Authors
Aweh BE, Eriyo WO, Obagaye MO, Eboreime H, Amadasun LO, and Okogbenin EO.
Abstract
Secondary school represents the dominant context for substance use initiation across most drug categories in Nigeria, yet the specific patterns of onset age and educational setting at first use among medical students—a high-risk group whose training trajectory extends risk exposure beyond this period—remain poorly characterized. Understanding initiation trajectories is critical for designing appropriately timed prevention interventions.
Objectives: To describe the age of first use and educational level at which substances were first used for tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, amphetamine, tranquilizers, and sedatives among medical students at Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria, and to determine the overall prevalence of substance use across lifetime, past-year, and current timeframes.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between September and October 2010 among 370 pre-clinical and clinical medical students of AAU and the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital. Data was collected using a self-administered modified WHO Student Drug Use Survey Questionnaire. Frequency distributions and percentages were used to describe patterns of initiation by age band and educational level.
Results: Alcohol was the most reported substance with a lifetime prevalence of 62.2% ($n = 230$), followed by tobacco (15.9%), tranquilizers (6.8%), cannabis (5.7%), and amphetamine (5.7%). Sedative and opiate use were rare. Alcohol onset peaked at 15 to 18 years, with secondary school as the most common educational setting for first tobacco (40.6%) and alcohol (42.6%) use. Cannabis initiation was concentrated at 15 to 18 years, while amphetamine and tranquilizer onset more frequently began between 19 and 22 years, corresponding to the pre-clinical university period. Sedative use was more likely to begin at the clinical level.
Conclusion: Substance use initiation among medical students in Edo State predominantly occurs during secondary school, with alcohol and tobacco representing the earliest and most commonly initiated substances. These findings support the need for school-based prevention programmes beginning at the secondary level, and continued vigilance during the pre-clinical university transition period.
Objectives: To describe the age of first use and educational level at which substances were first used for tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, amphetamine, tranquilizers, and sedatives among medical students at Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria, and to determine the overall prevalence of substance use across lifetime, past-year, and current timeframes.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between September and October 2010 among 370 pre-clinical and clinical medical students of AAU and the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital. Data was collected using a self-administered modified WHO Student Drug Use Survey Questionnaire. Frequency distributions and percentages were used to describe patterns of initiation by age band and educational level.
Results: Alcohol was the most reported substance with a lifetime prevalence of 62.2% ($n = 230$), followed by tobacco (15.9%), tranquilizers (6.8%), cannabis (5.7%), and amphetamine (5.7%). Sedative and opiate use were rare. Alcohol onset peaked at 15 to 18 years, with secondary school as the most common educational setting for first tobacco (40.6%) and alcohol (42.6%) use. Cannabis initiation was concentrated at 15 to 18 years, while amphetamine and tranquilizer onset more frequently began between 19 and 22 years, corresponding to the pre-clinical university period. Sedative use was more likely to begin at the clinical level.
Conclusion: Substance use initiation among medical students in Edo State predominantly occurs during secondary school, with alcohol and tobacco representing the earliest and most commonly initiated substances. These findings support the need for school-based prevention programmes beginning at the secondary level, and continued vigilance during the pre-clinical university transition period.
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