Substance abuse: trends among university students in Delhi -ncr

Introduction: The epidemic of substance abuse is fast growing in the young population of India. University students, staying away from home are easily introduced to such habits which they find difficult to quit. Methods: A 14 Item questionnaire was constructed using three domains: Screening for Substance Abuse (socio-demographic and personal) and Reasons for Substance Abuse were distributed to students of a university in Delhi NCR. Results: A total of 512 students were screened out of which 215 (42%) were smokers predominantly of age group (18-21). Most of the smokers were found to be hostlers. Many of them were smokers who were consuming cigarettes 157 (73.02%) among other forms of smoking. It was seen that 124 (57.7%) were also alcoholic in addition to smoking .Majority of the drug abusers were Marijuana users followed by Char as users. Pleasurable experience 73 (46.5%) is emerged as major reason for smoking. Conclusion: Use of both regulatory and educational approach are indicated to reduce the menace of substance abuse amongst students, which is on the rise.