Abuse of alcohol and heavy episodic drinking among 15- and 16-year-olds in Cyprus is significantly higher than the European average, a European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) showed on Tuesday.
Specifically, alcohol use in the past 30 days the school survey information has revealed that young Cypriots have consumed alcohol well above the average with a rate of 68 per cent, while the average of other European countries was at 48 per cent.
The data has also shown that heavy episodic drinking in Cyprus was at 50 per cent, while the average of the European countries was at 35 per cent.
A lifetime use of cannabis, according to the data, was, however, about half as lower than the European average in Cyprus, with the figures for 2015 showing that 7 per cent of the surveyed youngsters had used cannabis. The average of the rest of the countries polled has shown that approximately 16 per cent reported a lifetime abuse of cannabis.
Cyprus as a whole though was close to the average across the board in all other categories including a variety of illegal substances and cigarettes.
Eighteen per cent of those polled said they had used cigarettes in the last 30 days, while in the rest of Europe the average was 21 per cent.
Regarding the lifetime use of illicit drugs other than cannabis, in Cyprus the data showed that 6 per cent of those polled abused other drugs, while in the rest of Europe the average was measured at 5 per cent.
In the three remaining categories Cyprus came in close the EU average. The remaining categories measured a lifetime use of tranquilisers without prescription, inhalants, and new psychoactive substances (NPS).
The results are as follows for Cyprus:
- Tranquilisers: 5 per cent
- Inhalants: 8 per cent
- NPS: 4 per cent
The survey has further shown that cigarette use among youngsters is declining as a whole.
ESPAD figures are collected from a sample of students who turn 16 in the calendar year of the survey and are present in the classroom on the day of the survey.
The questionnaire, those surveyed are asked to answer, covers young people’s awareness of and experience with different licit and illicit substances, internet, gaming and gambling with money. The questions are designed to collect information on the use of psychoactive substances and the use of the internet for various activities in the lifetime, the last 12 months, the last 30 days or the last week previous to the survey, and consumption patterns such as frequency or quantity (e.g. volume, hours), the ESPAD says.
Students are asked questions on the perceived availability of substances, age of the first substance use, cigarette use, alcohol use, illicit drug use, inhalant use, and new psychoactive substance use.
In Cyprus data was gathered in classrooms, across the island, with an 85 per cent class participation rate.
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