National Journal of Community Medicine│Volume 11│Issue 3│March 2020 Page 128 ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE pISSN 0976 3325│eISSN 2229 6816 Open Access Article www.njcmindia.org DOI: 10.5455/njcm.20200424071837 Prevalence of Substance Abuse in Rishikesh: A Community Based Study Deepak Kumar 1 , Surekha Kishore 2 , Meenakshi Khapre 3 , Preeti Usha 1 , Abu Rehan 1 , Navuluri K. Reddy 1 Financial Support: None declared Conflict of Interest: None declared Copy Right: The Journal retains the copyrights of this article. However, re- production is permissible with due ac- knowledgement of the source. How to cite this article: Kumar D, Kishore S, Khapre M, Usha P, Rehan A, Reddy NK. Prevalence of Substance Abuse in Rishikesh: A Community Based Study. Natl J Com- munity Med 2020;11(3):128-131 Author’s Affiliation: 1 Junior Resident; 2 Professor and Head; 3 Assistant Professor, Community and Family medicine, AIIMS, Rishikesh Correspondence Dr. Deepak Kumar deepakkumar178644@gmail.com Date of Submission: 24-02-2020 Date of Acceptance: 31-03-2020 Date of Publication: 31-03-2020 ABSTRACT Introduction: There are various problem which have harmful im- pact on health, these problem are mainly behavioural with multi- functional causation. Amongst such problem, addiction of sub- stance abuse is on rising trend, overall globally. The study con- ducted to determine the prevalence of substance abuse in the community. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was con- ducted in Rishikesh Tehsil. People of age group between 15-60 years residing in study area were recruited as study participants. Total sample size covered in this study was 804.Since the popula- tion of urban and rural area is almost equal, so to get equal repre- sentative from urban and rural area, 402 study participant were selected from each strata as rural and urban area respectively. The validated interview schedule were then analysed using appropri- ate statistical techniques like percentage, chi-square test and p- value. Results: overall prevalence of substance abuse was found to be 37.4% out of which the prevalence of current users was 31.34% re- spectively. Conclusion: The study revealed that in spite of having strict law for prohibition of substance abuse, people are still addicted. There is a need to change either in law or in behaviour of people at large. Keywords: Substance abuse, Prevalence, Alcohol, Tobacco. INTRODUCTION It is oftenly said that any agent used in proper dose and dosage within pharmacological limit is drug, but if we consume it beyond the standard upper limit or pharmacological limit then it become harmful and shall be called as substance abuse. According to WHO, substance abuse refers to “the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive sub- stances, including alcohol and illicit drugs”. WHO also quote the definition of DSM-4, as per DSM-4, psychoactive substance abuse- is defined as a ma- ladaptive pattern of use indicated by continued use despite knowledge of having a persistent or recur- rent social, occupational, psychological or physical problem that is caused by the substance use. 1 Substance abuse differs from addiction. Ad- diction is a chronic disease similar to other chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, cancer, and cardi- ovascular disease. Substance abuse is a serious problem in modern times. Many people especially the younger generation are indulging in drug ad- diction. Substance abuse is leading to millions of illnesses and deaths across the world. Apart from having health hazards it also causes various social evils like criminal offenses, violence, child abuse, etc. Drug users apart from harming self also exhi- bit destructive behaviour by involving in antisocial activities. Tobacco is the most common form of substance abuse and alcohol is the second most common. In the current scenario substance abuse is a major public health problem that impacts society