Cyprus placed high in European survey on teenage drinking habits

Cyprus was placed third among 48 countries for alcohol consumption among students, putting it well above the EU average, according to a report by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) published Tuesday in Lisbon.

The report found that 68% of Cypriot students in the areas under government control reported alcohol use, compared with the EU average 48%, in the last 30 days, including instances of heavy drinking, 50% compared to 35% which is the EU average.

This contrasted with the rates of use of other substances which were near or below the average for five of the eight key variables studied in the report.

The report put lifelong cannabis use in Cyprus below the average at 7% with the EU’s at 16%. The same applied to cigarettes, at 18% compared to 21%, tranquilizers without prescription tallied 5% just under the EU’s 6%, while the use of vaporisers was marginally higher at 8% compared to the EU average of 7%.

The survey was conducted among students between the ages of 15 and 16 in 48 European countries and included a wide variety of possible addictions.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.