PRACTICES AND SOCIO CULTURAL ASPECTS OF SUBSTANCE USE AMONG RESIDENTS OF A NEWLY FORMED STATE: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY IN DEHRADUN

Abstract

Introduction Numerous studies have demonstrated that excessive alcohol consumption and tobacco use are independently associated with a plethora of health-related, social, and economic adverse consequences for the consumers of these legal substances as well as for society at large.

Material & Methods: A cross sectional study was done in rural & urban areas of Distt. Dehradun. Multistage Stratified Random Sampling was used for selection of study area, Kish method was applied for the selection of study subjects. Statistical analysis: Proportions, Chi square, Odds ratio was calculated.

Results: The overall prevalence of ever use of tobacco was 24.4%. It was observed that prevalence of tobacco was more (32.9%) in rural area as compare to urban area (15.8%). The prevalence of ever smokers was 12.2%. Smoking was more among males [25.6%] as compared to females [3.2%]. Bidi was the main form of smoking i.e. 72.9%. The prevalence of current daily smokeless tobacco user was 16.8%. Khaini was the most commonly used form. Prevalence of ever alcohol use among respondents was 17.4%. Overall 16.6% of male respondents while only 0.8% of females have consumed alcohol in their lifetime. Almost 21.2% of males in rural area and 12.0% in urban area were alcohol users. The prevalence of current alcohol use in rural / urban area was 20.6% & 13% respectively.

Conclusion : It can be concluded from our study that the burden of one of the major risk factors for Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs)i.e. substance abuse is quite high among rural & urban areas of district Dehradun.