SOFIA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The vast majority of Sofia's students in grades seven through 12 drink alcohol, according to a survey published Wednesday by the MBMD, a leading institute of marketing and social research in Bulgaria.

    The survey, which was conducted among 2,200 students near the end of the last school year, found that 88 percent of them drink alcohol and 73 percent do so once a month, said MBMD's CEO Mira Radeva.

    One-third of girls and 40 percent of boys drink a bottle or can of beer, a glass of wine or 50 ml of stiff drink everyday. According to the survey, beer is considered the most popular drink, followed by hard drinks, wine and cocktails. Half of students disbelieve alcohol poses any risk to their health.

    The survey also found two-thirds of Sofia's high school students smoke, one-third on a daily basis. In most cases, students' first experience with smoking comes before the age of 16,and for one in three respondents it is around 10 to 11.

    One in five students has taken sleeping pills and one in ten tranquilizers. Ten percent admit to having tried a combination of sleeping pills and alcohol.

    Marijuana is the preferred illegal drug for 28 percent of Sofia's students. Fourteen percent have tried hashish and one in ten has used amphetamines and ecstasy.

    Three in four students consider illegal drugs a problem for the nation, 69 percent see it as a local problem and 52 percent as a problem for their own school.

    Students are aware of the effects of heroin, with 82 percent saying its regular use is a health hazard. The same attitude is held by 73 percent toward ecstasy and 62 percent toward marijuana.

    However, despite the students' awareness, the past four years still saw an increase in consumption of nearly all major illegal drugs, said Momchil Vassilev, leader of the National Focus Center for Drugs and Addictions.