Alarming Study Reveals Indian Children Beginning Substance Use at Age 13: Findings from 10-City AIIMS Research

New Delhi:

A comprehensive survey conducted by AIIMS-Delhi reveals that school children across India are initiating drug use, smoking, and alcohol consumption at approximately 13 years of age, indicating the necessity for intervention programs beginning as early as primary school.

The research demonstrates that substance use increases significantly in higher grades, with students in grades XI/XII being twice as likely to report substance use compared to their grade VIII counterparts, highlighting the critical need for sustained prevention efforts throughout middle and high school years.

This multi-city study, led by Dr. Anju Dhawan from AIIMS's National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre and published in the National Medical Journal of India, examines adolescent substance use patterns across diverse Indian regions.

Researchers surveyed 5,920 students from grades 8, 9, 11, and 12 in government, private urban, and rural schools across ten major cities including Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Ranchi. Data collection occurred between May 2018 and June 2019.

The study found the average substance initiation age to be 12.9 years, with inhalants having the earliest onset at 11.3 years, followed by heroin at 12.3 years and pharmaceutical opioids at 12.5 years.

Overall substance use statistics revealed that 15.1% of participants reported lifetime use, 10.3% used substances in the past year, and 7.2% reported consumption within the past month.

Following tobacco (4%) and alcohol (3.8%), the most commonly used substances in the past year were opioids (2.8%), cannabis (2%), and inhalants (1.9%). Among opioid users, non-prescribed pharmaceutical opioids were most prevalent (90.2%).

When questioned about substance availability, nearly half the students (46.3%) indicated that tobacco products were easily accessible to people their age, while over one-third (36.5%) reported similar ease of access to alcohol products.

Students also reported easy access to bhang (21.9%), ganja/charas (16.1%), inhalants (15.2%), sedatives (13.7%), and both opium and heroin (10% each).

Despite accessibility concerns, approximately 95% of children across all grades acknowledged that drug use is harmful.

The study found that boys exhibited significantly higher substance use rates than girls across all timeframes measured. Grade IX students showed higher likelihood of substance use than Grade VIII students, while Grade XI/XII students demonstrated twice the likelihood of having used any substance.

Family influence emerged as a significant factor, with about 40% of students reporting having family members who used tobacco or alcohol. Cannabis and opioid use by family members was reported by 8.2% and 3.9% of students respectively, while inhalant/sedative use by family members was reported by 2-3% of participants.

Interestingly, students reported lower rates of tobacco or alcohol use among peers compared to family members, but higher rates of inhalant, sedative, cannabis, and opioid use among peers.

Children who used substances in the past year reported significantly higher substance use among both family members and peers compared to non-users.

The research also revealed family dynamics issues, with 25.7% of students reporting that conflicts or fights frequently occurred in their families. However, most students confirmed that family members were aware of how and with whom they spent their time.