Substance abuse: 23% of under-18s had used at least one illegal substance in 2025

Despite a slight decline recorded in 2025, cannabis remains the most widely used substance among young people. Eighteen per cent of students report having used it in the last year (compared with 21 per cent in 2024). The average recorded is around 45 daily doses per thousand inhabitants, whereas it was 51–52 in previous years. However, there is concern that the market for cannabis-based products is characterised by a growing prevalence of extremely potent products such as extracts, oils, waxes and e-liquids, where THC concentrations can exceed 80–90 per cent.

As regards New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) such as synthetic cannabinoids and new opioids, however, the National Rapid Alert System for Drugs (NEWS-D) has identified 92 new substances within Italy.

Local support networks play a central role in the fight against drug abuse; they remain a crucial pillar in the response to addiction through integrated pathways of assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration.

In 2025, more than 130,000 people were receiving treatment from public addiction services, representing a 3.5 per cent increase compared with 2024. Therapeutic communities provided support to around 25,000 service users through residential and rehabilitation programmes. There was also a 15% increase in visits to Italian A&E departments for drug-related conditions, totalling over 9,600 visits.

According to the report, training and awareness-raising initiatives are also essential: in 2025, regional authorities and addiction services reported a total of 407 prevention projects aimed at the general public (+11% compared with 2024), whilst 380 projects were launched in lower and upper secondary schools (+16% compared with last year).

“The issue of substance abuse,” Mantovano observed, “is increasingly affecting very young people in seemingly normal settings: this means that no family can consider itself immune,” adding that the figures revealed in the Report are “the figures of a pandemic that is not perceived as such”.

Massimiliano Fedriga, president of the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces, emphasised that, ‘regardless of political affiliations, working as a team is the only way to achieve results and limit the damage. “As the system of regions, we want to do everything we possibly can,” he said, adding that “digital addiction is a matter of great personal concern to me. At this moment in time, Italian families need to be given a strong message.”

The president of the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) , Gaetano Manfredi , went on to reiterate the mayors’ commitment to providing all the necessary support to national institutions in this fight: ‘The issue of addiction is multifaceted and affects many parts of our communities: mayors and local authorities are on the front line, not least because of their proximity to the people.’

Drug abuse is not the only addiction affecting young Italians. Alcohol and tobacco use also remains widespread amongst the younger generation. 31 per cent of underage students (almost 500,000 young people) smoked tobacco in 2025, a figure slightly down on 2024, whilst around 380,000 students under the age of 18 – a quarter of the underage student population – reported having got drunk at least once over the past year.

On the other hand, when it comes to digital technology addiction, the figures set out in the Report give cause for optimism. In 2025, around 15,000 pupils aged between 11 and 13 (1 per cent) are affected by social media addiction, a figure that has fallen sharply from the 2.2 per cent recorded in 2022; 111,000 pupils (7%) are at risk of internet gaming disorder, compared with 11% in 2022.

Finally, over 87,000 pupils aged between 11 and 13 are found to be engaging in gambling behaviour considered to be at-risk or problematic. 11 per cent of pupils in this age group report having gambled at least once in the last 12 months.