By Urtė Šlevaitė, LRT TV, LRT.lt.

A new European school survey shows that smoking and alcohol use among Lithuanian minors continues to decline, but experts warn that the misuse of over-the-counter and prescription medications is emerging as one of the country’s most serious youth health problems. Electronic cigarettes also remain highly popular, especially among younger girls.

According to the study, many Lithuanian teens try e-cigarettes before age 13. “We exceed the EU average and are among the leading countries where girls under 13 try electronic cigarettes, while boys try alcohol by that age,” said Klaipėda University professor Aelita Bredelytė.

Twelfth-grader Adelė said smoking and alcohol remain major issues. She believes peer pressure and social media influencers contribute to early experimentation.

“Especially nowadays, with social media, some people who are followed encourage this, and teens get invited to parties much more often than before,” she said.

At Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Engineering Lyceum, teachers say students who are caught smoking often claim the cigarettes or vaping devices belong to friends.

Read more: LRT.LT