Put out the cigarette
Only one in ten students at UiO smoke cigarettes on a daily basis. At the same time, the use of snuff and cocaine is on the rise.
På norsk;)
FOTO: Sindre T. Lønnes
According to a new report from the National Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research (SIRUS), the students at the University of Oslo (UiO) smoke less than the population at large. In fact, the number of students who smoke on a daily basis is less than half of what it is among other people in the same age group. Only ten per cent of all the students at UiO smoke daily.
Ellen Marie Tefre, social anthropologist and project manager at SIRUS, says that the findings were as they expected.
- It is no secret that people in higher education smoke less than the population at large. However, this study only confirms that this applies for students who are currently taking an education, she adds.
Women worst when it comes to snuff
More surprising is it perhaps that female students are large-scale consumers when it comes to snuff. As much as 12 per cent of the female students at UiO are using it on a daily basis. In comparison to other women between 18 and 37, this is twice as much as the average of the population.
According to Tefre, the findings are most alarming. A study referred to in the report shows that students pick up new trends at an early stage, and she fears that these new habits will spread to the rest of the female population. Tefre goes on to emphasise that since a lot of students goes on to become opinion leaders in the future, the authorities must take hold of the situation now.
- We believe that the government should invest in a campaign to change attitudes among students, she says.
Cocain use on the rise
The report shows that hash is the most widespread illegal substance among students at the University of Oslo. Nevertheless, cocaine use has almost tripled over the past ten years. A total of eight per cent of the students in the research said that they had tried cocaine.
- The study shows that there are more students who are trying out cocaine. Yet it seems that this is mostly testing, because the number of students who have used cocaine more than five times is still fairly low, Tefre adds.
Only three per cent of the male students, and one per cent of the female students, use cocaine on a regular basis.
