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Jump to full article: Nation Media (ke), 2008-06-21
Author: Story by ARTHUR OKWEMBA
Intro: Experts are sounding alarm bells after two new studies revealed that school children as young as 11 are falling prey to drug abuse. . . .
According to two studies -- Drug Use Screening Inventory-Revised (DUSI-R) and School Toolkit -- conducted among school going children in 17 public secondary schools in Nairobi, a significant number of the students admitted taking beer, wine, spirits and cigarettes, among other drugs.
In the first study that has been accepted for publication by the International Society for Addiction Medicine in the 2008 Substance Abuse Journal, 18.1 per cent of the 1,328 students interviewed said they were taking alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
The School Toolkit study, to be published in the same Journal, surveyed 1,296 students. It found that 3.6 per cent admitted to smoking between one and 20 cigarettes a day.
Close to 30 per cent of those aged between 13 and 14 years abused alcohol, drugs (10.1 per cent), and tobacco (21.7 per cent). The abuse was higher among those aged 19 to 20 years, with 49.5 per cent admitting to be using alcohol, 25 per cent drugs, and 39.8 per cent tobacco, according to findings released by African Mental Health Foundation. . . .
"Access to alcohol or cigarettes was particularly easier because the students can afford single sticks or small amounts. This requires a policy that prohibits the selling of these commodities in such amounts," said Prof David Ndetei.
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