Eurostat: 4.8% of EU adults drink alcohol daily; many North Macedonian pupils first try alcohol at 13

Eurostat's latest figures show that regular alcohol and tobacco use remain major public‑health issues across the European Union. In 2025, 4.8% of people aged 16 and over in the EU reported drinking alcohol every day, while 19.2% drank weekly and 21.8% at least once a month.

Consumption differs strongly by gender: in 2025, 56.5% of men in the EU drank alcohol at least monthly, compared with 35.9% of women. At the same time, 33.5% of adults reported no alcohol consumption during the year preceding the survey.

Drinking patterns also change with age. Daily alcohol use was very low among young adults (0.8% for ages 16–24) but rose to 8.9% among those aged 65 and over. Socioeconomic factors matter too: 47.5% of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion had not drunk alcohol in the previous year, versus 29.9% of the rest of the population.

National data: early starts and heavy episodic drinking among pupils

Domestic monitoring raises separate alarms. The ESPAD 2024 survey, carried out by the Institute for Public Health (IPH) in North Macedonia, found that some children try their first cigarette as early as nine years old and that first alcohol experiences most commonly occur at 13 years or earlier.

ESPAD results show that 10.7% of students reported first trying a cigarette at 14 years, and 10.1% at 15 years. Alarmingly, 2.9% of pupils said they had smoked at age nine or younger. Regarding alcohol, 62.7% of students said they had tried alcohol at least once; 33.2% reported heavy episodic drinking (consuming five or more standard drinks during the last 30 days), and 28.5% had their first alcoholic drink at age 13 or younger.

Tobacco use remains widespread: Eurostat puts daily use of tobacco products and related items at 16.5% across the EU (16+). In North Macedonia, active smoking prevalence reaches 40.4%, and only 5% of smokers have quit in recent years. IPH analyses estimate that tobacco causes around 4,000 deaths in the country every year, while World Health Organization data indicate roughly 40% of 14‑year‑olds already smoke.

Photo: press material from the event