[The consumption of alcohol, drugs and the smoking habits of 4,082 healthy young Swiss men as evidenced by a random study]

Abstract

By means of written questionnaires and (with every third or fourth subject, selected at random) standardized interviews, 4082 recruits from various regions of Switzerland were asked about their alcohol and drug consumption and smoking habits in civilian life. To estimate the consumption pattern during military training all recruits still available towards the end of military service (64.3 percent) were questioned again regarding intake of alcohol, tobacco and drugs during military service. The inquiry showed that in civilian life only 10.4 percent were alcohol abstainers, 39.8 percent were non-smokers and 77 percent had no drug experience. 8.6 percent reported a weekly alcohol consumption of more than 350 g alcohol 100 percent (an amount corresponding to 9 1 beer, 41/2 1 wine, 1 1 brandy), 17.4 percent had smoked more than 24 g tobacco per day (corresponding to more than 24 cigarettes daily), and 10.6 percent had taken drugs more than 6 times in their lives. The study was also designed to demonstrate the relations between family or socioeconomic data and intake of alcohol, tobacco and drugs. It was found that French and Italian speaking recruits indicated a higher alcohol consumption, that the lower socioeconomic class was exposed to be greater risk with regard to alcohol and tobacco consumption and the separately interviewed group of pupils to the greatest risk of drug experinece. Sons of divorced or separated parents, of parents married after the subject's birth or of parents who are heavy alcohol, tobacco or medicament consumers represent a higher percentage among the highest consumption class for alcohol, tobacco and drugs than subjects who had grown up in stable families or whose parents had been non-consumers or only moderate consumers of alcohol, tobacco or drugs. Finally, a correlation was also found between use of leisure time and alcohol, tobacco and drug consumption. It was in the groups of recruits who spent their spare time rather passively that the highest percentage of subjects in the upper consumption classes for alcohol, tobacco and drugs was observed. During military training consumption patterns withregard to alcohol and tobacco hardly changed, and only a small number of subjects (7.7 percent of 2587) took drugs during this time.