Malta has one of the highest rates of under-15s in Europe who experiment with inhalants to get a high, contrary to their counterparts who mostly dabble in cannabis, according to a new report.
The report, by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, shows that 16 per cent of young Maltese under 15 use inhalants, one of the uppermost rates among the 27 EU member states, Norway and Turkey. Malta is only surpassed by Cyprus and Ireland, where the rate is 18 per cent, and the UK, where 17 per cent of young people use inhalants. The products that are commonly inhaled include gas fuels, such as cigarette lighter fuel and bottled gas; aerosols, such as antiperspirants and pain-relief sprays; glues and solvents, among them contact adhesives and cleaning fluids; and amyl nitrate.
The report, launched at the European Parliament yesterday, shows that the illicit substance most commonly used by under-15s remains cannabis, though Malta has a relatively low rate of 10 per cent compared to 44 per cent in the Czech Republic.
According to Espad school surveys, the prevalence of first cannabis use by the age of 13 is also low - zero to four per cent - in 14 member states, including Malta, Norway and Turkey.
Despite having comparatively low figures, the use of cannabis among 15- to 16-year-olds is showing an upward trend in Malta, according to the latest Espad survey on the situation in Malta.
Earlier this year, Richard Muscat, chairman of the National Commission on the Abuse of Alcohol, Drugs and other Dependencies, expressed concern that more youngsters were abusing drugs, with many choosing cannabis and alcohol.
Cannabis remains the world's most commonly-used illicit drug in Europe and it is conservatively estimated that this drug has been used at least once (lifetime prevalence) by more than 70 million European adults, nearly a quarter of all 15- to 64-year-olds.
National figures vary from two per cent to 37, with the lowest figures in Bulgaria, Malta (3.5 per cent) and Romania, and the highest in Denmark (36.5 per cent), France, the UK and Italy.
Malta also holds the third lowest rate, jointly with Portugal (1.4 per cent), of lifetime prevalence of ecstasy use among young adults aged between 15 and 34 years, and the fourth lowest rate of cocaine use among this age group.
On the other hand, with regard to problem drug users - drug injection, opioids and amphetamine use - Malta has a high rate according to the report released by the Lisbon-based EMCDDA.
While some of the lowest well-documented estimates available are from the new countries of the EU, this is not the case in Malta, where a relatively high prevalence has been reported - 5.6 to 6.7 cases per 1,000 aged 15 to 64.
With the exception of five countries (the Czech Republic, France, Latvia, Finland and Sweden), methadone is by far the most commonly used drug for substitution purposes, accounting for around 72 per cent of all substitution treatments.
Looking at the general drugs situation, the report shows that, by early this year, all EU member states, except Malta, Italy and Austria, had a national drug strategy, sometimes accompanied by an action plan.
Malta is working hard towards this end, and earlier this year it launched a draft National Drugs Policy, which closed for consultation in September. This policy includes 47 actions ranging from the setting up of a number of bodies to measures to reduce the demand for drugs.
Speaking at the launch of the findings, EMCDDA director Wolfgang Götz said this year's report showed a number of positive outcomes.
"Overall, there is increasing evidence that Europe may now be entering a more stable period in terms of trends in drug use, and in some areas we are seeing quite convincing evidence that treatment is having an impact," he said.
However, he did point out that, overall, drug use levels remained high by historical standards and some problems, such as hepatitis C infections, still appeared to be increasing.
The good news was that drug injecting levels in Europe appeared to be stable or even in decline. Mr Götz acknowledged that progress had been made but huge challenges remained.
"I do believe it is important not to be fatalistic about drug problems and to recognise that well thought out actions in this area do deliver clear benefits," he said.