Bulgaria is in the first places in terms of minors who smoke and drink, according to a World Health Organization study conducted in 44 countries. 32% of 13-year-old boys in our country report that they use alcohol regularly, and 18% of 11-year-olds have tried a cigarette.
The worrying data is part of a WHO study on the use of alcohol, cigarettes and cannabis among minors. It covers a total of 44 countries from Europe and Central Asia and Canada. The survey was conducted in the field between 2021 and 2022, dividing the respondents into three groups – 11, 13 and 15-year-olds. The participants are then also separated by gender, and not all boys are more likely to try harmful substances.
Bulgaria reports an anti-record in several indicators. Our country leads in 11- and 13-year-olds who claim to have drunk at least once in the last 30 days and holds first place in 11- and 13-year-olds who have smoked a cigarette in the last 30 days.
Alcohol
20% of 11-year-old boys in our country drank alcohol in the last month, and this percentage jumps to 32% among 13-year-olds. According to this indicator, the most exemplary are girls in Ireland and Tajikistan, where the percentage is lower than 1. About 70% of 15-year-olds in our country have tried alcohol at least once, which puts us in the top ten, but our country is overtaken by the youth in Denmark, Hungary, Greece, Germany, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Wales in Great Britain.
About 30% of 11-year-olds in Bulgaria and nearly 45% of 13-year-olds have encountered alcohol at least once, and the percentages for boys and girls do not differ dramatically. 14% of 11-year-old boys say they got drunk at least once in the past month.
Cigarettes
Regarding the use of cigarettes, the data are no less worrying, making the impression that Bulgaria also leads in the use of electronic alternatives to nicotine products. A total of 2% of the 11-year-old survey respondents reported having smoked a cigarette in the past month. Most of them live in Bulgaria (13% of boys and 11% of girls). The negative trend is also repeated among 13-year-olds – 17% among boys and 15% among girls, which once again gives us the leading place in the ranking.
There is a discrepancy among 15-year-olds – our country remains in second place with 32% of boys and girls smoking, surpassed only by Denmark.
In the case of electronic cigarettes, Lithuania and Bulgaria exchange first places depending on the three age categories. Half of the 15-year-old girls in our country admit that they have tried an electronic cigarette (for 11-year-olds – 15%).
Cannabis
A total of 6% of 15-year-olds smoke marijuana, with boys slightly ahead of girls. The percentage was highest in Bulgaria, where 19% of boys said they had used the banned substance in the past 30 days, followed by girls in Canada (15%).
For the purpose of the study, data was also collected on the financial status of the respondents. Social status has a great influence on the use of alcohol and cigarettes among minors in our country, with the biggest difference being the indicator of regular alcohol consumption (at least once in the last 30 days). For example, it is clear that almost half of boys in the richest 20% of households report alcohol consumption, while the percentage in the poorest 20% of households is half that.
Many factors have led to a change in the way of life of children and teenagers around the world, note the authors of the study – the climate crisis, economic and political instability in the affected countries, the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Europe…
The survey “Health Behavior in Schoolaged Children” (Healthy Behavior in School-Age Children) conducted by the WHO every four years.
