Arvid Amundsen’s research while affiliated with Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research and other places

Different prevalences of cigarette smoking and use of snus between University students and non-students, may supply us with information about the diffusion stage of the epidemic. User characteristics and involvement in other risk behaviour influences their status as diffusion agents. 1 655 students at the University of Oslo responded to a postal questionnaire about their tobacco, alcohol and drug use, gambling habits, physical activity and incidence of anxiety and depression. Data on tobacco habits of similarly aged youth outside University were obtained from Statistics Norway. The response rate was 57 %. The proportion of daily smokers was significantly lower among students (men [10 %], women [9.6 %]), than among non-students (men [27 %], women [28 %]). The proportion of snuff users (daily + occasionally) for women was almost three times higher among students (12 %) than non-students (3.8 %). For men the results were different (28 % snuff users among students and 33 % among non-students). The quit-rate for smoking among students was higher for daily (46 %) and former users (61 %) of snus, than among students who had not used snus (34 %). Cigarette smoking increased with drug abuse, alcohol consumption, physical inactiveness, reduced mental health, and absence of parity. Use of snus was a typical male phenomenon, and increased with alcohol consumption and drug abuse. The diffusion of the snus epidemic seems to be in an early stage for women, while for men it may already have reached a level of maturity. The high proportion of previous smokers among snus users, indicates that snus may affect the prevalence and frequency of smoking in a population. Groups with a low social impact seem to have a higher prevalence of smokers, both in general and among students, while the opposite is the case for snus users.

NORSK SAMMENDRAG: Rapporten bygger på en spørreundersøkelse med 1655 studenter ved Universitetet i Oslo om bruk av alkohol og andre rusmidler, røyking og pengespill. Resultatene fra 2006 er sammenlignet med tall fra en tilsvarende undersøkelse i 1997. Rapporten er utarbeidet av Ellen M. Tefre, Arvid Amundsen, Sturla Nordlund og Karl Erik Lund ved SIRUS på oppdrag av Studentsamskipnaden i Oslo. Kvinnelige studenter har økt sitt alkoholforbruk med 28 prosent fra 1997 til 2006. For mannlige studenter er økningen på 23 prosent. Økningen er størst blant kvinnelige studenter mellom 25 og 29 år. I denne gruppen økte alkoholforbruket med 42 prosent fra 1997 til 2006. Økningen i forbruket skyldes at studentene drikker mer hver gang de drikker, ikke at de drikker oftere. Fortsatt har mannlige studenter oftere et høyt alkoholinntak enn kvinner. Der mennene i gjennomsnitt drakk fire halvlitere øl eller mer 3,3 ganger i måneden, gjorde kvinnene det samme i underkant av to ganger i måneden. Studenters drikkemønster er mer uavhengig av alder enn befolkningen ellers. De mannlige studentene over 25 år drikker like mye som de yngste studentene og alkoholforbruket holder seg stabilt høyt også etter at de har fylt 30 år, i motsetning til resten av befolkningen. I følge internasjonal standard har 40 prosent av kvinnene og 32 prosent av mennene et drikkemønster som, hvis det blir opprettholdt over tid, kan innebære en høy eller alvorlig risiko for alkoholrelaterte helseskader. Selv om de drikker mer rapporterte ikke studentene selv om flere negative konsekvenser av drikkingen nå enn i 1997. Høyere toleranse for fyll, endringer i studentmassen og større spredning av forbruket er mulige forklaringer på dette. I likhet med alkohol økte omfanget av illegal rusmiddelbruk fra 1997 til 2006. Fire av ti studenter har prøvd hasj, som er det mest utbredte illegale rusmidlet blant studenter. Åtte prosent har forsøkt kokain, men det var få som har testet andre illegale stoffer. Det er færre dagligrøykere, men flere av-og-til røykere blant studenter sammenlignet med jevnaldrende. Det er dobbelt så mange kvinnelige studenter som bruker snus, mens snusbruk blant menn ligger på landsgjennomsnittet for aldersgruppen. ENGLISH SUMMARY: This report presents the results of the project Students’ Use of Alcohol and Drugs. In 2006, 1655 students at the University of Oslo took part in a questionnaire survey on the use of alcohol and other intoxicants, smoking and gambling. The results were compared with the findings from a corresponding student survey in 1997. The vast majority of the students (some 95 per cent) had consumed alcohol in the past year. On average, the women had consumed five litres of pure alcohol in the past year, while the men had drunk nearly twice that amount, i.e. nine litres. One of seven women (14 per cent) and one of three men (34 per cent) had consumed more than 10 litres of pure alcohol in the past year. This corresponds to an intake of eight to nine half litres of beer or some two bottles of wine every single week for a year. Young adults are the demographic group that drinks most, and the students drink at least as much as others in the same age group. As observed among the general public, there has been a clear increase in alcohol consumption among students (20 per cent), and women have demonstrated the steepest increase (28 per cent). The increase is first and foremost related to a higher intake of alcohol in each drinking situation, while the number of times they drink has not changed significantly. When students drink, their intake of alcohol is often high; men drink six alcohol units (comparable to four half litres of beer or six glasses of wine) or more in nearly half the drinking incidents, while women drink that much more than every fourth time they drink. Single male students who live in their own dwelling or in a collective, drink the most. Married or cohabiting female students with children drink the least. High alcohol consumption is also reflected in the scope of alcohol-related injuries. More than one-third of the students exhibited a drinking pattern entailing a high or serious risk of injury. Many reported a variety of negative consequences from their alcohol consumption. During their time at university, half had cut class, one-third had had ’blackouts’, one-fourth had had unsafe sex, one-tenth had suffered injuries or accidents, one of three had been in an argument and approx. five per cent had been involved in a fight. As expected, the scope of alcohol-related injuries was distinctly higher among men than women. Despite the increase in alcohol consumption, none of the students’ self-reported adverse consequences showed any increase from 1997 to 2006. Possible explanations include changes in the sample of students and a generally higher tolerance for intoxication, as well as a larger spread in consumption among the students. Among students as well, women have a somewhat more negative attitude to alcohol. Compared with 1997, there has been a slight increase in the percentage of students who favour more events that are non-alcoholic and who feel there is too much drinking among students. Hash is the most prevalent illegal intoxicant. Four of ten have tried it, and the majority have tried it once or a few times. Eight per cent responded that they had tried cocaine at some time. The percentage who had tried other illegal substances was very small. As with alcohol consumption, there has been an increase in the scope of use of illegal intoxicants from 1997 to 2006, and more men than women have experience with hash or other drugs. There appear to be fewer gambling problems among students than among their peers in the general population. Indications of gambling problems seem to occur almost exclusively among men. Collectively, this group accounted for 0.5 per cent of the sample. Among students, the percentage of regular smokers is less than half what it is among the same age group in the general population. The percentage of occasional smokers was, however, higher among students than among their peers in the general population. The percentage of snus users among female students was more than twice as high as the average for this demographic. The use of snus among male students was fairly close to the national average.