Tobacco and cannabis use falls to historic lows among teenagers

BarcelonaTeenagers are drinking less alcohol and smoking less, both tobacco and cannabis. In fact, consumption of these two substances is at historic lows among 14- to 18-year-olds since records began in Spain in 1988. Meanwhile, alcohol consumption continues its downward trend of recent years, matching its lowest point, which was recorded in 2021. This is according to the Ministry of Health's survey of secondary school students. "Young people in our country have the healthiest habits of the last 25 years. The new generations are changing; they are increasingly aware of the risks and are taking better care of themselves," said Minister Mónica García. She also made it clear that there are still challenges to overcome, such as reducing the prevalence of alcohol consumption and making progress in controlling new tobacco products.

The study, presented this Wednesday, is based on 35,265 interviews with secondary school students aged 14 to 18. The results point to a general decline in the consumption of all substances, both among those who admit to having used them "at some point" and among those who have done so in the last year or the last month. According to the survey results, the most consumed substance among teenagers is alcohol, but its consumption continues the downward trend of recent years. 73.9% of young people reported having drunk alcohol at some point in their lives (compared to 75.9% in 2023), and 71% reported having done so in the last 12 months, which is 2.5 percentage points lower than in the survey conducted two years ago. This time, more than half (51.8%) of those surveyed responded that they had consumed alcohol during the last month, and the average age at which teenagers begin to drink alcohol is 13.9 years.

Regarding the data for Catalonia, alcohol consumption is slightly higher among girls (73.9%) than among boys (72.4%). Furthermore, among the young Catalans who responded to the survey, 41.5% admitted to having been drunk at some point, and 17.4% admitted to having been drunk in the last month.

However, this reduction in the consumption of alcoholic beverages is not being replaced in any case by energy drinks, since the consumption data for this type of beverage is the lowest since 2016: eight years ago, 52.6% of those surveyed had consumed them in the last 30 days, and today this proportion has decreased.

Tobacco, less popular

Regarding tobacco, 15.5% of teenagers in the state admit to having smoked in the last 30 days, while that same figure in the 2006 survey was 33%. In other words, the proportion of young people who smoked in the last month has been reduced by more than half in these two decades.

Tobacco is therefore less popular among young people than it was a few years ago, but the use of e-cigarettes and vapes remains more prevalent. However, the prevalence of consumption among adolescents remains stable compared to 2023: 27.1% have used them in the last month, and 38% in the last year. Those who report having vaped at some point represent almost half (49.5%), five percentage points lower than in the previous edition of the report.

Cannabis setback

The third most consumed substance among the young people surveyed is also the first illegal substance on the list: cannabis. 21% of young people in the state have tried it at some point, a figure that has fallen 5.9 percentage points compared to 2023. 15.5% of young people have used it in the last 12 months. –a reduction of 6.3 points compared to 2023– And, in the last month, they have consumed 11.6%, This figure represents a decrease of more than three points compared to 15% the previous year.

In Catalonia, 22.2% of young people surveyed have tried cannabis (slightly above the national average of 21%), and 16.2% have used it in the last 12 months. Use is more frequent among boys (23.2%) than among girls (21.2%), unlike the data related to alcohol and tobacco.

Alert over psychotropic drugs

The data revealed by the survey are very similar to consumption habits observed in other European countries, notes researcher Simone Capozzi, a member of the Research Group on Youth, Society and Communication (Jovis) at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). "I believe prevention policies are playing a fundamental role," he told ARA. He also attributes it to the effects of "amplified access" to information about psychoactive substances. However, Capozzi adds that beyond the positive results regarding the decrease in cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol consumption among adolescents, the survey also reveals that the consumption of new psychoactive substances remains at the same level as the previous year, as is also the case with the consumption of psychotropic drugs. "Perhaps the consumption patterns of the younger generations are different," he cautions.