BHUBANESWAR: As high as one-third of the young people attending primary health centres in the peri-urban areas of Bhubaneswar are engaged in substance use with two-thirds of them initiating substance use before completing adolescence, a new study has found.
According to the study, part of a larger survey conducted in 15 states, by a group of researchers and health professionals, the prevalence of substance use among people in the age group of 10-24 years is 37 per cent as against the national prevalence of 32.8 per cent.
Zoram in Mizoram topped the prevalence chart with 89 per cent, followed by Dahod in Gujarat (61 per cent), Bengaluru in Karnataka (54.5 per cent), Chennai in Tamil Nadu (46.3 per cent), Lakhimpur in Assam (46 per cent), Agra in Uttar Pradesh (39.2 per cent), Shimla in Himachal Pradesh (19 per cent), Kalyani in West Bengal (17.2 per cent), Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh (14.8 per cent) and Hyderabad in Telangana (10.2 per cent).
Odisha, being one of the largest consumers of tobacco in the country, faces substantial health risks associated with its use. With a median substance initiation age of 18 years, around 75 per cent began before completing adolescence. Tobacco, alcohol and cannabis, inhalant, and opioid were commonly consumed.
The study revealed women had a lower prevalence of substance use. People in the age group of 20-24 years, men, urban residents, married, employed, those with a positive family history and falling under lower socioeconomic class had a significantly higher proportion of substance use.
The role of family and peers was crucial in the initiation of substance use as two-thirds of substance users had at least one parent using substance.
Professor of Community Medicine at the IMS and SUM Hospital Dr E Venkata Rao said substance use is a complex condition with multi-dimensional determinants. The findings are only the tip of the iceberg and actual prevalence may be more as people included in the study visited health centres for other diseases, he said.
worrying figures
37% in 10-24 age group engaged in substance use
Median initiation age is 18
9 of 10 users introduced by friends
Two-thirds have at least one parent using substance