Prevalence of Drug Use Among Youth in Hungary

"The fifth survey¹¹ of the ESPAD series was carried out in 2011 (Elekes 2012). 19.9% of the 16-year-old pupils interviewed have already used illicit drugs in their lives. The differences by gender were not significant, among boys the proportion was 20.9%, while among girls it was 18.9%. The proportion of those who used any substance with the purpose of abuse was higher, 24.9%12. The lifetime prevalence of the use of substances with the purpose of abuse was 26% among boys and 23.7% among girls. (The difference is not significant.) The lifetime prevalence of the misuse of medicines13 was higher among girls: 18.7%, while among boys it was 11.1% (p=0.000). The lifetime prevalence relating to the entire sample was 14.7%. Among the 16-year-old pupils interviewed the lifetime prevalence of all (illicit and licit) substance use was 28.8%. 28.3% of boys and 29.4% of girls have already used a substance suitable for misuse in their lives."