The share of young smokers aged between 12 and 17 years stood at 11.7 per cent in 2011, a sharp drop from 27.5 per cent in 2001, finds a government report on addiction.

70.8 per cent of young people have never smoked. That figure stood at 40.5 in 2001. The reports states that about 14.7 million Germans older than 15 years of age smoke.
The use of cannabis and alcohol has also dropped, though the number of teenagers and young adults admitted to hospital after drinking too much alcohol ("binge drinking") was increasing. The report highlights the growing addiction to internet use, finding around 560,000 people between the ages of 14 and 64 in Germany to be addicted to the internet or use it "excessively or pathologically".
The report ("Drogen- und Suchtbericht", in German) examines the number of people addicted to legal and illegal drugs, gambling and the internet as well as the efficacy of programs to prevent and treat addiction. (ci/pi)