[Use of painkillers by Polish secondary school students and the influence of TV commercials].
This article refers to the results of research conducted in 2008 with financial support (as a grant) of UMCS vice-chancellor. The topic was: Environmental and personal circumstances of taking painkillers available without prescription by secondary school students. 276 high school pupils in Lublin (equivalent of higher grammar-school level in Germany) were examined with a copyright questionnaire to check, among other things, how TV commercials affect taking painkillers. 40.6% of participants take analgesics very often, almost half of them (47.1%) reach for drugs which they know from commercials. 75% of students can indicate at least four examples of specific commercials advertising painkillers. In their depiction of these analgesics by metaphors a great number of analogies with TV advertisements can be found. Those who claim frequent intake of painkillers describe them as 'necessary, essential' (31.3%) or as 'convenient (giving comfort)' (19.6%). At the same time the majority of students (94.6%) is convinced that reaching for painkillers is socially accepted. Such attitude is probably reinforced by ubiquitous advertising of those drugs in Polish media.
Buczak
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Institut für Pädagogik, Marie-Curie-Skłodowska Universität Lublin, Poland. agnieszka-buczak@wp.pl
Lukasik
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IM
Witek
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D000293:Adolescent; D000329:Advertising; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011044:Poland; D012932:Social Facilitation; D013690:Television
D000700:Analgesics; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs