Patterns of current use

Daily cigarette use

Overall, 12 % of the students smoked every day in the last 30 days (Figure 1a). Daily smoking at levels of approximately twice the ESPAD average were found in Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Liechtenstein and Romania. Considerably lower-than-average rates were observed in Albania, Iceland, Moldova and Norway (5 % or less). Significant differences in daily smoking between boys and girls (Figure 1b) were found in Albania, Cyprus, Finland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine (higher rates for boys) and Bulgaria, Monaco and Sweden (higher rates for girls).

Figure 1a. Daily cigarette use: prevalence in the last 30 days (percentage)

Figure 1b. Daily cigarette use: prevalence in the last 30 days by gender (percentage)

Frequency of alcohol use in the last 30 days

Among all students who had used alcohol, the frequency of drinking alcohol was 5.4 occasions on average in the last 30 days (Figure 2a). Students from Cyprus and Liechtenstein consumed alcohol on 8.2 and 9.1 occasions, respectively, and students from Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway and Sweden drank alcohol on fewer than four occasions on average. In most countries, boys who drank did so more frequently than girls did, with differences of more than three occasions in the last 30 days in Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Only in the Faroes did girls drink alcohol more frequently than boys did, with a difference of over one occasion in the last 30 days. In most countries, the difference between boys and girls in the number of drinking occasions was significant (Figure 2b).

Figure 2a. Frequency of alcohol intake in the last 30 days (mean number of occasions among users)

Figure 2b. Frequency of alcohol intake in the last 30 days by gender (mean number of occasions among users)

Alcohol intake on the last drinking occasion

The amount of alcohol consumed was calculated as the average volume of ethanol (in centilitres) consumed on the last drinking day. The students drank an average of 4.7 centilitres of alcohol on the last drinking day (Figure 3a). The amount of alcohol consumed was highest in Denmark (9.3 centilitres), Estonia (6.2 centilitres), Sweden (6.1 centilitres), Finland and Ireland (each 6.0 centilitres), and lowest in Moldova (2.1 centilitres) and Romania (2.8 centilitres). Boys reported consuming higher volumes than girls, with significant differences in most countries (Figure 3b). On average, the difference between boys and girls in the amount of alcohol consumed was 1.0 centilitres, with the highest differences in Georgia (2.6 centilitres), Montenegro (2.1 centilitres) and Austria (2.0 centilitres).

Figure 3a. Average alcohol intake on the last drinking day in centilitres of ethanol among users

Figure 3b. Average alcohol intake on the last drinking day in centilitres of ethanol among users by gender

Preferences of alcoholic beverages on the last drinking day

The relative contribution of each beverage (in centilitres of ethanol) to the total amount of alcohol consumed is taken as an indicator of preference in alcoholic beverages. On average, beer (35 %) and spirits (34 %) were the preferred alcoholic beverages (Figure 4a). In Albania (68 %), Belgium (Flanders) (58 %), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (54 %), Romania (52 %) and Poland (52 %), more than every second student who had drunk alcohol preferred beer, and in Malta (60 %), Portugal (53 %), Slovakia (53 %), France (48 %) and Monaco (48 %), every second student preferred spirits. Wine was preferred over beer and spirits in Ukraine (44 %), Moldova (41 %) and Georgia (39 %), and alcopops were the alcoholic drink of preference in Liechtenstein (36 %). In Denmark, Estonia, Faroes, Ireland, Norway and Sweden, cider accounted for at least one quarter of the total amount of alcohol consumed. In these countries, cider was the second most preferred alcoholic beverage after beer or spirits.

Differences in beverage preferences were found between boys and girls (Figure 4b). In more than half of the countries, boys preferred beer (overall average: 43 %) over other alcoholic beverages. In Estonia, the Faroes, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden, boys preferred spirits over beer. A generally lower preference for cider and wine was found among boys than among girls in more than half of the countries. Among girls, in Sweden, Estonia, Denmark and the Faroes, cider was the second choice after spirits, and in Norway cider was the most preferred alcoholic beverage (33 %). In Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine, girls preferred wine over spirits. The preference for alcopops was generally higher among girls than among boys (11 % versus 7 %), with a share of 24 % or more in Cyprus, Finland, Iceland and Italy among girls, and in Liechtenstein among both genders.

