EUROPEAN SCHOOL SURVEY PROJECT ON ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS (ESPAD): 30 YEARS
- Nordic Alcohol and Drug Policy Network
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
21.10.2025 - Generation ‘in profound transition’: latest ESPAD report calls for action on prevention, mental health, and digital risks
The results of the 2024 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) are released today in an extensive new report analysing adolescent substance use behaviours across Europe. The report, expanding on the key findings published in May 2025, portrays a generation “in profound transition.”
Teenage drinking, smoking, and cannabis use continue to decline, but new behavioural and health risks are on the rise. The report highlights growing concerns about the increasing use of e-cigarettes, the non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs, and a sharp rise in social media use, online gaming, and gambling among teenagers. These trends are especially pronounced among girls, where long-standing gender gaps in substance use appear to be narrowing—or even reversing.
According to the report, “While the continued decline in the use of established substances is welcome, it is clear that this does not necessarily correspond to a reduction in risk. Indeed, the intertwining of psychoactive substance use and digital risk behaviours represents a new and complex challenge for public health.”
The study
The study, carried out in collaboration with the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and coordinated by the Italian National Research Council (CNR), is based on a 2024 survey conducted in 37 European countries, including 25 EU Member States. This is the eighth data-collection wave since 1995 and the first conducted after the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 113,882 students aged 15–16 participated in this latest round, completing an anonymous questionnaire. This edition marks 30 years of monitoring adolescent risk behaviours across Europe.
The 2024 ESPAD Report (https://www.espad.org/espad-report-2024
), released today, offers unique insights to inform prevention and policy.
To ensure the widest possible accessibility, this edition is accompanied by a range of additional tools:
The full dataset underpinning this report, including all standard tables, is available online (https://www.espad.org
). All tables can be downloaded in Excel format for further analysis.
The ESPAD Data Portal (https://data.espad.org
) provides open access to 30 years of ESPAD data on substance use and other risky behaviours, allowing researchers, policymakers, and the public to explore trends and make cross-country comparisons.
About the survey
The 2024 ESPAD findings cover students’ experiences and perceptions of various substances, including tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, inhalants, pharmaceuticals, and new psychoactive substances (NPS). Social media use, gaming, and gambling are also examined.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, ESPAD has strengthened its focus on adolescent mental well-being. This survey round included a new emphasis on mental health and prevention activities, recognising their growing importance in shaping adolescent health outcomes.
ESPAD
The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) is a collaborative network of independent research teams in over 40 European countries. It is the world’s largest cross-national research project on adolescent substance use and risky behaviours. ESPAD is coordinated by the Italian team at the Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IFC).
