In 2024, the eighth European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) survey was conducted in 37 European countries, including 25 EU Member States. A total of 113 882 students (aged 15–16-years) participated in this latest survey round, responding to an anonymous questionnaire (2,747 students – sample for Bulgaria). The study is carried out in collaboration with the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and coordinated by the Italian National Research Council (CNR). In Bulgaria, the survey is supported by the National Center of Public Health and Analyses.
Comparative data show that Bulgaria is one of the countries that has seen a significant decrease in the lifetime prevalence of the use of any drug compared to the previous two studies – from 30% in 2015 to 12% in 2024.
Our country is participating in this project for the seventh time (since 1999), with the highest level of drug use observed in 2015. What is distinctive about the data for 2024 is that the share of the lifetime prevalence of the use of any drug among girls slightly exceeds the share of the lifetime prevalence of the use of any drug among boys (12.0%). A similar thing is observed only in 3 other countries – the Faroes, Latvia and Malta.
LIFETIME DRUG USE AMONG STUDENTS AGED 15-16 IN BULGARIA AND EUROPE
| Bulgaria (%) | ESPAD (%) | |||||||
| Boys | Girls | Total | Boys | Girls | Average | Min. | Max. | |
| Any drug | 12.0% | 13.0% | 12.0% | 14.0% | 12.0% | 13.0% | 3.9% | 25.0% |
| Cannabis | 10.0% | 11.0% | 11.0% | 13.0% | 11.0% | 12.0% | 2.5% | 24.0% |
| Ecstasy | 2.4% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 0.5% | 4.7% |
| Amphetamine | 2.4% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 0.7% | 4.3% |
| Methamphetamine | 1.9% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 0.5% | 3.1% |
| Cocaine | 2.9% | 2.2% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 1.9% | 2.3% | 0.7% | 6.2% |
| Crack | 2.3% | 0.6% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 0.5% | 4.1% |
| LSD/other hallucinogens | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 2.2% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 0.2% | 6.8% |
| Heroin | 2.0% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 4.1% |
| GHB | 1.4% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 3.4% |
| Inhalants | 8.9% | 13.0% | 11.0% | 6.7% | 7.9% | 7.3% | 1.3% | 17.0% |
| New psychoactive substances | 3.3% | 2.5% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 0.6% | 6.4% |
| Pharmaceuticals | 9.3% | 7.7% | 8.5% | 11.0% | 16.0% | 14.0% | 6.3% | 29.0% |
Cannabis was the most widely used illicit drug in all ESPAD countries. In Bulgaria, lifetime cannabis use (11.0%) is slightly below the European average (12.0%). This also applies to current cannabis use (in the last 30 days) – 4.4% for Bulgaria and 4.8% on average for Europe. In terms of this indicator, in our country, the share of boys (5.0%) exceeds the share of girls (3.7%).
On average, 3.4% of respondents in Europe fell into the “high-risk drug use” category, which identifies those potentially at risk of developing cannabis-related problems. Understanding and monitoring this phenomenon is important for formulating prevention policies. In Bulgaria, the estimate for high-risk cannabis use (3.3%) is slightly above the European average, with girls at greater risk of developing cannabis-related problems.
Some ESPAD students also reported the lifetime use of other illicit substances. The most widely used illicit drugs other than cannabis were cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamine and LSD or other hallucinogens. On average, about 5 % of ESPAD students reported having used illicit drugs other than cannabis at least once during their lifetime.
In Bulgaria, the level of use of cocaine, crack, amphetamines, methamphetamines, ecstasy, heroin and new psychoactive substances is slightly higher than the European average, while the use of cannabis and hallucinogens is slightly lower. However, it should be noted that there is a decrease in the prevalence of use for all drugs studied compared to the level reported in 2019.
The use of tranquillisers or sedatives without a doctor’s prescription was reported by 8.5 % students on average. The use of painkillers in order to get high was reported by 6.9 % of ESPAD students. Bulgaria is one of the countries with the lowest use of sedatives and painkillers without a doctor’s prescription among students – 3.9% and 3.8%, respectively.
On the other hand, Bulgaria ranks first among all ESPAD participants in terms of daily cigarette use (20.0%, with an average of 7.9% for Europe), and use of nitrous oxide at least once in their lifetime – 9.4%, with an average of 3.1% for the 18 European countries that have collected such information.