	2	2	3	1
AVERAGE	9	7	11	8	9	9	7	7	11	12	8	7
Latvia	7	6	9	.	6	8	5	7	7	10	.	.
Spain	11	16	15	15	13	10	19	14	16	14	16	14
United States	27	.	16	14	26	28	.	.	15	17	13	16

^a Official name former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.