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Catalan Teen Survey Finds Less Smoking and Drinking as Digital and Gambling Risks Grow

Health officials say the 2025 ESTUDES findings point to evolving risks that require more targeted prevention.

Overview

  • More than half of students drank alcohol in the past month (51%), yet intensive drinking (21.5%) and self‑reported drunkenness (17.4%) are at their lowest since 2000, with 90% saying alcohol is easy to obtain.
  • Cigarette use continues to fall (21% in the past year; 3.5% daily), while e‑cigarette use remains high (24.5% used in the past month).
  • Cannabis consumption drops to 16.2% in the past year, down from 39% in 2006; daily use of hypnotic‑sedatives eases from 2023 peaks but is higher among girls (6.4% vs 3.2%), with non‑prescription use at 2.9% vs 1%.
  • Digital behaviors intensify: teens average 4.8 hours online on weekdays and 6.7 on weekends, 15.7% show problematic social‑media use, gaming is near‑universal (84.9%) with addiction indicators higher in boys (10.7% vs 2.2%), and pornography viewing declines to 35.8% with a wide gender gap (56.4% boys; 15.1% girls).
  • Gambling participation rises despite age limits: 17% took part in in‑person betting in the last year and 12% tried online gambling, with problematic play at 5.3% overall and 9.4% among boys.