It could soon be illegal for under-18-year-olds to buy gas lighters as the government takes a first step to combat the high use of inhalants among youths, butane being one of the most abused.
About 14 per cent of Fifth Form students – higher than the European average – use inhalants, which include lighter fluid, paint thinner, nail polish and glue, according to the national report on the 2011 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs.
The statistics were being acted upon, with the first law on inhalants, which caused euphoria and disorientation, banning the sale of lighter fluid to under-18-year-olds, before moving on to others, Family Minister Chris Said announced yesterday. The legal notice was in the final stages and would soon be published, he said.
Inhalants are affordable and can be found anywhere. After alcohol use at 68 per cent over the previous 30 days before the survey was taken, which surpasses the European average of 57 per cent, and cigarettes (23 per cent), they are the most used by 15- to 16-year-olds, with Malta in seventh position among the 39 countries that carried out the study.
The Espad shows that four per cent of 11- to 13-year-olds used inhalants, followed by cannabis (three per cent) while seven per cent of 14- and 15-year-olds used both.
Dr Said was speaking at the launch of the findings of the fifth survey, which analysed 3,377 students from Church, state and independent schools and painted a clear picture of their behaviour on which to base policies, evaluate strategies and design preventative programmes.
The survey shows that alcohol, cigarette and drug consumption among 16-year-olds in Malta has declined since 2007 when the last study was carried out. However, drink, in particular, remained a problem.
It showed that 54 per cent purchased alcohol “off-premise”, including grocery stores, bottle shops and kiosks, and 68 per cent consumed alcohol “on-premise” at bars, pubs and discos, in the 30 days before the survey – a behaviour that was illegal and put enforcement into the spotlight.
Dr Said pointed out that in the period between the two surveys, in 2009, the minimum drinking age was increased from 16 to 17 years old, questioning whether enforcement was sufficient and how it could be strengthened.
The illegal behaviour was further substantiated by the fact that the highest amount of adolescents (33 per cent) drank in bars and pubs, followed by discos.
Twenty-one per cent drank at home but it was not known whether parents consented.
The survey showed the perceived consequences of alcohol use were positive, meaning that once youths started drinking it would be hard to stop.
Drinking alcohol was not experimental; students were drinking frequently, with 56 per cent indulging in binge drinking.
In view of these findings, the discussion on whether the drinking age should rise to 18 had to continue, Dr Said insisted, adding that the national policy on alcohol had been approved by Cabinet and that he was holding meetings with stakeholders to issue a draft for public consultation.
A researcher from the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, Sharon Arpa singled out mephedrone, also known as meow meow, which, despite being available in Europe only recently and included in the Espad for the first time last year, was the most widely used stimulant at four per cent, on a par with cocaine and higher than tranquillisers, ecstasy, LSD and crack use.