By African Demystifier
47.9% of high school students
A recent study published by BMC Public Health verifies that 47.9% of high school students regularly use Khat in Ethiopia. Therefore, it has recommended that prevention strategies should be tailored.
Indicating that substance use prevalence in Ethiopia has regional variations. The study reported a lower prevalence of cigarette smoking, students could access cigarettes and khat in nearby school areas.
The existing tobacco control laws that prohibit selling tobacco products to children and adolescents less than 21 years of age and ban establishing tobacco shops close to school compounds should be enforced. A total of 157 (4.7%) of students ever used cigarettes and 81 (2.4%) were regular cigarette smokers.
47.9% of high school students regularly use Khat
It further explains: โ157 (4.7%) of the participants ever smoked cigarettes and 81 (2.4%) were current smokers. 106 (3.2%) ever used smokeless tobacco, 1,342 (41.8%) had ever drunk alcohol, 290 (8.7%) ever used khat, 137 (4.8%) chewed khat regularly and 76 (2.3%) ever used marijuana.โ
BMC Public Health is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on the epidemiology of disease and the understanding of all aspects of public health, conducted the study https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-023-15088-x โPrevalence and risk factors for tobacco, khat, and alcohol consumption among high school students in Ethiopia,โ for Tobacco, khat, alcohol, and marijuana are the main risk factors for non-communicable diseases, it underlines.
Tobacco, khat, alcohol, and marijuana are among the list of substances used by many globally and cause public health challenges due to their negative effects on the physical, mental, and social well-being of individuals who use them . The World Health Organization (WHO) included tobacco and alcohol among the risk factors for four main non-communicable diseases (NCDs): chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and most cancers.
Tobacco products are substances that are completely or partly made of tobacco leaf that can be administered through a variety of routes including smoking, chewing, sucking and nasal application as a snuff. Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and hundreds of these chemicals are proven to be hazardous to health. Globally, an estimated 24 million children between the ages of 13 and 15 years use tobacco.
In Ethiopia, a previous study in Addis Ababa and the surrounding towns estimated a 3% prevalence of cigarette smoking among school-going adolescents. These figures are low in comparison to studies conducted in other African countries. However, the existing large number of young population and the tobacco industryโs aspiration to create new markets in the country laid the ground for a rapid future increase in consumption unless proper preventive measures are in place.
Khat is a plant containing a psycho-stimulant substance, and khat chewing is a pressing public health problem in East Africa. It is mostly chewed but it can also be infused as a tea or can be dried and smoked like a cigarette. It is commonly grown in the region (Ethiopia, Kenya) and the Arabian Peninsula. Studies have shown that khat consumption is associated with cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, mental, and oral hygiene problems and a cause for household economic instabilities.
Regularly use of Khat
In Ethiopia, khat is commonly used for social recreation, religious rituals and as a stimulant particularly by students aiming to improve academic performance. A study in eastern Ethiopia indicated that the mean age to start khat chewing was 15.1 years and multiple substance use (khat, cigarette, and alcohol) was high Apart from the negative effects of khat on health, people who use it can also progress to cigarette smoking and alcohol use.
The excessive use of alcohol is a major global contributor to morbidity, mortality, and injury. Among the health impacts of alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries are commonly reported. Alcohol consumption is strongly associated with behavioral and mental disorders of youth. A meta-analys is that included studies conducted in Ethiopia between the years 2000 to 2019 reported that regular alcohol consumption among high school students was 23%. Marijuana use among adolescents is linked with mood disorders, poor academic performance, and psychotic and addiction problems.