26.3% of students have tried energy drinks

A nationwide survey that covered students from fifth grade primary school to third grade junior high school, with a sample of 40,768 students, recorded that 26.3% of them stated they have consumed energy drinks, according to reports from newsit.gr and in.gr on Monday 28 September 2026. This percentage highlights a public health issue that affects a significant portion of the student population of the country, as it concerns school-age children and adolescents, without identifying information being provided for any student.

According to newsit.gr, the survey is attributed to the Union of Self-Employed Pediatricians of Attica, while in.gr describes it simply as nationally representative, without naming the organization that conducted it. However, both reports cite the same percentage, 26.3%. At the same time, Greek pediatricians are sounding the alarm about the dangers posed by energy drink consumption among minors, pointing to side effects and a connection with alcohol and smoking use. The reports do not specify what these side effects are. More related reports on health issues can be found in the health section of TodayGrid.

The finding that more than one in four students in the sample have come into contact with energy drinks places the issue at the center of public debate about the health of minors, especially as pediatricians link the consumption of these products with other risky habits, such as alcohol and smoking. The concern expressed does not concern isolated cases but a broader phenomenon that, according to the two reports, appears on a significant scale among primary and junior high school students. The issue is part of a broader public health agenda that periodically occupies other sectors of the healthcare system, as has been recorded in previous reporting on the financing of the NHS.

The two reports that brought the survey to public attention differ in how they attribute the organization that conducted it, with newsit.gr naming the Union of Self-Employed Pediatricians of Attica and in.gr referring generally to a nationally representative survey, without further clarification. It has not been publicly disclosed when exactly the survey was conducted, what methodology was used, nor the frequency of energy drink consumption among students or the distribution of responses by age and gender. Specific side effects are also not mentioned, nor any requests from pediatricians to the competent authorities for regulatory interventions, while it is not clear whether any change to the existing framework in Greece is being considered. It has also not been disclosed whether the survey records differences between the levels of education it covered, that is between primary school and junior high school students, nor whether publication of the full results is planned. Until these details are provided, the only confirmed information from the two reports remains the percentage of 26.3% for a sample of 40,768 students.