Cyprus drink and drugs use among teens below European average

DRINKING and drug use in Cyprus is around the European average or even lower in some cases, according to The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) report that follows a 2007 survey on 15-16-year-olds in 35 European countries.

This was the fourth data-collection wave conducted by the ESPAD project, with multi-national surveys carried out in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007. Over 100,000 school students took part in the latest survey. Of the countries participating, 25 were EU Member States.

According to the results, Cyprus was among the low prevalence countries for alcohol use, along with Armenia, being is 3-4 times lower than Denmark and the Isle of Man where the largest average quantities consumed were reported.

In Cyprus, almost one in ten of those surveyed reported drunkenness in the previous 30 days, compared with the UK and Austria among countries reporting where three to four in ten reported having been drunk in the same period.

Also only around 6.0 per cent of Cypriot students reported illicit drug use, compared to almost half, 46 per cent in the Czech Republic. The overall average figure for the entire survey was 23 per cent for boys and 17 per cent for girls.

“Use of illicit drugs is still dominated by cannabis use,” the report said. “The overall impression regarding illicit drugs is that the upward trend between 1995 and 2003 now has come to a halt, with a slightly lower figure in 2007 than in 2003,” said the report.

EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Götz said: “Information collected by the ESPAD project offers us a crucial window onto country differences and changes in adolescent substance use in Europe today. It also provides us with valuable insights into adolescent perceptions about the associated risks and availability of the various substances.”