Drug use decreasing among young people in Sweden

11.12.2025 - Drug experience is decreasing among school students. The decline is most visible among boys, where it has been falling for several years. This is shown in a new report from CAN (The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs).

"Among boys, drug experience has decreased for several years, but in the last two years it has also decreased among girls," says Johan Svensson, analyst and researcher at CAN.

In 2025, 5 percent of ninth graders and 12 percent of upper secondary students said they had used drugs at some point. This is the lowest level measured among upper secondary students since 2004 when the survey began at that level.

Tobacco and nicotine products are much more common. About one in five ninth graders and one in three upper secondary students had used some type of tobacco or nicotine product during the past month. A quarter of the ninth graders said they had used tobacco or nicotine products before the age of 14.

"The most common product among those who used tobacco or nicotine before the age of 14 was vapes," says Johan Svensson.

Gambling among upper secondary boys has decreased slightly in the past year, but remains at a high level after several years of increase. Among ninth grade boys, the increase continues.

"It is 40 percent of boys in upper secondary school and almost 30 percent of boys in lower secondary school who have gambled for money in the past 12 months," says Johan Svensson.

What is considered problematic gambling remains at the same levels as before.

"As for girls, the picture looks completely different. Both problematic gambling and gambling in general are much less common. Among girls, there has also not been the steep upward curve that we have seen among boys," says Johan Svensson.

Read the full report here https://www.can.se/publikationer/cans-nationella-skolundersokning-2025/

The report is based on CAN’s national school survey, an annual classroom survey. It shows trends in drug experiences in grade 9 and year 2 of upper secondary school regarding alcohol, drugs, tobacco and nicotine, doping, and gambling. The sample is randomized and representative. More than 10,000 students respond each year.

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Source: CAN