The international ESPAD study monitors the use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs among 15–16 year old pupils in Europe. The data are used to compare the prevalence of substance use and trends between different European countries. The study also provides information on gambling among school-aged young people.
The survey was conducted for the eighth time in 2024. Previous rounds were carried out in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
Goals
- To provide information on trends in young people’s use of alcohol, tobacco and nicotine products, as well as on phenomena potentially associated with them.
- To provide information on the prevalence of cannabis use among young people and on factors associated with it.
- To map the use of other substances, such as so called new psychoactive substances, and to examine the simultaneous use of different substances.
- To monitor trends in young people’s gambling and related problems, and to examine issues related to the use of the internet and social media as well as digital gaming.
Implementation
The survey is carried out every four years using the same methodology in almost all European countries. The most recent data collection took place in spring 2024, with 238 schools in mainland Finland participating. Schools are selected at random, and from each sampled school one Year 9 class is randomly chosen to take part.
Pupils complete electronic questionnaires (paper questionnaires were used until 2019) during one lesson in conditions resembling a written exam as closely as possible. Responses are anonymous, meaning that researchers do not know the identity of individual respondents.
The data are archived centrally in the international ESPAD database. Results are published only at an aggregate level, and no individual pupil, class or school can be identified.
Partners
- European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
- Institute of Clinical Physiology (CNR), Italy
Contact details
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