Awareness survey of so-called Dappou drugs or Kiken drugs (New Psychoactive Substances) among University Students in Japan

BACKGROUND: Spread of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is a worldwide problem. In Japan, NPSs with psychoactive ingredients are called as “dappou drugs” or “kiken drugs.” Their potential effect on the Japanese society cannot be ignored. FINDINGS: We conducted an awareness survey of So-called Dappou Drugs or Kiken Drugs among the students of Ibaraki University, a national university in Japan, in April 2014. 3976 students (2425 men, 1406 women and 145 unspecified) participated in this study. 2813 (70.7 %) respondents were aware of dappou drugs. Only 39.5 % of the respondents selected the option of “ingredients that cause delusions and/or hallucinations may be included” in dappou drugs. 23.4 % of the respondents selected “the number of (dappou drug) users requiring emergency hospitalization due to acute intoxication is increasing”. Of the respondents, 19 (0.5 %) reported that they had been invited to use dappou drugs previously, and 40 (1.0 %) had witnessed and/or heard of somebody close to them using the drugs. Those who drank alcohol every day and those who smoked had a higher chance of witnessing and/or hearing of somebody close to them using dappou drugs than those who did not drink or smoke, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Japanese university students do not have sufficient knowledge about dappou drugs or kiken drugs to protect themselves from potential drug misuse. It is both important and urgent to educate Japanese university students about the harmful effects of dappou drugs; in addition, it is important to provide such knowledge before the students are allowed to legally drink and smoke.