[Alcohol and tobacco consumption of middle school students in the municipality of Madrid]

Abstract

We studied alcohol and tobacco abuse un 842 students from 24 different schools in Madrid. The information was obtained from validated questionnaires adapted to our country. The most important outcomes were: 43% of the students drank alcohol at least once a week (especially on weekends). Most of the consumption was moderate on working days, but increased significantly on feastdays P < 0.001). Twenty-seven percent of the students smoked daily and 17% smoked occasionally. Of these students, 69% smoked less than 10 cigarettes per day (c/d), 28% 10-20 c/d and 3% more than 20 c/d. They usually started smoking and drinking at 14 years of age. Men drank more frequently and heavier than women, but there were no sex differences in tobacco usage. We did not find any differences between social status or type of school.