ESPAD Report: Teen Gambling and Vaping Rise in Greece

The recently published 2024 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) offers a detailed look at the way teenagers across Europe are using substances and engaging in risky behaviors. 

The report, which covers 37 countries and more than 113,000 students aged 15 and 16, raised some serious red flags in Greece, where more than half of teenagers have already experienced cigarette or e-cigarette smoking.

The disturbing findings are followed by a similar MRB Hellas study, commissioned by a tobacco company and introduced in partnership with the Health and Digital Governance ministries, which showed that 2.9% of Greek teenagers aged 15–17 use e-cigarettes.

The Greek portion of the ESPAD survey, conducted by EPIPSY and funded by the Ministry of Health, involved nearly 7,000 students from 488 schools nationwide.

Easy Access to Vapes, Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Drugs

Of the interviewed teens, 54% reported they were not strangers to using cigarettes or e-cigarettes. The figure is noticeably higher than the European average of 48%. Many also described the act of obtaining cigarettes or vapes as “easy”, mentioning early experimentation starting as young as 13.

When it comes to alcohol, overall drinking rates in Greece are the lowest they’ve been in 25 years. Still, alcohol is also easily available to minors, causing sixteen-year-olds in Greece to reach higher levels of drinking than the European average across nearly every category, including lifetime use, recent use, binge drinking, and incidents of being drunk. 

Both binge drinking and drunkenness have risen steadily over the last five years.

Illicit drug use among Greek teens is also in line with, or slightly above, the European average. The study points to increased use of inhalants and non-prescribed strong opioid painkillers. 

Even more concerning is that more Greek teenagers now say cannabis, cocaine, and tranquilizers are easy to get, bucking the downward trend seen in most of Europe since 2011.

Gambling and Digital Habits

Another area of concern is gambling, with 11% of Greek adolescents saying they’ve gambled, almost double the European average of 6%. 

The activity is no longer considered predominantly male, as the number of participating girls has surged, according to the study findings, once again showcasing the ongoing shifts in digital behaviors. 

Online gambling participation rates have also recorded a sharp increase, while harmful gambling behaviour has almost doubled. The increase was more noticeable among girls.

Despite the rising rate of participation, perceived problematic gaming has stayed consistent. 

At the start of the year, the Council of Europe raised a series of concerns regarding the proliferation of gambling on the continent, as well as the way the activity is affecting youths.

Europe is not the only continent whose youth are affected by gambling. In Australia, roughly one in three teens ages 12 to 17 engage in the activity, with the problem escalating even more among 18 to 19-year-olds.

New Public Health Challenges Across Europe

Across Europe, traditional substance use, which includes alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs, has continued to drop. However, that progress is being offset by a rise in new addictive behaviors, including vaping, misuse of prescription drugs, gambling, and heavy social media and gaming use.

The report also notes a narrowing gender gap, with risky behaviors now appearing just as often among girls as boys.

While the drop in traditional substance use is encouraging, ESPAD warns that it doesn’t mean teenagers are safer overall. Instead, new and emerging forms of addiction are creating what researchers call a “new and complex public health challenge.”