The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic through FOCUS found out what experience Slovaks have with drug use. Most of the respondents, almost a quarter, admitted that they tried marijuana, followed by ecstasy and meth. More than 30 percent of respondents do not drink alcohol at all or do not drink it in the last 30 months. More than a quarter of the respondents smoke daily.
At least once in life, 23.1% of respondents tried marijuana, an increase from 2019 when the experience of taking was reported by 17% of the survey participants. Among respondents aged 15 to 35, up to 34% experience marijuana. The most experience of using marijuana is shared by people from Bratislava (32.2%), while marijuana has been tried by almost half (47.2%) of young Bratislavaians aged 15 to 35. In the last 12 months, 5.4% of respondents have taken marijuana and 10.2% among respondents aged 15 to 35.
Other widespread illicit drugs are ecstasy and methAt least once in life, ecstasy has been tested by 4.9% of respondents and 8.3% among respondents aged 15 to 35. It is 13.6% among young Bratislavaans. Pervitin has been tried at least once in their lives by 3% of survey participants and 4.5% of respondents have experience with meth. Most of them are among the inhabitants of Banská Bystrica, Trnava and Trenčín region.
Abstinents are slightly more than 30 percentAbstinents include 30.2% of respondents (26.8% in 2019). Up to 14,7% never drank alcohol and another 15,5% drank alcohol more than 12 months ago. On the contrary, more than a fifth of respondents (20.5 %) drink alcohol more than once a week. On one occasion, 5 or more alcoholic beverage glasses drink 2.3% of the respondents a day and 12.5% of the respondents at least once a week. Among young people under the age of 18, 51.3% of the respondents never drank alcohol, but by contrast, 17.2% drank alcohol over the last 30 days and 7.3% drank it at least once a week.
Smoking is on a downward trendIt smokes daily (cigarettes, cigars, pipe or e-cigarette) 26,1% of respondents (up to 32,1% in 2019) and another 3,8% smoked over the past 30 days. Most people who smoke daily in the age group are 45 54 years (29 percent), 22.7 per day among young people under 35.

While research has shown a slight increase in the use of illicit drugs compared to 2019, this increase may also be due to a slightly different methodology, when in current research respondents had the possibility of greater anonymity in response. In the case of legal drugs such as alcohol and nicotine, we observe a rather stable or declining trend of use, and Theresa Weiner, the head of the National Monitoring Centre for Drugs, closes.
FOCUS carried out a survey on the prevalence of psychoactive substances and other addictive behaviour in the population of the Slovak Republic from May 2 to June 12, 2023 through a network of trained surveyors on a representative sample of 5 031 inhabitants of the Slovak Republic between the ages of 15 and 64 by means of a method of interviews, and because of the sensitivity of the topic, respondents could also decide to self-complete the questionnaire in the presence of an interviewer.
TYou can find here: https://www.infodrugs.sk/page/urgent-aid