Investigating the synergistic effect of socio-demographic fac- tors on behaviors and attitudes concerning alcohol and illicit drug use among Italian students: a large cross-sectional study.

Background: Alcohol, drug consumption and polysubstance use are some of the most important causes of illnesses and mortality among adolescents, who have been identified as common users of these substances. Aim of this study was to assess and describe the current scenery of alcohol and other drugs consumption habits among a wide sample of Italian high school and university students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using an online survey. The questionnaire was developed and administered via an internet forum for middle school, high school and university students named "Skuola.net". The statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analysis. Additive interactions were assessed by calculating the synergy index. Results: A total of 11,379 Italian students answered the questionnaire. The prevalence of alcohol drinkers was 34.2%; among these, 17.8% of the individuals showed unhealthy drinking behaviors (frequency of alcohol use of four times or more per week); 10.3% of individuals declared daily assumption of six or more glasses of alcohol. Concerning drugs, 15.7% of the responders classified themselves as illicit drug users, with cannabis getting the highest prevalence rates (6.9%). Finally, concerning alcohol, a synergistic effect was recorded for male and adult individuals (SI = 1.04); while concerning illicit drugs, a synergistic effect was found between male gender and older age (SI = 1.42), and between university students and male gender (SI = 1.10). Conclusions: This study gives an overview about the attitudes of a wide sample of Italian students concerning alcohol and drugs habits. These results are in line with evidences from the scientific literature and will be helpful for developing future prevention strategies towards this target population.

Compliance with the school smoking ban: A cross-sectional study from Italy.

BACKGROUND: In 2015, 37% of Italian adolescents reported to have smoked in the past month. The study aimed to evaluate smoking beha-viour on the school premises and to study the influence of the school environment on student smoking. METHODS: Around 900 junior high-school students, aged 11-13 years old completed an online survey in November 2016 and May 2017. Descriptive statistics, univariate analyses and binary logistic regression were performed to analyse data. RESULTS: Between 40 - 50% of students indicated that students and staff smoke on the school premises. Students who witnessed students (OR: 3.48 (2.20 - 5.50)) and school employees (OR: 3.17 (1.97 - 5.10)) smoking were more likely to be a smoker. CONCLUSION: Although laws making it illegal to smoke on the school ground are in place, in Italy, its enforcement is sloppy. To tackle adolescent smoking effectively, policymakers are advised to enforce smoking restrictions and to verify these are respected.

Link between perceived smoking behaviour at school and students smoking status: a large survey among Italian adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate a possible link between sociodemographic factors, the perception of smoking habits at school and smoking status of Italian adolescents attending secondary school. STUDY DESIGN: The study was a cross-sectional study. METHODS: An anonymous online survey was employed to gather information on age, gender, smoking status and to examine the perception of smoking behaviour on the school premises. Chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed for the univariate analysis and logistic and multinomial regressions for the multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The statistical analyses included 1889 students. Univariate analysis showed significant differences concerning knowledge between smoker and non-smoker concerning the harmfulness of smoking (P < 0.001). According to the multivariate analysis smokers had a higher perception of teacher, principal or janitor smoking at school (odds ratio: 1.54 [95% confidence interval 1.26-1.89]). Students older than 19 years most often begin smoking because their friends smoke compared with younger students (adjusted odds ratio: 1.18 [95% confidence interval 0.48-2.89]). CONCLUSION: School environment and behaviour of role models play a crucial part in student smoking. To prevent and reduce youth tobacco smoking, not merely the presence of preventive measures is important but greater attention needs to be placed on the enforcement of smoking policies.