Karam Elie G, Ghandour Lilian A, Maalouf Wadih E, Yamout Karim, Salamoun Mariana M
Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, School of Medicine, Balamand University, Lebanon.
J Med Liban. 2010 Apr-Jun;58(2):76-85.
Research on substance use and misuse in Lebanon is scarce and, when available, focuses on a specific substance or a limited segment of the population. The objective of this Rapid Situation Assessment (RAS) study was to survey the use of multiple substances in diverse segments of the Lebanese population.
A multi-method and multi-sample survey was conducted to collect quantitative and qualitative data from the academic sector (high school and university students), substance users in treatment or under arrest (prison, detention), and non-institutionalized "street" users.
Age of first use of substances started as early as 9 years in the youth sample. Moreover, 12% of the high school students reported smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day and 9% of the university students met criteria for DSM-IV alcohol abuse. Cannabis represented the most commonly used illicit drug in both high school and university students, and tranquilizers were the most frequently misused medicinal substance. Heroin was responsible for 50% of the treatment admissions, followed by cocaine (20%), and alcohol (20%); heroin was also the most common substance of arrest. Recidivism was almost the rule for heroin users across all treatment settings. Unperceived need for treatment was the most common reason for not seeking treatment in non-institutionalized drug users (47.6%). Injecting drug use was a common behavior noted within substance using populations, in treatment and non-institutionalized (about 50% of them), with a high rate of needle sharing practices. About half of all patients in treatment had a history of police arrests, and about one-third of those in prison ever received prior treatment for substance use.
The study points towards a growing trend for substance use problems in early adolescence that warrants close monitoring. Further investigation of these patterns is needed since the Lebanese population might have specific pathways of abuse. There is a need to bring together various health, legislative, and academic stakeholders for a continuous appraisal of data from substance abuse studies as evidenced by the recent, although slow, progress in the fields of legislation and treatment that follow such concerted efforts.
黎巴嫩关于物质使用和滥用的研究匮乏，即便有相关研究，也多聚焦于某一种特定物质或特定人群。本快速形势评估（RAS）研究的目的是调查黎巴嫩不同人群中多种物质的使用情况。
开展了一项多方法、多样本调查，以收集来自学术领域（高中生和大学生）、接受治疗或被捕的物质使用者（监狱、拘留所）以及非机构化“街头”使用者的定量和定性数据。
在青年样本中，物质首次使用年龄早至9岁。此外，12%的高中生报告每天吸食一包或多包香烟，9%的大学生符合DSM - IV酒精滥用标准。大麻是高中生和大学生中最常用的非法药物，镇静剂是最常被滥用的药物。海洛因导致了50%的治疗入院病例，其次是可卡因（20%）和酒精（20%）；海洛因也是最常见的被捕物质。在所有治疗环境中，海洛因使用者几乎都存在复发情况。未意识到需要治疗是非机构化吸毒者不寻求治疗的最常见原因（47.6%）。注射吸毒是物质使用人群（包括接受治疗者和非机构化者，约50%）中的常见行为，共用针头现象普遍。接受治疗的患者中约一半有过被警方逮捕的历史，监狱中的人员约三分之一曾接受过物质使用方面的治疗。
该研究表明青春期早期物质使用问题呈增长趋势，值得密切监测。鉴于黎巴嫩人群可能有特定的滥用途径，需要对这些模式进行进一步调查。有必要将卫生、立法和学术等各方面利益相关者聚集起来，持续评估物质滥用研究数据，近期立法和治疗领域虽进展缓慢但协同努力已初见成效。
