Recent decreases in tobacco use and heavy episodic drinking among school students

ESPAD also reports on the use of alcohol and tobacco. More than four fifths (83 %) of the students had consumed alcohol at least once in their lifetime. Half of the students reported drinking alcohol at least once in the last month, with 39 % of boys and 36 % of girls having had five or more drinks on one occasion during the last month (heavy episodic drinking).

Just under half (47 %) of students had smoked cigarettes. In the month prior to the survey, 23 % of students reported smoking one or more cigarette a day, with 3 % smoking more than 10 a day.

Among the 22 EMCDDA countries with sufficient data for trend analysis, an overall decrease in lifetime and last month use of both alcohol and cigarettes can be observed between 1995 and 2015. Changes in heavy episodic drinking were less pronounced, although an increase was observed for girls over the period. Between the 2011 and 2015 surveys, there was a decrease in both heavy episodic drinking and last month cigarette use.