‘More RP youth smoking, drinking, doing drugs’

Smoking, drinking and experimenting with illegal drugs are on the rise among young Filipinos aged between 15 and 24, according to a recent study.

Though these behaviors are on the rise, the same study said most young Filipinos eventually rid themselves of these vices — except drinking.

Seventy percent of 16,000 youths surveyed have tried drinking alcohol, a "drastic increase" compared to just a little over half of the respondents in 1994, according to the results of the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS3) conducted by the UP Population Institute and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation.

"Greater acceptance of drinking among young people occurs in the face of aggressive marketing and advertising strategies towards the promotion of drinking as a social activity," the study said.

Young women have also come a long way in drinking, smoking, and doing drugs.

The rise in drinking prevalence among young people can be traced mostly to females, who experienced a 65 percent increase in the number of those who tried alcohol compared to eight years ago, while there was only a 10 percent increase among males.

Sixty percent of those who tried alcohol are still drinking, either on a regular or irregular basis. Compared with smoking and doing drugs, the drop-out rate for drinking is relatively low at 40 percent.

Seventy percent of males who tried drinking are current drinkers, compared to 40 percent of females.