Novidades

Autores: Richard Muscat, Sabrina Molinaro, Elisa Benedetti

This second report on the prevalence of the use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs follows that of the first attempt to do so among adolescents in nine countries in the Mediterranean region in 2015 captured in “A first glance of the situation in the Mediterranean region in relation to the prevalence of alcohol, tobacco and drug use among adolescents”. 

• In this second report twelve countries provide prevalence estimates and the respective confidence intervals for the use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and medication with and without medical prescription. Six of the countries, i.e. Cyprus (CY), Greece (GR), France (FR), Italy (IT), Malta (MT) and Portugal (PT), border the northern rim of the Mediterranean whereas the other six countries, namely, Algeria (DZ), Egypt (EG), Israel (IL), Lebanon (LB), Morocco (MA) and Tunisia (TN) border the southern rim of the Mediterranean. Moreover, it would be more accurate to state that four countries from the southern rim, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia form part of North Africa whereas Israel and Lebanon can be considered to be part of the Middle East.
• In relation to the lifetime prevalence of the use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and medication with and without a prescription, alcohol by a far way tops the prevalence list of substances for the countries bordering the northern rim of the Mediterranean. To the contrary, or at the other end of the scale, lifetime prevalence of the use of medication without a prescription, is at the bottom of the list for all of the twelve countries, and is in the region of 5% as can be seen from the figures given below...