The Use of Tobacco, Alcohol and Psychoactive Substances by High School Students

Introduction: Tobacco smoking, alcohol, and drug intake are essential health and sociological problems in many countries. Despite many campaigns, the percentage of people using these stimulants does not diminish. Aim: Evaluation of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use by the students of Polish high schools. Materials and methods: The research was conducted on 3108 pupils of the first and last classes of 19 high schools in the Mazovian province. A specially prepared questionnaire was used. Class, a place of residence, origin, parents’ education, tobacco, alcohol, and psychoactive drugs were analysed. Results: From 3108(100%) respondents, 71.4% never smoked cigarettes, 17.1% smoked less, and 11.5% more than 1 packet daily. 10.4% smoked cigarettes longer than 1 year, boys more often and for longer. At 57.5% at least one parent smoked cigarettes. Place of residence, kind of school, class, and parents’ education did not affect the frequency of smoking. Of 3108 pupils, 33,7% did not drink alcohol, 30.5% less often than once in the quarter, 29.4% several times monthly, 6.4% several times weekly. Boys drank more often than girls. Class, the origin, and place of residence did not affect the frequency of alcohol consumption. Children of parents with a university education drank more often. 333(10.7%) used psychoactive drugs, 327(10.5%) marijuana, and 6(0,2%) amphetamine. Conclusion: Despite indicators lower than in other countries of smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, and holding drugs in Poland, these phenomena are a crucial health and population factor. Preventive and educational actions among pupils, as well as in their home environment, are necessary.