Girls are vaping, smoking, binge drinking and gambling more than boys

Maltese teenage girls are vaping, smoking, drinking and gambling more than boys, a recently published survey has found.
The findings, published by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), highlight a growing shift in adolescent risk behaviours in Malta, with young females reporting higher usage rates across several key indicators.

The report surveyed 113,000 students aged 15 to 16 across 37 European countries.

While overall cigarette smoking among Maltese teens remains low compared to the European average, with only 16% reporting having ever smoked and placing Malta among the lowest in Europe, the story is quite different when it comes to e-cigarette use.

Moreover, in Malta, 10% of students reported using e-cigarettes in the past month.

While this figure is below the European average of 22%, ESPAD data shows that lifetime e-cigarette use among girls is significantly higher than among boys, by a striking 13 percentage points. This is the widest gender gap in vaping across all countries, shared only with Liechtenstein.

Despite Malta’s figures being among the lowest for teens who tried e-cigarettes at 13 or younger, the overall trend in Europe, and among Maltese girls in particular, points to increasing early use.

Girls gone green
Cannabis remains the most commonly used substance across Europe, and Malta is no exception.

Here again, girls lead boys in usage rates, with 14% of Maltese girls reporting having used cannabis in their lifetime, compared to 8.6% of boys. Malta is one of a handful of countries where this gender gap is reversed.

The survey found that high-risk cannabis use, measured through the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST), is more prevalent among Maltese girls (4.4%) than boys (2.6%). Malta is the only ESPAD country to report this reversal.

Bottoms up
Alcohol remains widely used by Maltese teenagers, with 42% of girls and 33% of boys reporting current alcohol use.

The survey also found that binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks on a single occasion, is significantly more common among girls in Malta, at 34%, compared to 25% among boys.

Malta, Lithuania and Monaco were the only countries where girls reported a 10-percentage-point lead in lifetime alcohol consumption over boys.

ESPAD data show that Maltese girls are also more likely than boys to report lifetime use of other substances such as synthetic cannabinoids and pharmaceuticals. For example, 4.7% of Maltese girls reported using synthetic cannabinoids, compared to 2.4% of boys.

Even in gambling, an area traditionally dominated by boys, the report finds that girls in Malta are exhibiting higher levels of harmful behaviour. Among student gamblers, 7.1% of girls were flagged for possible problematic gambling, compared to 3.7% of boys.

Good prevention programmes in Malta
Despite these trends, Malta stands out for its strong uptake of prevention programmes.

The country ranks among the top in Europe for participation in skills-based training aimed at improving personal and social competencies.

Over 70% of Maltese students said they had taken part in such initiatives, which are considered more effective than traditional awareness campaigns.

Training in personal skills, which includes managing emotions, stress and peer pressure, was attended by 55% of students in Malta, second only to Lithuania.