A sweeping survey of secondary school students in Catalonia has revealed a profound shift in adolescent behaviour, with traditional substance use declining significantly over the past two decades, whilst a new wave of digital and gambling addictions takes hold.
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The findings come from the latest Survey on Drug Use in Secondary Education (ESTUDES), a comprehensive study conducted in 2025 involving over 2,500 students between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. The data, published by the Public Health Agency of Catalonia (ASPCAT), paints a picture of a generation whose habits and dependencies are increasingly migrating from the physical world to the screen.
Substance Use on the Wane
The report highlights a clear and progressive downward trend in the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. Alcohol remains the most consumed substance; 51% of students reported drinking it last month. However, instances of binge drinking have fallen to their lowest level since 2000. In 2006, a quarter of students had been drunk in the preceding month; by 2025, that figure had dropped to 17.4%.
Tobacco use has seen an even more dramatic decline. The percentage of students who smoke daily has plummeted from 15.8% in 2006 to just 3.5% today. This positive trend is tempered, however, by the widespread popularity of electronic cigarettes, with approximately one in four students having used a vape in the last month.
Cannabis consumption has followed a similar path. The survey found that 16.2% of students had used the drug in the last year, a stark reduction from the 39% recorded in 2006.
A New Generation of Addictions
In parallel with the drop in substance use, the survey documents a sharp rise in potentially addictive behaviours linked to the digital world. On average, adolescents are spending 4.8 hours per day online for leisure on weekdays, a figure that climbs to 6.7 hours on weekend days.
This increased screen time is creating new challenges. The study indicates that 15.7% of students exhibit problematic use of social media. Video gaming is also a near-universal activity, particularly for boys. While 84.9% of all teens play regularly, this includes 97% of boys compared to 72.8% of girls. Worryingly, 10.7% of male students and 2.2% of female students showed signs of video game addiction. The growing concerns around the public health implications of gaming have been noted elsewhere in the city, with the ombudsman recently criticising a major Barcelona gaming fair over ethics.
Gambling Among Minors a Growing Concern
Perhaps the most alarming trend identified by the ESTUDES survey is the increasing gambling among minors, a primary concern for specialists. According to the data, 17% of students admitted to participating in in-person betting games over the last year, and 12% had gambled online.
The report states that 5.3% of the student population is now affected by problem gambling, the highest figure ever recorded by the survey. The gender disparity is particularly pronounced in this area. Boys engage in betting far more frequently, and their risk of addiction approaches 9%, whilst the figure for girls is significantly lower. The most common forms of gambling among these teens are sports betting, card games involving money, and roulette.
In response to these shifting trends, Catalonia’s Department of Health has announced it is preparing a new Plan for Drugs and Addictions. The initiative will aim to strengthen prevention strategies, improve early detection of addictive behaviours, and promote healthier engagement with digital environments among young people.
Another notable trend is a decrease in pornography consumption, falling from 43.9% of students in 2023 to 35.8% in 2025. Despite the drop, a large gender gap persists, with over half of boys consuming it compared to around 15% of girls.
