Inhalant substance abuse among adolescents in Manipur, India: An upcoming issue

Background: Inhalant use, an important, yet-under recognized form of substance abuse has been reported commonly among adolescents in India but the true extent of the problem is not known due to paucity of data. Aims: To assess the prevalence and determinants of inhalant substance used amongst the adolescents in Manipur. Settings and Design: This cross sectional study was conducted among 1671 adolescent studying in Eighth to Twelfth standard in schools of Imphal-East District Manipur, India during March to June 2013. Materials and Methods: Schools were selected by simple random method and a semi-structured self-administered questionnaire adapted from the ‘UNDCP/WHO Global initiative on Primary Prevention of substance abuse’ was used for data collection. Univariate and Multiple logistic regression analysis were performed for association between ever users and selected variables. Results: Mean (SD) age of the students was 14.5(1.32) years, with males constituting 923(55.2%). Prevalence of ever users was186 (11.1%) and glue/ dendrite was the commonest substance abused 98(52.7%). Being male, belonging to joint family and increase in age were found to have significant higher risk of being a user, whereas higher level of parental education shows a protective effect. Conclusion: An increased effort for prevention, treatment along with sensitization of parents and teachers is a distinct challenge for policy makers.