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’.
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 in 37 European countries, including 25 EU Member States. This is the eighth data-collection wave conducted by the ESPAD project since 1995, and the first one carried out after the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 113 882 students (aged 15–16-years) participated in this latest survey round, responding to an anonymous questionnaire. This edition marks 30 years of monitoring adolescent risky behaviours across Europe.
Teenage drinking, smoking and cannabis use continue to decline but new behavioural and health risks are on the rise. The report flags growing concerns over increasing e-cigarette use, the non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs and a sharp rise in social media use, online gaming and gambling among teenagers. These trends are most striking among girls, where long-standing gender gaps in substance use appear to be narrowing, or even reversing.
Key findings from the ESPAD 2024
Comparison between national and European data