Smoking, vaping, drinking, gambling: what are Monaco teenagers’ habits?
The ESPAD Monaco 2024 survey results were presented at the Lycée Albert Ier © Unsplash
1,300 schoolchildren in the Principality answered the ESPAD survey anonymously.
The ESPAD (European School Project on Alcohol and other Drugs) survey results on health habits of teenagers aged 16 and over, and who attend the Principality’s schools, have been published. It was carried out in April 2024 by the Monaco Statistics (IMSEE) with the help of the Department of National Education, Youth and Sport (DENJS).
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Alcohol and tobacco consumption
Of all psychoactive substances, alcohol is by far the most widely used among Monaco’s high school pupils. In 2024, almost 85% of them said they had already had an alcoholic drink in their lifetime, 76.1% at least once during the year and 59.1% during the month. While these figures appear significant, they are nonetheless on a downward trend compared with the previous survey, in 2019.
Smoking is also on the decline among young teenagers, with 36.5% of secondary school pupils having tried cigarettes, 19.9% saying they had smoked during the month and 11.3% smoke daily. This is a drop of almost 20 points compared with 2019.
The only indicator to increase was for electronic cigarettes. 23.5% of students said they used one every day last year. This means daily use by a quarter of the secondary school population in 2024, slightly more than in 2019.
What about non-substance use?
When it comes to gambling (lotteries, scratch cards, slot machines, etc.), 12.4% had bet at least once in the previous 12 months according to the more recent survey. This is 8.9 points lower than in 2019.
According to the ESPAD study, the amount of time spent on social media rose in 2024. 72.3% of high school pupils in Monaco spend at least two hours a day on there during the week, with 8.6% spending six hours or more. Girls are the biggest social media users.
It’s also worth noting that over half the pupils feel active and full of energy, while almost a quarter said they never feel rested when they wake up.