Figure 4a. (left) Preferences of alcoholic beverages on the last drinking day; proportion of alcohol volume in centilitres of ethanol for each beverage on total consumption

Figure 4b. (right) Preferences of alcoholic beverages on the last drinking day by gender; proportion of alcohol volume in centilitres of ethanol for each beverage on total consumption

Heavy episodic drinking in the last 30 days

Every third student (35 %) reported heavy episodic drinking during the last 30 days (Figure 5a). This drinking pattern was found more often in Austria, Cyprus and Denmark, with about every second student reporting heavy episodic drinking. The lowest figures were found in Norway (19 %) and Iceland (8 %). The difference between boys and girls was about 5 percentage points on average, with generally higher figures for boys (Figure 5b). Significant gender differences were found in half of the countries, with the largest differences in Montenegro (22 percentage points), Georgia (21), Romania (15) and Albania (14). However, in Monaco, significantly more girls than boys reported heavy episodic drinking at least once in the last 30 days (32 % for girls versus 21 % for boys).

Figure 5a. Prevalence of five or more drinks at least once in the last 30 days; one drink contains approximately 2 centilitres of ethanol (percentage)

Figure 5b. Prevalence of five or more drinks at least once in the last 30 days by gender; one drink contains approximately 2 centilitres of ethanol (percentage)

Current cannabis use

Overall, 7 % of the students had used cannabis in the last 30 days (Figure 6a). About twice as many students had used cannabis at least once in the last month in France (17 %), Italy (15 %) and the Czech Republic (13 %), compared with their counterparts in other ESPAD countries. More boys than girls reported cannabis use in the last 30 days (8 % versus 5 %). In half of the countries, gender differences were statistically significant (Figure 6b), with the largest differences found in Albania, Belgium (Flanders), Bulgaria, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein and the Netherlands (5-8 percentage points).

Figure 6a. Prevalence of cannabis use in the last 30 days (percentage)

Figure 6b. Prevalence of cannabis use in the last 30 days by gender (percentage)

Frequency of cannabis use in the last 12 months

Among all students who had used cannabis, on average, the drug was used on 8.9 occasions in the last 12 months (Figure 7a). In France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands, cannabis was used once a month on average (11.5 or more times). The lowest frequencies of cannabis use were found in the Faroes and Moldova (3.6 or fewer). Overall, boys reported a higher frequency of cannabis use than girls (Figure 7b), with significant gender differences in Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Ukraine. In Cyprus, Latvia, Monaco, Montenegro and Romania, cannabis was used more frequently by girls than boys, even though these differences were not statistically significant.

Figure 7a. Frequency of cannabis use in the last 12 months (mean number of occasions among users)

Figure 7b. Frequency of cannabis use in the last 12 months by gender (mean number of occasions among users)

Current inhalant use

Use of inhalants in the last 30 days was relatively rare. On average, 2 % of the students reported use of inhalants to get high in the last 30 days (Figure 8a). The highest prevalence rates were found in Croatia (7 %) and Cyprus (5 %). Girls reported inhalant use more frequently than boys in Estonia, Croatia and Latvia, whereas in Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein and Lithuania, inhalant use was more frequently reported among boys. Gender differences were generally small (Figure 8b).

Figure 8a. Prevalence of inhalant use in the last 30 days (percentage)

Figure 8b. Prevalence of inhalant use in the last 30 days by gender (percentage)

New psychoactive substance use

Overall, an average of 3 % of the students had used NPS at least once in the last 12 months, with the highest prevalence figures in Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Ireland, Italy and Poland (5-8 %), and the lowest in Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, the Faroes, Finland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal, with 1 % each (Figure 9a). Generally, differences in NPS use between boys and girls were small. However, significantly more boys than girls reported the use of NPS in Albania, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, and significantly more girls than boys in the Czech Republic and Iceland (Figure 9b).

Figure 9a. Prevalence of new psychoactive substance use in the last 12 months (percentage)

Figure 9b. Prevalence of new psychoactive substance use in the last 12 months by gender (percentage)