Smoking, drinking, and drug use experimentation on the rise among young Filipinas.

Cigarettes, booze and illegal drugs continue to add spice to Filipino adolescents and young adults' lives.

Results of the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS3) conducted by the UP Population Institute and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation show that 46 per cent of about 16,000 youth representing the country's 15-24 population have tried smoking. This represents an 8-percentage increase from the 1994 level of 38 percent.

Moreover, there is a drastic increase in youth's consumption of alcoholic beverages and use of illegal drugs. In 1994, a little over half of Filipinos 15-24 admitted to have tried drinking alcohol. This increased to 70 percent in 2002. Drug use among adolescents and young adults almost doubled from six per cent who admitted using any form of illegal drugs in 1994 to 11 percent in 2002.

Narrower gender gap in risk behaviors

Males continue to show higher prevalence in all three behaviors. However, analysis of the 2002 YAFS shows that the gender gap observed in 1994 is slowly narrowing. A bigger increase in the proportion who tried smoking, drinking and illegal drugs is found among young women in the country.

Smoking among young women rose from 17 percent in 1994 to 30 percent in 2002. In addition, the rise in drinking prevalence among young people can be traced mostly to females who experienced a 65 percent increase in drinking prevalence as compared to the 10 percent increment among young males. The proportion of drug use among young females also tripled from 1 percent in 1994 to 3 percent in 2002. Twenty percent of males on the other hand have tried using drugs, almost double that of the 1994 figure.

Experimental nature of risk behavior engagement

The good news is, young people's engagement in risk behaviors appears to be temporary. Significant proportions of both male and female adolescents and young adults eventually dropped out from the vices. Of the proportion who have ever tried smoking, four out of ten would continue the habit while one out four who experimented on illegal drugs is still currently hooked to it.

It is a different story when it comes to drinking. 60 percent of those who have tried drinking alcohol are still into it, whether on a regular or irregular basis. Compared with the two other risk behaviors, drop out rate for drinking is relatively low (40%). 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.

Young females appear to exhibit better judgment and not continuously engage in risk behaviors. About 80 percent of females who have ever puffed a stick of cigarette never picked up the habit. In comparison, 58 percent of males who ever tried smoking would retain the habit. In terms of drinking, only 40 percent of females who have tried drinking alcoholic beverages are current drinkers compared with 76 percent among males.

These findings are contained in the forthcoming report, "Youth, Sex and Risk Behaviors in the Philippines" of the UP Population Institute and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation.