Available via license: CC BY-NC
Content may be subject to copyright.
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | August 2018 | Vol 5 | Issue 8 Page 1
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Sarkar S et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018 Aug;5(8):xxx-xxx
http://www.ijcmph.com
pISSN 2394-6032 | eISSN 2394-6040
Original Research Article
A study of substance abuse among male engineering students staying at
hostels in a township near Kolkata
Kingsuk Sarkar*, Suman Kumar Roy, Ritesh Singh
INTRODUCTION
World today is witnessing a virtual epidemic of drug
abuse.1 In India, youths are bearing the brunt of it.
Industrialization, urbanization, migration, changing
cultural values, increasing economic stress and loosening
of traditional bonds are leading to initiation into
substance abuse.2 According to World Health
Organization, substance abuse is persistence or sporadic
excessive drug use inconsistent with or unrelated to
acceptable medical practice.3 Worldwide, nearly two
billion people use alcohol, with more than one billion use
tobacco4 and around 200 million people admitted of
having used some type of illicit drugs.5 University or
college duration is also a sensitive and critical period,
because substance use could be seen, especially among
students under academic pressure, peer group effects,
popularity and easy access to common substances.6
Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study
reported 44% American college students practice binge
drinking.7 College students were twice as likely found to
develop alcohol related and drug related disorders than
the rest of the general population.8,9 In a probabilistic
study of college students carried throughout Brazil, men
were found to have tried illicit drugs more than women in
lifetime.10 Another study carried out among intercollege
students in Dehradun district, substance abuse was found
to be significantly higher among male students (45.8%)
ABSTRACT
Background:
Substance is being more common during college days, due to academic pressure, peer group effects,
popularity and easy access to common substances. Men are more likely to engage in substance abuse. This was
supposed to be more common in hostels. A study was carried out among male engineering students staying at hostels
- with aims to find out the magnitude of substance abuse, to assess the potential risk of different substances abused
and to find out a comparison between these two groups.
Methods:
Study was carried out with the help of two part questionnaire, one part containing alcohol, smoking and
substance involvement screening test 8 item screening tool proposed by WHO (WHO-ASSIST). Other part contained
socio demographic information. First 50 students, in each two colleges were enrolled in the study after getting their
consent.
Results:
Ever use of tobacco product was found to be 66.0% and 22.0%, of alcoholic beverages: 72.0% and 26.0%, of
cannabis: 46.0% and 14.0% - for students of government and private engineering college respectively. In the past 3
months, tobacco (36.0%) followed by cannabis (12.0%) were found to be the most commonly abused substances in
government engineering college students while both (6.0%) cannabis and tobacco were the commonest substances of
daily abuse among private engineering college students.
Conclusions:
High level of substance abuse was found to be present among male engineering students staying at
hostels with higher level found among students of government engineering college.
Keywords: Substance abuse, ASSIST-WHO
Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine and JNM Hospital, Kalyani, West Bengal, India
Received: 26 June 2018
Accepted: 12 July 2018
*Correspondence:
Dr. Kingsuk Sarkar,
E-mail: kingsuksarkar07@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20182990
Sarkar S et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018 Aug;5(8):xxx-xxx
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | August 2018 | Vol 5 | Issue 8 Page 2
compared to female students (7.3%) and prevalence of
substance use was found to be significantly more in the
students who were living away from their homes. 11
According to a study carried out in neighbouring
Pakistan, majority of the male hostel students are affected
negatively due to drug use.12 Another thing of concern
was that while experiencing serious levels of substance
abuse, college students seldom realize the need for
treatment or seek help at all. 13
Based on these, a cross sectional study was carried out in
2 engineering colleges (one government and another
private) located in Kalyani Municipality among male
engineering students pursuing B.Tech degree and staying
at hostels, with aims to find out the magnitude of
substance abuse among them, to assess the potential risk
of different substance of abuse present in them and to
draw a comparison between these two groups of
engineering students. There has been a dearth of studies
regarding substance abuse in college students as well as
about students pursuing professional courses in Eastern
India, particularly in West Bengal. Kalyani being a
planned township under Kolkata Metropolitan
Development Authority Kolkata, is coming out as an
education hub.14 It already hosts three engineering
colleges, one government medical college, one law
college, one university, Institute of Public Health and
Policy, Indian Institute of Information Technology
Kalyani, National Institute of Biomedical Genomics,
Eastern Regional Station of National Dairy Research
Institute, apart from one general degree college. Indian
Institute of Science Education and Research- Kolkata
(main campus) of agriculture university and that of West
Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences are
also located nearby Kalyani.15
METHODS
The present study, cross-sectional, descriptive in nature
had been conducted in two engineering colleges located
in Kalyani Municipality. One was the Government
Engineering College, Kalyani and the other, a private
one. It was carried out with the active participation of 3rd
semester undergraduate MBBS students of the College of
Medicine and JNM Hospital, Kalyani during the 3rd week
of August, 2015 following arrangements of prerequisite
permission from the Medical College authority as well as
engineering college officials.
