Abstract
Purpose
There is evidence that alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use may be rising in China, but epidemiological studies that examine several drugs simultaneously and the transition from initial try to current use are limited. The present study provides an epidemiological profile of drug use in contemporary metropolitan China.
Methods
A multistage probability sampling method was used to select household-dwelling adults in Beijing and Shanghai. Standard face-to-face interviews with 5,201 participants were completed during 2002–2003.
Results
An estimated 70–76% had used any type of drug: alcohol and tobacco were the most commonly used drugs (alcohol, 67%; tobacco, 39%). Regarding extra-medical use of internationally regulated drugs, sedatives and analgesics were most common and illegal drug use was rare. The majority of tobacco users used it recently (82.5%), especially young adults. Male–female differences were observed in lifetime tobacco use, but not for recent use. Concurrent use of alcohol and tobacco was very common.
Conclusion
Psychoactive drug use is common in metropolitan China. Public health policies and prevention initiatives may be needed to address associated problems that may increase following the country’s rapid socioeconomic change.
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Acknowledgments
The survey is carried out in conjunction with the World Health Organization World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. We thank the WMH staff for assistance with instrumentation, fieldwork, and data analysis. These activities were supported by grant awards from the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the United States (R01 DA016558) the United States National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH070884; K05DA015799), as well as the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Pfizer Foundation, the US Public Health Service (R13-MH066849, R01-MH069864), the Fogarty International Center (FIRCA R03-TW006481), the Pan American Health Organization, the Eli Lilly & Company Foundation, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and the Michigan State University, OVPRGS. A complete list of WMH publications can be found at http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/wmh/. The Chinese World Mental Health Survey Initiative is supported by the Pfizer Foundation.
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Cheng, H., Lee, S., Tsang, A. et al. The epidemiological profile of alcohol and other drug use in metropolitan China. Int J Public Health 55, 645–653 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0127-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0127-6