One in ten young Romanians drink alcohol several times a week, while 44% don’t consume alcohol at all, according to a study published on the Romanian Ministry of Youth’s website. Almost 20% of respondents say they drink alcohol once every few months, 13% - few times a month, 8% - once a month and 7% - once a week.

A total of 12% of respondents say they started drinking alcohol at 18, the legal age in Romania, 10% of them started to consume alcohol at 16, 8% - at 17, while 6% indicated 15, 14 and 10-13 as the ages when they’ve started drinking.

The study reveals that 16% of those drinking alcohol several times a month feel a bit guilty, 13% experience memory loss and continue to keep drinking even after their friends tell them it’s enough. Almost 20% of those drinking alcohol more than a few times a month had a first degree relative who had alcohol problems.

Most of the respondents, namely 87%, consider the “legal drugs” (etnobotanic drugs) to be the most dangerous substances, 84% say that cannabis is the most dangerous substance, 77% - steroids, 57% - tobacco, 50% - alcohol, and 11% - coffee.

Over half of respondents never smoked tobacco, 15% are smokers but plan to quit smoking and 16% are smokers but don’t intend to give up on this habit, according to the study. Almost 20% indicate 16 as the age when they’ve started smoking.

The study was conducted by Avangarde between August 23 and September 16 on a sample of 1,205 respondents aged between 14 and 35.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com