Alcohol and cigarette use by Irish teenagers has significantly declined over the past 30 years, according to a new study.
The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs found that Ireland had recorded some of the greatest reductions in alcohol and cigarette use by teenagers over the past three decades.
It also found Ireland had among the lowest rates of lifetime e-cigarette use in Europe.
The project is marking 30 years of monitoring adolescent risky behaviours across Europe and released key findings from its most recent survey today.
The study was conducted among 113, 882 students aged 15 -16-years-old, across 37 European countries in 2024.
Cigarette use
The study found that over the past 30 years the lifetime prevalence of cigarette use has steadily declined across the European countries surveyed, halving from 68% to 32%. The survey found that the countries with the greatest reductions were the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Iceland and Sweden.
E-cigarettes
On average, 44% of the students in the countries surveyed reported having used e‑cigarettes at least once in their lifetime, with national prevalence ranging from 22% in Portugal to 57% in Hungary.
Only six countries- Portugal, Malta, Iceland, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Ireland- had "fewer than one-third of students report lifetime use".
Alcohol
Alcohol consumption in the past 30 years has also declined according to the study. It found that between the first and most recent ESPAD surveys, consumption had dropped from 55% to 43%.
This trend mirrors the decrease observed in lifetime consumption.
The greatest reductions were observed in Iceland (from 56% to 12%), Ireland (from 66% to 35%) and Finland (from 57% to 27%).
Drug use
On average, 13% of ESPAD students report having used any illicit drug at least once in their lifetime. The highest rates of lifetime consumption were observed in Liechtenstein (25%) and Czechia (24%), and the lowest in Georgia and Moldova (both 3.9%).
The key findings showed that the lifetime use of synthetic opioids in Ireland was 0.6 % compared to an average prevalence of 1.1%
