Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/128394
Title: Alcohol, tobacco and drug use in Malta in 2013 : a general population survey among 18-65 year olds
Authors: Muscat, Richard
Clark, Marilyn
Gellel, Manuel
Keywords: Substance abuse -- Malta -- Statistics
Drinking of alcoholic beverages -- Social aspects -- Malta
Drug abuse surveys -- Malta
Tobacco use -- Health aspects -- Malta
Compulsive behavior -- Malta
Issue Date: 2014
Publisher: Malta. Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity.
Citation: Muscat, R., Clark, M., & Gellel, M. (2014). Alcohol, tobacco and drug use in Malta in 2013: a general population survey among 18-65 year olds. Malta: Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity.
Abstract: This is the second survey conducted to gauge or more appropriately to estimate the use of alcohol, tobacco, medical and recreational drugs among the general population in Malta. The last survey of this kind, namely a general population survey (GPS) was conducted in 2001. The use of such substances at any point in time is commonly referred to as prevalence and the patterns of drug use may then also be understood with repeat surveys among the general population. Surveys of the adult population are one of the key indicators to assess the drugs situation and as such they enable one to monitor the progress of drug policy targets. Data thus collected from general population drug surveys provides basic information to help to understand patterns of use, risk perceptions, social and health correlates, as well as the consequences of use of such psychoactive substances. In order to be able to identify any changes in prevalence and patterns of use, Malta has committed itself to repeat the GPS at regular intervals with a similar methodology, with sample sizes large enough to allow analysis of main sub-groups of the population. By regularly conducting such surveys, the trends in use overtime may be monitored. Surveys of good quality and sufficient sample size provide a wealth of information on patterns of use in different subgroups, but may underestimate drug use in certain hidden and/or vulnerable populations. This deficiency is addressed through complementary data collection efforts with other populations such as those requesting treatment, individuals that come into contact with the criminal justice system and also calculations of problem drug users at national level. The quality of the data in general population surveys depends on a number of methodological issues such as the sampling design, the questionnaire and the interview mode. Most often these limitations may result in an underreporting of recreational drug use. Thus main aim of this particular survey was to gather national prevalence data on substance use within the general population aged between 18 to 65 years old living in different localities within the Maltese archipelago in order to collect the evidence base on which Policy may be developed and refined. This report therefore discusses the outcome of the findings following the conduct of a general population survey but in the first instance explains the methods used to do so in chapter 3. In chapter 4, the prevalence estimates for the use of alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs, cannabis and other recreational drugs are provided and these are also compared to those of the previous survey conducted in 2001. Moreover, the prevalence of gambling is also addressed in this chapter too. Finally, a summary chapter concludes this report outlining the main findings in real terms.
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/128394
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