The prevalence and risk factors of psychoactive drug use in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus: 2003-2013/ Kuzey Kibris Turk Cumhuriyeti'nde psikoaktif madde kullaniminin yayginligi ve risk etkenleri: 2003-2013

Objective: Studies about psychoactive substance use which is becoming more prevalent in the world and threatening humanity have increased. In this study, the results of 2015 substance use prevalence research are compared with 2003 and 2008 studies to examine the course of substance use in TRNC. Methods: The population of this study consists of Turkish speaking individuals who live in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and are between ages of 18-65. The sample of 1040 individuals representing the general population was determined by stratified random sampling method by considering sex, age and geographical area quotas. The data was collected in May and June 2013. The survey form of the study was prepared from 'European Model Questionnaire' of Council of Europe. Prevalence results are given compared with the data of 2003 (825 people) and 2008 (804 people) and used the same questionnaire. Results: At least once life-time cigarette use was 62.1% and alcohol use was 68.5%. The lifetime prevalence of any substance use other than cigarette and alcohol was 8.5% while illicit substance use was 8.4%. Illicit substance use rates were 3% in 2003 and 7.7% in 2008. Cannabis and synthetic cannabinoid 'bonsai' which had been popular in recent years were found to be the most widely used illicit substances. Conclusion: The study shows that cigarette use in TRNC is higher than the rates of world average and alcohol use rates are parallel to western countries. An important increase in the rates of illicit substance use is found between the years of 2003-2013 in TRNC. Keywords: prevalence, psychoactive drug use, risk factors Amac: Dunyada giderek artan ve insanligi tehdit eden psikoaktif madde kullanimina yonelik calismalar son yillarda hiz kazanmistir. Bu calismada 2013 yilinda yapilan Kuzey Kibris Turk Cumhuriyeti'nde (KKTC) madde kullanim yayginligi arastirma sonuclari 2003 ve 2008 arastirma verileri ile karsilastirilarak KKTC'deki madde kullaniminin gidisi incelenmistir. Yontem: Calismanin evreni KKTC'de yasayan, 18-65 yas arasinda ve Turkce konusan bireylerden olusmaktadir. KKTC genelini temsil eden 1040 kisilik orneklem yas, cinsiyet ve cografi bolge kotalari goz onune alinarak, cok tabakali rastgele orneklem yontemiyle belirlenmistir. Veriler Mayis ve Haziran 2013 tarihlerinde toplanmistir. Calismanin anket formu Avrupa Konseyi'nin 'Model Avrupa Anketi' isimli anket calismasindan yararlanilarak hazirlanmistir. Yayginlik verileri benzer yontemle yapilan ve ayni a