Introduction

The main aim of this paper is to present trends in the prevalence of psychoactive substance use among students from Iława, in comparison with trends observed in the ESPAD and the Warsaw/Mokotów studies.

Material and methods

The Iława study has been conducted since December 2001, repeated in years 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2014, in the whole local population of 15-year old students (300 to 500 participants in each edition) applying always the same procedure. Trends in the prevalence of smoking, drinking alcohol and other psychoactive substance use were analysed.

Results

The last edition of the Iława study from 2014 revealed declines in the majority of substance use prevalence indicators over the last two years. In the same period, the consumption of designer drugs increased slightly (from 2.4 to 5.2%) and the drug use rate remaining quite high (21%).

Discussion

Long-term trends in the prevalence of cigarette, alcohol and drug use (including alcohol abstinence rates) in Iława study are clearly reflected the trends identified in nationwide survey ESPAD. Compared to the general population, prevalence of frequent drinking (the last 30 days) and binge drinking was lower among Iława’s students and long-term trends were closer to the trends of the Warsaw students’ subpopulation (Mokotów district).

Conclusions

The rather high percentage of drugs consumers suggests the need for greater control of supply on the illegal market. It is advisable to include universal prevention programmes among young people and prepare educators to conduct an intervention. These analyses have highlighted the need for more frequent monitoring of the epidemiological situation and the need for the development of binge drinking measurement standards.