It is a relief to see that according to a Eurobarometer survey (July 12) drug use among Maltese young people (ages 15 to 24) is low, especially when one compares it to another report by the same correspondent from Brussels (November 7, 2008), quoting a EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction) report launched the day before which indicated a sharp rise in drug use among Maltese young persons (ages 15 and 16) today’s 18- and 19-year-olds.

In neither of the reports is there any mention of another drug, arguably the most common and popular among young persons in Malta – alcohol.

I refer to the finding in the ESPAD (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs) report of 2007, page 80 figure 12, which deals with the adverse effects indicated by students (ages 15 and 16) from 35 European countries, including Malta of course. This provides an interesting insight into the impact on society of both drugs and alcohol and why, in my opinion, too little attention is given to the latter, possibly because of its social acceptability but probably because of other economic factors.