Tobacco and alcohol consumption among 11- to 17-year-old adolescents: results of the KiGGS study: first follow-up (KiGGS Wave 1)

In this paper, tobacco and alcohol consumption among adolescents in Germany was analyzed. In addition to the current situation, we report temporal developments and trends. Data were obtained from the first follow-up of the KiGGS study (KiGGS Wave 1) conducted from 2009 to 2012. All girls and boys aged 11-17 years (n = 5,258) were included. The results show that currently 12.0% of 11- to 17-year-old adolescents in Germany smoke, 5.4% of them on a daily basis. At-risk drinking (AUDIT-C total score) was prevalent among 15.8% of adolescents, heavy episodic drinking (six or more alcoholic standard drinks on a single occasion at least once a month) among 11.5%. No significant gender differences were found for most indicators. However, among adolescents aged 14-17 years, boys revealed a greater inclination toward heavy episodic drinking than girls did (23.1 vs. 16.5 %, p < 0.01). Regarding smoking, distinct socioeconomic differences were observed. For example, adolescents from families with a low socioeconomic status (SES) smoke significantly more often on a regular or daily basis compared with their peers from high-SES families (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.16-3.27 and OR = 3.71, 95% CI = 2.05-6.69, respectively). The relationship between SES and alcohol consumption is rather weak. Significant differences emerged only regarding lifetime prevalence of alcohol consumption, and indicate lower consumption rates among low-SES compared with high-SES adolescents (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.33-0.68). Consideration of the KiGGS baseline study data (2003-2006) shows that smoking prevalence has dropped almost by half from 20.4 to 12.0%. The percentage of adolescents who have ever drunk alcohol has decreased from 62.8 to 54.4%. These results are consistent with the findings of other studies on adolescent tobacco and alcohol consumption and should be considered in the context of preventive efforts that have been strengthened in recent years, especially regarding tobacco use.