High-risk patterns of substance use detected among Jamaicans

High-risk patterns of alcohol, cannabis and tobacco use across several parishes is among the key findings of the 2023 National Drug Prevalence Study, which investigated psychoactive substance use across Jamaica.

The results were today revealed by Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton at a press launch for National Drug Awareness Month.

“It is noteworthy that alcohol prevalence is significantly higher in Trelawny (57.5 per cent), St. Ann (54.3 per cent) and Kingston (52.2 per cent) than the national prevalence of current alcohol use (46.2 per cent),” Minister Tufton disclosed.

The cross-selection survey conducted by the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), a department of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, sought to determine the prevalence of substance use across the nation among those aged 12 to 65 years old.     

“For ganja, significantly higher current use is evident in Kingston (27 per cent), Trelawny (23.2 per cent) and Clarendon (21.8 per cent) compared to other parishes and the national prevalence of current use (17.1 per cent),” the minister added.

With the support of the National Health Fund, this is the first time that a Caribbean country has self-funded a study of this nature.

It focused on harmful alcohol use, tobacco smoking and the use of illicit substances among the population.

The latest general population survey was conducted with a sample size of close to 5,000 respondents.

For tobacco (cigarette smoking), St. Andrew (17.5 per cent), Trelawny (16.1 per cent) and St. Ann (14.5 per cent) featured highest compared to other parishes and the overall national prevalence of 11.8 per cent.

“This doesn't mean we have no issues in other parishes. What it does is to provide us with vital information to tailor relevant prevention and treatment-related strategies to fit the different contexts,” Minister Tufton said.

PREVALENCE IN INDIVIDUAL USE

The national household survey found that 8 in 10 Jamaicans (77.4 per cent) have consumed alcohol at some point in their lifetime, with 6 in 10, or 60 per cent, reporting use in the past year and 5 in 10 (46 per cent) in the past month.

At the same time, 3 in 10 or 30.4 per cent have smoked cannabis (ganja) and the same for smoking cigarettes: (3 in 10 or 31.5 per cent) in their lifetime.    

While the study did not conclude an overall significant increase in substance use across the population, it did report an intensity in use among those already engaged in substance misuse.  

“Another concerning finding is the fact that among people who smoked ganja in the past year, approximately 66 per cent of them (65.9 per cent) were deemed as high risk for dependence (as measured by the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test) and this represents a 15 per cent increase from 50 per cent seven years ago (2016 survey),” the minister noted.

Drawing a comparison with the 2016 Drug Prevalence Survey, Uki Atkinson, Senior Director of the Research and Programme Development Branch of the NCDA, pointed out that the increases in usage are observed and being flagged for interventions.

“Across all measures, that is, lifetime, past year and current use, the study noted a four per cent increase in past year (56 per cent to 60 per cent) and current (42 per cent to 46 per cent) alcohol use, and the same level of increase (four per cent) in past year use of cigarettes (12.7 per cent to 16.8 per cent),” Atkinson added.

The survey's findings will inform a national alcohol policy, as well as the development of evidence-based prevention, treatment and harm reduction programmes.

The 2023 National Drug Prevalence Study was carried out in conjunction with the Centre for Leadership and Governance at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS).

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