The questionnaire consisted of two parts, first part had
few demographic questions like age, year of study, type
of family etc. Second part consisted of 8-item WHO-
ASSIST screening tool that collected information
concerning substance abuse spanning lifetime as well as
past three months indicating the likelihood of risk and
harm that might had been caused by the said abuse of
substances. Three types of risks were classified- low,
moderate and high. Moderate means there are potential
risk present while high risk signified high risk of
experiencing severe problems (health, social, financial,
legal, relationship) and are likely to be dependent.16 Prior
to the study proper, questionnaire was introduced to a
group of few undergraduate engineering students and
their response was noted to find out needed modifications
and alterations, in a private engineering college located in
Kalyani, that was not included in the study later on.17
During the study period, on each engineering college, a
small health talk regarding awareness about substance
abuse was organized which were actively manned by
undergraduate medical students preceding data collection.
Data was collected from male students fulfilling the
criteria, after securing written consent. On each college,
out of the male engineering students who were presently
staying at hostels and showed interest and fulfilled the
inclusion criteria, first 50 students who expressed
interest, were invited to fill up the schedule ensuring
privacy and anonymity.
Only those male students who were then pursuing B.
Tech in their 2nd year to 4th year of study, and those who
stay together at college provided hostels’ and gave
consent were only included in the study. Students staying
at rented apartments, in private mess, as well residing as
paying guests outside were excluded as well. As it was
just the beginning of the session, 1st year students were
excluded.
Data was tabulated and analysed with MS Office and
SPSS software using mostly descriptive statistical
methods.
RESULTS
The study population consisted of male engineering
students. In case of government engineering college,
mean age was 20.48 and for private engineering college it
was 20.02 years. The minimum family income of the
students of the government college was found to be
Rs.3500/- and that of the private engineering college was
Rs.10000/-pm.
Alcohol and related drinks were the most common
substance of abuse among both the groups, 72.0% and
26.0% among government and private engineering
college students respectively. Among, the students of
Governments College no abuse of cocaine or related
product could be found whereas there was no reported
abuse of sedatives or hallucinogens among private
engineering college students. Among the other substance
not included in the ASSIST schedule was steroid
supplements taken for perceived health and fitness
benefits.
Tobacco products (36.0%) were found to be the most
common substance abused daily in past 3 months by
government engineering college students while cannabis
(6.0%) was found to be the commonest daily abused
substance by private college students.
Sarkar S et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018 Aug;5(8):xxx-xxx
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | August 2018 | Vol 5 | Issue 8 Page 3
Table 1: Socio demographic profile of the hostel dwelling male engineering students.
Sl. No
Socio demographic variables
Government engineering college
Private engineering college
N=50
%
N=50
%
1.
Age
18
-
-
2
4.0
19
8
16.0
20
40.0
20
21
42.0
14
28.0
21
12
24.0
6
12.0
22
7
14.0
5
10.0
23
2
4.0
3
6.0
2.
Type of family
Nuclear
28
56.0
33
66.0
Joint
22
44.0
17
34.0
3.
Monthly family income
(1000 ₹)
<25
26
52.0
10
20.0
25-50
14
28.0
21
42.0
50-75
5
10.0
6
12.0
75-100
-
-
2
4.0
>100
5
10.0
11
22.0
4.
Academic years of study
2nd
8
16.0
22
44.0
3rd
21
42.0
14
28.0
4th
21
42.0
14
28.0
5.
Parents staying together
currently
yes
45
90.0
47
94.0
No
5
10.0
3
6.0
Table 2: Ever use of substances of addiction by the hostel dwelling engineering students.
Sl. no.
Ever-used substances- group wise
Government engineering college
Private engineering college
N=50
%
N=50
%
1.
Tobacco products
(cigarette, beedi,
chewing tobacco)
No
17
34.0
39
78.0
Yes
33
66.0
11
22.0
2.
Alcoholic beverages
(wine, spirits)
No
14
28.0
37
74.0
Yes
36
72.0
13
26.0
3.
Cannabis (ganja,
marijuana, hashish)
No
27
54.0
43
86.0
yes
23
46.0
7
14.0
4.
Cocaine (coke, crack)
No
50
100.0
44
88.0
Yes
-
-
6
12.0
5.
Amphetamines (speed,
ecstasy)
No
47
94.0
49
98.0
Yes
3
6.0
1
2.0
6.
Inhalants (glue, petrol,
paint thinner)
No
46
92.0
47
94.0
Yes
4
8.0
3
6.0
7.
Sedatives (sleeping pills)
No
46
92.0
50
100.0
yes
4
8.0
-
8.
Hallucinogens (LSD,
PCP, mushrooms)
No
48
96.0
50
100.0
Yes
2
4.0
-
-
9.
Opioids (heroin,
morphine, codeine)
No
48
96.0
49
98.0
Yes
2
4.0
1
2.0
10.
Other oral
No
48
96.0
48
96.0
Yes
2
4.0
2
4.0
11.
Injectables
No
49
98.0
47
94.0
Yes
1
2.0
3
6.0
Among the government engineering college students, 3
were found to be of high risk for addiction with alcoholic
beverages and cannabis related products, according to
scoring by WHO-ASSIST score. They are likely to be
dependent on future. 16
Between the socio-demographic variables studied here,
significant relationship could be established between ever
use of cannabis and age of the students (p=0.027), ever
use of alcohol and type of family (p=0.015), types of
family and ever use of cocaine (p=0.007), type of family
Sarkar S et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018 Aug;5(8):xxx-xxx
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | August 2018 | Vol 5 | Issue 8 Page 4
and use of injectable drugs (p=0.045), ever use of
inhalants and monthly family income (p=0.023); years in
age of the students and frequency of alcohol abuse in past
3 months (p=0.005), age in years and frequency of
cannabis abuse in past 3 months (p=0.00), academic years
of study and frequency of alcohol abuse in past 3 months
(p=0.26), academic years of study and frequency of
cannabis abuse in past 3 months (p=0.02) – among the
students studying in the private engineering college.
Table 3: Frequency of substance abuse in past 3 months- category wise.
Sl.no
Substances abused
Usage frequency
in past 3 months
Government engineering
college
Private engineering college
N=50
%
N=50
%
1.
Tobacco products
Never
19
38.0
39
78.0
1/2times
10
20.0
6
12.0
Monthly
1
2.0
-
-
Weekly
2
4.0
2
4.0
Daily
18
36.0
3
6.0
2.
Alcoholic beverages
Never
16
32.0
37
74.0
1/2times
16
32.0
6
12.0
Monthly
12
24.0
2
4.0
Weekly
3
6.0
3
6.0
Daily
3
6.0
2
4.0
3.
Cannabis
Never
27
54.0
44
88.0
1/2 times
10
20.0
3
6.0
Monthly
4
8.0
-
-
Weekly
3
6.0
-
-
Daily
6
12.0
3
6.0
4.
Cocaine
Never
50
100.0
44
88.0
1/2 times
-
-
3
6.0
Monthly
-
-
3
6.0
5.
Amphetamine
Never
47
94.0
50
100.0
1/2 times
2
4.0
-
-
Monthly
1
2.0
-
-
6.
Inhalants
Never
46
92.0
47
94.0
1/ 2times
2
4.0
1
2.0
Monthly
2
4.0
2
4.0
7.
Sedatives
Never
46
92.0
50
100.0
1/2 times
3
6.0
-
-
weekly
1
2.0
-
-
8.
Hallucinogen
Never
48
96.0
50
100.0
1/2 times
2
4.0
-
-
9.
Opioids
Never
48
96.0
49
98.0
1/2 times
1
2.0
1
2.0
Monthly
1
2.0
-
-
10.
Others
Never
48
96.0
48
96.0
Monthly
1
2.0
2
4.0
weekly
1
2.0
-
-
11.
Injectables
No, Never
49
98.0
47
94.0
Yes, in past
3months
-
-
1
2.0
Yes, NOT in past 3
months
1
2.0
2
4.0
Sarkar S et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018 Aug;5(8):xxx-xxx
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | August 2018 | Vol 5 | Issue 8 Page 5
Table 4: Category wise risk profile of engineering students staying at hostel according to WHO-ASSIST score.
Sl. no.
Category of
substance abused
ASSIST-WHO
score risk category
Government engineering
college
Private engineering college
N=50
% of total
student
population
N=50
% of total
student
population
1.
Tobacco products
Low
5
10
1.0
2.0
Moderate
27
54.0
9
18.0
2.
Alcoholic beverages
Low
23
46.0
6
12.0
Moderate
7
14.0
7
14.0
High
3
6.0
-
-
3.
Cannabis
Low
7
14.0
-
-
Moderate
12
24.0
7
14.0
High
3
6.0
-
-
4.
Cocaine
Low
-
-
2
4.0
Moderate
-
-
4
8.0
5.
Amphetamine
Low
1
2.0
1
2.0
Moderate
2
4.0
-
-
6.
Inhalants
Low
3
6.0
-
-
Moderate
1
2.0
3
6.0
7.
Sedatives
Low
2
4.0
-
-
Moderate
3
6.0
1
-
8.
Hallucinogens
Low
1
2.0
-
-
Moderate
1
2.0
-
-
9.
Opioids
Low
1
2.0
-
-
Moderate
1
2.0
1
2.0
10.
Others
Low
1
2.0
2
4.0
Moderate
1
2.0
-
-
But within, the government engineering college students
significant relationship could only be established between
monthly family income and ever use of tobacco products
(p=0.015), age of the students and ever use of tobacco
products (p=0.018); type of the family and frequency of
alcohol abuse in past 3 months (p=0.20).
DISCUSSION
A professional course is meant for creating professionals,
whose knowledge and conduct could be trusted at face
value. Ethics and moral values are as important as
intellectual brilliance.18
A Jaipur based study carried on engineering students
found nearly, 23% of the students reported smoking of
tobacco with 8.68% of the subjects were current smokers.
About 34% and 20.48% reported sensible and binge level
of alcohol drinking, respectively. Cannabis use by
students was nearly 11.80% whereas 6.90% used
inhalants. The percentage of students who used ecstasy,
lysergic acid diethylamide, and cocaine were nearly 1%
each. It also showed alcohol addiction progresses with
passing academic years.19 Findings of this study was
somewhat similar to that of the findings of the private
engineering college in our study.
A study carried out by Community Medicine Department
of Government Medical College Chandigarh found
prevalence of substance abuse among engineering passed
graduates to be as high as 52.0%. Age was found to be
significantly associated with substance abuse.20 Another
study carried out among high school students in rural
areas of West Bengal found high level (55.6%) of
substance abuse among boys.21 One more study carried
out among medical students in Kolkata based medical
college found prevalence of substance abuse to be quite
substantial- tobacco (57.38%), alcohol (27.25%),
cannabis (10.38%), amphetamine (1.12%), Inhalable
substance (0.75%), hallucinogen (0.38%), sedatives
(3.75%) and opium (1.50%).22 These findings got some
familiarity with the findings of the government
engineering college.
The use of alcoholic drinks in moderate level by adults is
considered as normal behavior in most of the countries. 19
Males in Indian state of West Bengal particularly exhibit
higher fondness for tobacco products. Tobacco use in any
form was 52.3% among males according to the Global
Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) carried out in West
Bengal on 2009-2010, which again seems to be quite
high.23 All these findings are that of male engineering
students not specifically staying together and influencing
each other’s behaviour. Prevalence of substance use was
found to be significantly more in the students who were
Sarkar S et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018 Aug;5(8):xxx-xxx
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | August 2018 | Vol 5 | Issue 8 Page 6
living away from their homes.11 Early adulthood was a
period of adjustments to new patterns of life and new
social expectations especially when they enter into
organization stage.24 The concept of hostel is not only
limited to place of residence, hostel is a human practical
laboratory.12 Kalyani is located around a distance of 52
Km away from the centre of Kolkata and is also near to
the Bangladesh border. According to news reports,
Kolkata, doubles up as a destination and transit point for
cannabis consignments headed for the northern part of the
country.25 Qualitative research suggests that a shared
route of administration (i.e. via inhalation) for the
common forms of both tobacco and cannabis may
contribute to their co-occurring use. That may partly
explain higher rate of cannabis abuse.26
In general, government run institutions and its hostels
have less strict regulations. Many government institutions
have become battlegrounds for political rivalry resulting
in poor governance leading to poor quality of education
as well.27 Private ones need to maintain their discipline
for the sake of a better image. This may be the reason for
difference in addiction profile pf these two groups of
students, leaving aside their socio demographic
characteristics, which in many cases didn’t show much
significant influence.
CONCLUSION
There has been considerable difference in the socio
demographic, substance abuse and risk profile between
the hostel dwelling students of government run
engineering college and privately owned engineering
college. Overall, substance abuse was found bit common
among government engineering college students. This
needs further probing. Timely intervention with
involvement of the faculty members, peer educators and
establishing support group as well as regular vigilant
supervision could improve the prevailing situation.
Limitations
A mix method study could have been more engrossing.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Help and participation of the 3rd Semester undergraduate
students of COMJNM and H was highly instrumental.
Help of the Principals of the Government Engineering
College as well as that of the two private engineering
colleges along with their managerial staffs and faculty
members were invaluable. Mr. Raju Dasgupta, Asssitant
Professor & statistician, Department Community
Medicine, COMJNM & H, also helped a lot with his
thoughtful suggestions.
Funding: No funding sources
Conflict of interest: None declared
Ethical approval: Not required
REFERENCES
1. Kishore J. National Health Programme of India.
India. 7 th ed. Delhi, DL: Century; 2007: 374-389.
2. Nadeem A, Rubeena B, Agarwal VK, Piyush K.
Substance abuse in India. Pravara Med Rev.
2009;1(4):4-6.
3. World Health Organization (WHO).Substance
abuse. Terminology and classification. Geneva:
World Health Organization; 2015. Available at:
www.who.int/substance_abuse/terminology/abuse/e
n. Accessed on 12 August 2015.
4. United nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC). WORLD Drug Report:2008.New York:
United Nations; 2008. Available at:
ww.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2
008_eng_web.pdf. Accessed on 12 June 2015.
5. United nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC). WORLD Drug Report: 2008. New
York: United Nations; 2011. Available at:
ww.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2011/WDR_2
011_eng_web.pdf. Accessed on 12 June 2015.
6. Abbasi-Ghahramanloo A, Fotouhi A, Zeerati H,
Rahimi-Movaghar A.prescription Drugs, Alcohol,
and Illicit Substance use and Their Correlations
Among Medical Science Studemts in Iran. Int J
High Risk Behaviors Addiction. 2015;4(1):e21945.
7. Wechesler H, Nelson TF. What we have learned
from the Harvard School of Public Health College
Alcohol Study: Focussing attention on college
student alcohol consumption and the environmental
conditions that promote it. J Studies Alcohol Drugs.
2008;69(4):481-90.
8. Compton WM, Thomas YF, Stinson FS, Grant BF.
Prevalence, correlates, disability, and comorbidity
of DSM-IV drug abuse and dependence in united
States: Results from the national epidemiological
survey on alcohol and related conditions. Arch
General Psychiatr. 2007;64(5):566-76.
9. Hasin DS, Stinson FS, Ogburn E, Grant BF.
Prevalence, correlates, disability, and comorbidity
of DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence in united
States: Results from the national epidemiological
survey on alcohol and related conditions. Arch
General Psychiatr. 2007;64(7):830-42.
10. Andrade AG, Duarte PCAV, Barroso LP, Nishimura
R, Alberghini DG, Oliveira LG. Use of alcohol and
other drugs among Brazilian college students:
effects of gender and age. Revista Brasileira de
Psiquiatria. 2012;34(3):294-305.
11. Juyal R, Bansal R, Kishore S, Negi KS, Chandra R,
Semwal J. Substance Use Among Intercollege
Students in District Dehradun. Indian J Community
Med. 2006;31(4):252-4.
12. Iftikhar A, Ajmal A. A Qualitative Study
Investigating the Impact of Hostel Life. Int J
Emergency Mental Health Human Resilience.
2015;17(2):511-5.
13. Caldeira KM, Kasperski SJ, Sharma E, Vincent KB,
O’Grady KE, Wish ED et al. College students rarely
Sarkar S et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2018 Aug;5(8):xxx-xxx
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | August 2018 | Vol 5 | Issue 8 Page 7
seek help despite serious substance use problems. J
Substance Abuse Treatment. 2009;37(4):368-78.
14. Kalyani Municipality. Nature by Heart and mind.
Available at: www.kalyanimunicipality.org.
Accessed on 18 April 2017.
15. Expanding Horizons: Higher Education in West
Bengal-RUSA.2017. Available at www.rusa.nic.in/
download/202/pulications/3193/expanding-horizon-
higher-education-in-west-bengal.pdf. Accessed on
20 April 2017.
16. World Health Organization(WHO).The Alcohol,
Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening
Test (ASSIST). Manual for use in primary care.
Geneva: World Health organization; 2015.
Available at: www.who.int/substance_abuse/
activities/assist/en. Accessed on 18 August 2015.
17. Pilot Survey. Explorable.com; 2018. Available at
www.explorable.com/pilot-survey. Accessed on 25
June, 2015.
18. Technical education- Challenges Ahead. Education
plus.thehindu.com:2010. Available at: https://www
.thehindu.com/features/education/Technical-
education-mdash-challenges-ahead/article16811848
.ece. Accessed on 21August 2017.
19. Shavi GR, Chaudhary P, Agarwal M, Joshi P, khan
M, Bhaskar R K. Alcohol and Drug use among
Jaipur Based Engineering Students: A Questionnaire
Based Observational Study. Int J Prevent Public
Health Sci. 2015;1(1):9-13.
20. Gupta S, Sarpal SS, Kumar D, Kaur T, Arora S.
Prevalence, Pattern and Familial Effects of
Substance Use Among the Male College Students –
A North Indian Study. J Clin Diagnos Res.
2013;7(8):1632-6.
21. Sikder G, Das D. Substance Abuse among Senior
School Students in a Rural Area of west Bengal,
India. IOSR J Dental Med Sci. 2017;16(1verXI):49-
55.
22. Datta A, Bhattacharyya A, Naskar NN. A Study of
Substance Abuse among Medical Students of a
Medical College in Kolkata. Indian J Hygiene
Public Health. 2015;1(1):41-7.
23. Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS).Factsheet.
Global Adult Tobacco Survey: 2009-2010. India,
West Bengal: 2009-2010. Available at
http://www.cancerfoundationofindia.org/activities/to
bacco-control/advocacy/pdf/GATS%202010%20
West%20Bengal%20data.pdf. Accessed on 12
October 2017.
24. Srivastava P, Singh N. An evaluation of quality of
life among hostel inmates. Int J Home Sci.
2016;2(3):96-8.
25. Banerjje T, Khanna R. High times for ganja trade:
Shadow men help spread illegal business. News.
City news. Kolkata News. 2017. Available at
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/hig
h-times-for-ganja-trade/articleshow/56863874.cms.
Accessed on 11 September 2017.
26. Agarwal A, Lynskey MT. Tobacco and cannabis co-
occurrence: does route of administration matter?
Drug Alcohol Dependence. 2009;1;99(1-3):240-7.
27. ’Reasons for low employability of engineering
graduates.’ BITS Pilani's professors A.K Sarkar and
S.K Choudhary discuss why the employability of
Indian graduates seems to be very low. Opinion.
Deep dive.businesstoday.com; 2014. Available at
https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/deep-dive/a.-
k.-sarkar-s.k.-choudhury-on-engineering-students-
employment/story/205041.html. Accessed on 20
September 2017.
Cite this article as: Sarkar S, Roy SK, Singh R. A
study of substance abuse among male engineering
students staying at hostels in a township near Kolkata.
Int J Community Med Public Health 2018;5:xxx-xx.
