Opium use in a rural area of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Because of its geographic proximity to the major drug production centres, there is easy access to narcotic drugs in the Islamic Republic of Iran despite efforts by governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Using a structured questionnaire as a basis for conversation, local health workers interviewed 310 residents of a rural area in Babol province about opium use. The self-reported rate of opium use, adjusted due to a bias in the sex ratio of the sample, was 8.9%. All the 42 opium users reported opium use at least 2-3 times per week in the previous 3 months. Opium was smoked by 95.2% and taken orally by 4.8%; there was no injecting use. There was no reported use of other substances, including alcohol. There was a statistically significant relationship between opium use and male sex, unemployment and cigarette smoking.
Meysamie
A
A
Department of Community Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. Meysamie@tums.ac.ir
Sedaghat
M
M
Mahmoodi
M
M
Ghodsi
S M
SM
Eftekhar
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003150:Community Health Workers; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data