Alcohol use among teens has reached “crisis levels”, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, who said the data is part of the “alarming” findings of the 2025 Global School Health Report. Dr. Cherita Moxey, head of policy and planning at the Ministry of Health, said the survey also shows that more than half of Bahamian teens have used illegal drugs before the age of 13. “Overall, there is a deeply concerning rise in substance abuse among teens in The Bahamas,” Dr. Moxey said during the weekly press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister. “E-cigarette use, which was measured for the first time in the age group, is emerging as a major concern and stands at 17 percent, showing a clear shift from traditional cigarettes.” She said the figure places The Bahamas on par with the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom for teen E-cigarette use. Dr. Moxey said, when compared to the findings of a 1998 survey, the results are startling. “Alcohol use is at crisis levels,” she continued. “The proportion of teens who have ever consumed alcohol, excluding for religious use, has more than doubled, from 32 percent (in 1998) to 74 percent.” “Currently 34 percent of teens are active drinkers, with binge-drinking rising six-fold from two percent to 12 percent and drunkenness climbing from 21 percent to 27 percent. “Two out of every four teens who purchased alcohol were never asked to show an I.D. despite the legal drinking age of 18 years. “More than half of Bahamian teens, or 54 percent, used illegal drugs by the age of 13. This is before the completion of junior high school. Lifetime cocaine use in particular surged 10-fold, from one percent in 1998 to 12 percent in 2023. This represents one of the sharpest increases across any indicator in this report.” Dr. Moxey said lifetime marijuana use has also doubled. The survey was carried out in 2024. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pearl McMillan said 2,213 teens from 35 schools on eight islands were surveyed. “Equally troubling is what happens behind closed doors,” Dr. Moxey said. She said violence in the home had increased to 33 percent from 25 percent. One in three students have also been sexually exploited or forced to have sex, the study shows. “Boys more likely to be sexually exploited, while girls were more likely to be forced into having sex,” she said. Overall, Dr. Moxey said teen health has dramatically worsened. In terms of physical health compared to the statistics from the 1998 report, she said the rate of obesity in teens has increased by 135 percent. On the positive said, the report shows that more teens are delaying sexual activity. There has also been a decline in the number of teens who report having multiple sexual partners. However, Dr. Moxey said nearly 50 percent of sexually active teens reported having unprotected sex. “This gap may be contributing to the increase in sexually transmitted infections as reported by the national HIV/Aids program earlier this year,” Dr. Moxey added.