An epidemiological survey of alcohol and drug abuse in the national capital district of Papua New Guinea.

There is a dearth of publication on alcohol and drug abuse from Papua New Guinea in the international medical literature. This article is a report on a cross-sectional study of attitudes and problems related to alcohol and drug abuse in the NCD of Papua New Guinea. The instrument used is a questionnaire which was previously used by the author to study 'Attitudes of Nigerian Medical Students towards Use and Abuse of Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs'. A second instrument is the Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST). The two questionnaires were administered to a cross-section of university students and office workers. The fifty completed questionnaires which were returned were statistically analyzed and the results form the basis of this article. The results showed that both the student and clerical groups were moderately involved in substance abuse (alcohol and drugs, especially cannabis).