Intoxicant Use in Undergraduate Medical Students of Islamabad, Pakistan.

Muhammad Imran, Hamayun Khan, Syed Babar Ali, Amber Shabbir

Abstract

Intoxicant use and subsequent substance abuse is the leading health problem in younger age groups in contemporary times, and across the globe. It contributes to morbidity, mortality and economic loss. It also disturbs the social system of a community and creates a serious threat to global health. The aim of this study was to determine the use of intoxicants among medical college students of Islamabad and to identify the associated factors with intoxicant use. A cross-sectional research design was used to gather survey data from two private medical colleges. Data from a final sample of 310 respondents was analyzed using descriptive statistics. It was found that smoking was the most prevalent intoxicant used amongst the participants (21.9%). The other most common prevalent use of intoxicants included alcohol (6.1%), Naswar (powdered tobacco dip) (6.8%) and Heroin (3.9%). The male gender and need for mental relaxation were found to be statistically significant with cigarette smoking. Most of the students indicated that they did not feel guilty about using intoxicants. It is important that medical college administration develops policies to control intoxicant use among students, including and not limited to awareness campaigns, counseling and support for stress relief.