Substance use among European and US students
With the exception of cannabis use. The 2017 European Drug Report has recently been published. Thanks to data from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). The report compares substance use behaviours among school students in the EU and the USA. The data included in the report suggest that, although the overall situation in the EU differs from that in the USA, there are some parallels.
In both regions, the most recent data show a decline in tobacco use and, to a lesser extent, alcohol use, as well as greater stability in cannabis use trends.
However, in terms of patterns and levels of use of these substances, there are significant differences between US and European students. Cannabis use figures in Europe are lower than in the USA and are usually lower than those for tobacco use. By contrast, among US students, cannabis use is higher than tobacco use, which is very low. Alcohol use levels also differ. In this way, European students report higher use and heavier patterns of use than US students.
There are also differences in the way substances are used. For example, in Europe, unlike in the USA, cannabis is smoked mixed with tobacco. This may have implications for public health policies.
“Across the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU) there is a wide diversity of attitudes towards the regulation and use of cannabis, due to the coexistence of approaches ranging from restrictive models to models that are tolerant of some forms of personal use.” Therefore, there is a social debate in different countries of the European Union, perhaps encouraged by changes in cannabis use regulations in some US states.
Trends in substance use over the last month among 15- to 16-year-old students in Europe and the United States:
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