Cigarette, Alcohol And Drug Use Among Students From 7th Until 9th Grade In Kavarna And Dobrich

Abstract

Introduction: The fact that more and more kids in adolescence are smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and taking psychoactive substances is very worrying. Since youth is a crucial development period f this automatically leads to serious consequences for a child’s body.

Aim: The focus of the current study is to establish and to compare the level of cigarette, alcohol and drug use among students from 7^th to 9^th grade in Dobrich and Kavarna.

Results: In regard to smoking cigarettes it was established that 31% of the students in Dobrich and 55.1% of those from Kavarna smoke cigarettes, with the percentage of girls being higher than that of boys. The youngest individuals smoking cigarettes were 8-10-year-old kids (4% in both schools). When comes to alcohol – 44% from the surveyed students in Dobrich and 66.3% of surveyed students in Kavarna consumed alcohol, again more consumed by girls than boys. The youngest age of alcohol consumption for both schools was 8-10 years. When it comes to narcotics - 10% of surveyed in Dobrich and 6% of surveyed in Kavarna have taken them, with the most common one being marijuana. The earliest age in this group was 15 years.

The results from the study are proof that regardless of the policy changes in terms of the abuse of psychoactive substances, the issue continues to be present and serious. Thus,  the development of a new program and way of communication is crucial, starting as early as possible.