New trend: Girls in 9th grade overtake boys in drug use

A new study from the Danish Institute of Public Health shows that girls have overtaken boys in substance use. It’s a trend that puzzles the researcher behind it.

For many years, boys have dominated the top of the list of young people’s drug use. But that’s no longer the case. Now, girls in 9th grade use e-cigarettes to a greater extent and drink larger amounts of alcohol more often than boys of the same age, according to a new study of young people’s drug habits from the Danish Institute of Public Health.

One of the researchers behind the study is Ola Ekholm. He is surprised by the new trend.

“It’s an interesting development. The fact that boys drink less is a trend we’ve seen over the past 25 years. But what’s new is that girls’ consumption is not keeping up with that development and thus exceeds boys’ consumption,” says Ola Ekholm, adding:

“I don’t have a good explanation for why this is the case. I would guess that there are many factors at play.”

The report is based on figures from the Danish part of the international study ESPAD (The European School Survey on Alcohol and Other Drugs), which has followed the use of drugs by European youth since 1995. As part of the study, almost 5,500 Danish students from the 9th grade answered questions about their use of drugs.

International tendens

The study shows that the proportion of boys who drink large amounts of alcohol on the same occasion, also called binge drinking, has decreased from 59 percent in 2019 to 52 percent in 2024. Whereas the figure for girls remains at 59 percent.

According to Ola Ekholm, it is not only in Denmark that boys drink less while girls remain at the same level.

“Also in many other European countries, girls are increasingly matching or surpassing boys in the use of e-cigarettes and alcohol,” says Ola Ekholm.

Fakta

Rusdruk in the Nordic countries

Proportion of boys and girls who have drunk five or more drinks on the same occasion (binge drinking) during the past 30 days:

• Denmark: Boys: 52 percent. Girls: 59 percent.
• Sweden: Boys 16 percent. Girls: 20 percent.
• Norway: Boys: 20 percent. Girls: 25 percent.
• Finland: Boys: 20 percent. Girls 19 percent.
• Iceland: Boys 7 percent. Girls 11 percent.
• European average: Boys 31 percent. Girls 31 percent.

Source: ESPAD Data Portal, National Institute of Public Health, 2024.

The same trend is evident in young people’s use of e-cigarettes such as vapes and puff bars. In 2019, 19 percent of boys and 10 percent of girls used e-cigarettes. Today, 26 percent of girls and 19 percent of boys have used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days.

Janne Tolstrup is a professor at the Danish Institute of Public Health and researches, among other things, drugs in adolescence. She says that one explanation for the development may be that nicotine products appeal to the different sexes. She points out that nicotine products increase metabolism, and this may attract girls to a greater extent than boys.

But there may also be other explanations.

“Vapes come in beautiful colors and almost look like cosmetics. You might think that they are tailored to girls,” she says.

Tal med de unge

Janne Tolstrup says that it is a problem that so many young people drink drugs and use nicotine products.

“Young people’s brains are very sensitive to both nicotine and alcohol, and we know that too much alcohol increases the risk of accidents and actions that you regret,” she says.

She encourages parents to talk to the young people.

“The conversation should be open and non-judgmental. As a parent, you must be clear about what you think. It matters a lot for young people’s consumption, what attitude and habits parents themselves have,” emphasizes Janne Tolstrup.

The study in question is funded by the Ministry of the Interior and Health’s framework agreement with the Danish National Institute of Public Health, SDU.

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