Alcohol and tobacco consumption in first-year students of Medicine at the Universidad del País Vasco

Objective. To find out the prevalence and patterns of alcohol and tobacco consumption based on gender among first-year students of medicine at the Universidad del País Vasco. Materials and method. An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study using an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire based on the ESTUDES survey and including AUDIT C test and the Heaviness of Smoking Index (HSI). Results. Sample of 225 students (77.8% female), mean age 18.9 years. 8.0% have never consumed alcohol, 80.0% have consumed alcohol in the last month and 46.0% have been drunk in the last 30 days. Among consumers in the last month, 9.4% drink every weekend, 48.3% are risk drinkers and 67.2% have been binge drinking. As far as tobacco is concerned, 80.9% had never smoked, 2.2% smoke every week and 1.8% smoke daily. There were no significant gender differences, except for a higher prevalence of drunkenness in the last year and binge drinking in the males and risk drinking in females. Conclusions. The prevalence of smoking is very low and much lower than that of other university students in Spain. On the other hand, the prevalence of alcohol consumption is high and similar to that of other young people of the same age, whether university students or not. Specific programmes are required for prevention of the consumption of alcohol and other drugs among college students and particularly in those taking degree subjects that represent a role model for the general population.