Alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis consumption among 14 to 18-year-old students has reached historic lows in Spain, according to data from the 2025 Survey on Drug Use in Secondary Education (ESTUDES), presented on Wednesday by the Ministry of Health.
The survey, which measures the habits and drug use among young Spaniards since 1994, shows a general decrease in the consumption of psychoactive substances, as announced by the Minister of Health, Mónica García, alongside the Government Delegate of the National Drug Plan, Xisca Sureda.
"The new generations are changing and building a new way of understanding leisure and health," emphasized García during her statement.
According to the data presented, in 2025, the consumption of all psychoactive substances analyzed has decreased or stabilized. Thus, in the case of alcohol, the percentage of young people who reported drinking in the last month decreased from 56.6% in 2023 to 51% in this edition; tobacco consumption decreased from 21% to 15.5%, the lowest figure reached; and cannabis decreased from 15.5% to 11.6%.
Compared to 1998, alcohol consumption in the last 30 days is 17 percentage points lower today. In the case of tobacco, the decrease is over 15 points; and regarding cannabis, there are almost 14 points less than the historical peak reached in 2004.
Binge drinking has also decreased, standing at 24.7%, "the lowest value since this type of consumption has been measured," highlighted García, who emphasized that the survey also reflects "an increase in the perception of risks associated with drugs."
There has been a slight increase in the use of e-cigarettes in the last 30 days (27.1% in 2025 compared to 26.3% in 2023), noted Sureda, although the figures measuring consumption over the last year or ever in life show a reduction compared to the previous survey conducted in 2023.
The survey involved 35,256 students from 1,658 classrooms and 836 centers across the country.
Alcohol remains the most consumed legal drug among young people, as reflected in the survey.
73.9% of students report having consumed it at some point in their lives (compared to 75.9% in 2023), 71.0% in the last 12 months (compared to 73.6% in the last survey), and 51.8% in the last 30 days (compared to 56.6% previously).
The average age of onset of consumption remains at 13.9 years, while the onset of weekly consumption and first drunkenness are at 14.8 and 14.6 years, respectively.
"We still face a significant challenge," García pointed out, emphasizing that these figures, although at historic lows, "remain concerning."
In that sense, both García and Sureda stressed that they consider it "essential for the Alcohol and Minors Law, which will soon reach Congress, to move forward."
Following the trend of recent years, tobacco consumption continues to decline, reaching a historic low in this survey edition.
27.3% of students have smoked at some point in their lives (compared to 33.4% in 2023), 21.2% in the last 12 months (compared to 27.7% in the previous survey), and 15.5% in the last 30 days (compared to 21.0% previously). Daily consumption in the last month has decreased to 4.3%, a 3.2 percentage point decrease from the 7.5% recorded in 2023.
The average age of onset remains at 14.1 years, and the age of starting daily consumption at 14.4 years. The most common form combines packet cigarettes and roll-ups, and 46.4% of smokers have attempted to quit the habit in the last year.
Alongside tobacco, cannabis consumption has seen the most significant decrease, highlighted by Sureda.
It remains the most prevalent illegal substance consumed, but there is a decrease in usage across all analyzed periods. Thus, 21.0% of students report having consumed it at some point in their lives (compared to 26.9% in 2023), 15.5% in the last 12 months (compared to 21.8% in the previous survey), and 11.6% in the last 30 days (compared to 15.6% last time).
The average age of onset is 14.8 years, a tenth less than in the previous edition.
Regarding hypnotics (tranquilizers and sleeping pills, with or without a prescription), 17.9% of students report having consumed them at some point in their lives, representing the first decrease in this substance since 2014.
The average age of onset is 14 years.
The survey also shows a decrease in the consumption of other drugs with lower prevalence among 14 to 18-year-olds, such as hallucinogens, amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, MDMA (ecstasy), and volatile inhalants. Cocaine consumption at some point in life has decreased to 1.6% among surveyed students (compared to 2.6% in 2023), hallucinogen use is at 1.4% (0.9 points lower than the previous survey), and volatile inhalant use is at 2.0% (1.2 points below 2023).
In the case of cannabis, the perception of risk associated with habitual consumption has reached the highest value in the ESTUDES series (94.1%). On the other hand, the perception of risk associated with excessive alcohol consumption on weekends has increased to 67.6%, while the perceived risk of daily consumption is at 66.2%. Regarding tobacco, 93.3% of students believe that daily smoking poses a high health risk.
Xisca Sureda emphasized that this historically low consumption reflects a continued downward trend also observed in other European countries.
The National Drug Plan delegate attributed this decrease "to the work behind it" and the implementation of prevention laws and interventions.
"The denormalization of consumption depends not only on the individual responsibility of adolescents but also on policies that counteract industry pressure," she said, noting that the prevalence of tobacco consumption began to decline when the first state anti-tobacco laws were implemented.
"Policies work," added Mónica García, stating that the Government will continue working to create smoke- and alcohol-free environments.