Zeitschrift für Suchtforschung und -therapie

Abstrakt

Dubai Medical College Students' Attitudes towards Substance Use

Jamshid Ahmadi and Mohammed Galal Ahmed

Background: In recent years there has been an increasing trend towards psychoactive substance use among youth, especially medical students. Aims: To assess Dubai Medical College for Girls students’ attitudes towards substance use and their use of substances. Participants: One hundred and three female medical students were selected randomly and were evaluated. Measurements: A confidential questionnaire was distributed, completed by the students and collected in the same sessions in 2007. Results: Of the subjects, 8.92% reported usage of substance(s) once or more sometime during their lives. Only 4.90% were currently using substance. The most common reason for initiation of substance use was to find out what it was like for most of the substances. The majority of the students reported religion as the most important reason for not using substances. Most of the students reported radio/television and newspaper/magazine as the usual source of information about substances. Conclusions: Tobacco was found to be the most prevalent form of substance use. There was no report of ecstasy, cocaine, LSD or heroin use. Drug use among Dubai Medical College students is much lower than that reported in the West.