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One in five Indian teens at moderate to high substance use risk: Study
Over a fifth of Indian teenagers may be at moderate to high risk of substance use, according to a study published in The Lancet Regional Health-Southeast Asia. Researchers from AIIMS Gorakhpur and…
The Story in Brief
Over a fifth of Indian teenagers may be at moderate to high risk of substance use, according to a study published in The Lancet Regional Health-Southeast Asia. Researchers from AIIMS Gorakhpur and JIPMER surveyed more than 6,000 students across 108 schools in six districts: Gorakhpur, Kamrup, Nagpur, Rajkot, Deoghar, and Puducherry.
Overall, 11.1% of adolescents were classified as high risk and 10.3% as moderate risk using the WHO ASSIST tool. Schools in Guwahati and Deoghar had the highest proportions of high-risk students, while Nagpur and Puducherry schools were predominantly low risk. Key factors linked to higher risk included substance accessibility, digital exposure, and favourable attitudes towards substance use.
The Indian Opinion
This study cuts through lazy claims that substance abuse is either a 'city problem' or a 'village problem' by showing wide variation even within a small sample. The 35 percentage point gap between Guwahati and Nagpur suggests local school environments and peer culture matter more than blanket moralising. Media literacy programmes and peer-led interventions, not just scare campaigns, deserve a genuine test. The real question: will policymakers target specific districts with regulatory and social measures, or reach for another round of generic classroom warnings?
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
