Greek teenagers are prone to smoking and drinking. The alarming statistics were revealed in a study conducted by the University Mental Health Research Institute of Greece, on behalf of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The study has been going on for 25 years, monitoring the rise in teen smoking that occured between 1984 and 1998, and the subsequent drop from 2003 to 2011. The research, titled “Panhellenic study of student population for use of addictive substances and other addictive behaviors,” continued in 2015, showing a decline in smoking.
Still, the numbers are high. According to the statistics, Greek teenagers start smoking and drinking at about 13-14 years of age, while alcohol and cigarette consumption levels rise significantly among those aged 17-18 years old. 24.5 percent of teenagers in this group are systematic smokers, while among the 19 year-olds the number rises to 51 percent.
The numbers are lower in Athens than in the regional areas, where smoking and drinking is proving to be more popular among teenagers.Regions with the highest rate of teen smoking are the north Aegean, east Macedonia, Thrace and Attica. Western Greece, Epirus and west Macedonia have the lowest rates of teen smoking. In Thessaloniki, more teenagers are reported to be heavy smokers, consumming more than half a pack a day. More boys than girls had smoked recently (20.9 percent of boys, compared to 16.9 percent of girls). Those who smoke on a daily basis are 13.7 percent (boys) and 8.6 percent (girls), whereas 3.9 percent (boys) and 1.9 percent (girls) claimed to be “heavy” smokers.
Alcohol use is also widespread with one in five teenagers from the ages of 17-18 years drinking more than twice a; the figure rises to 26.8 percent at the age of 19 years. Among the implications stated in the study is the fact that a large number of 16-year-olds take high-level risks related to alcohol such as drunk-driving (9.7 percent) and sexual contact without use of a condom (7.3 percent).
The study monitored other addictions, such as drug use and online gambling. Drug use among teenagers has tripled from 1984, when only 6 percent of students aged between 15 and 19 years had tried drugs. By 2011, the respective figure had risen to 15.3 percent and is still rising. The main choice of drug is cannabis, which one in seven students aged 17-18 has tried. In 2015, the numbers remained high. 10.6 percent of 16-year-olds were drug users (as opposed to 10.8 in 2011), while a large portion of teenagers experimented with sniffing to get high (e.g. benzene, glue, etc.) at 12.5 percent, and 4.2 percent used tranquilizers that are legally available over the counter.
As for online addictions, they were monitored in the 2015 survey, for the first time. The statistics showed high numbers of social media dependence for girls (36.1 percent) whereas boys ranked highly on dependence on electronic games (17.1 percent ).
A large number of 16-year-olds, mainly boys, gamble with one in eight boys (13.1 percent) showing warning signs for pathological addiction to gambling and 5.8 percent of boys showing worrisome dependence.