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THE Labour Party needs to em- brace criticism and reach out to people hurt by its actions, Valletta Vice-mayor Alfred Zammit says in an interview with MaltaToday. Zammit, who describes his rela- tionship with fellow Labour coun- cillors in Valletta as "less than nil", insists though, his relationship with the PL leadership is good. A former mayor of the capital city, Zammit was pipped to the role in last year's local elections by newcomer Olaf McKay. Zam- mit denies being bitter about the outcome but says a hidden hand inside the PL had actively worked against him. He says the matter has since been addressed by the party ad- ministration but to this day, he doesn't know who instructed vot- ers to vote for other candidates. "The PL, however, needs to identify people like me who got hurt and speak to them. I appeal to the PL to never be irked by peo- ple within its ranks who criticise the party… parties grow when they listen to those who disagree with them," Zammit says. CONTINUES ON PAGE 4 YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 25 MAY 2025 • ISSUE 1333 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Fgura's new block A A block of flats on the block of flats on the last open site along last open site along Fgura's main road is Fgura's main road is set for approval set for approval maltatoday Cash is sexy Girls vape, smoke, binge drink and gamble more than boys, survey finds KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt Cash study reveals majority still like to carry cash and the €20 note is most beautiful PAGE 9 PAGE 7 Village democracy Lessons in democracy from Gharghur as blue turns to red PAGE 10-11 €2.20 Labour should embrace critics within its ranks Maltese teenage girls are vap- ing, smoking, drinking and gambling more than boys, a recently published survey has found. The findings, published by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), highlight a growing shift in adolescent risk behav- iours in Malta, with young fe- males reporting higher usage rates across several key indica- tors. The report surveyed 113,000 students aged 15 to 16 across 37 European countries. While overall cigarette smok- ing among Maltese teens re- mains low compared to the Eu- ropean average, with only 16% reporting having ever smoked and placing Malta among the lowest in Europe, the story is quite different when it comes to e-cigarette use. Moreover, in Malta, 10% of students reported using e-ciga- rettes in the past month. While this figure is below the European average of 22%, ES- PAD data shows that lifetime e-cigarette use among girls is significantly higher than among boys, by a striking 13 percent- age points. This is the widest gender gap in vaping across all countries, shared only with Liechtenstein. MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Valletta Vice-mayor Alfred Zammit says he is still a member of the Labour Party but calls on the party not to be irked by critics within its ranks (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) Palestinian state: Malta's reluctance to lead Analysis pages 2-3 | Editorial MT2 CONTINUES ON PAGE 4