Prevalence and perception of drug use amongst secondary school students in two local government areas of Lagos State, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Drug abuse, an excessive and persistent self-administration of a drug without regard to the medically or culturally accepted patterns, has been reported amongst teenagers and adolescents in various regions of the world. AIM: This study aimed to measure the prevalence of drug use amongst students of junior and senior secondary schools (aged 10–15 years). SETTING: This study was conducted at two local government areas in Lagos State. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was carried out in Ikotun or Igando local council development area (LCDA) and Ikoyi LCDA of Lagos State. Students were sampled using stratified random sampling with classes as strata and sampling performed by balloting. The modified WHO Model Drug Use Survey Questionnaire was distributed to the students for self-reporting. Ethical approval was received from district school boards. RESULTS: A total of 1048 students participated in the survey. In this study, alcohol had the highest lifetime drug prevalence rate (29.1%), followed by pharmaceutical opioids (9%). Gender, educational level, type of school management, and geographical economic distribution were found to be predictors of prevalence of drug use. This study demonstrated significant differences in the prevalence of tobacco and opioids use among students in private and public schools; and documented statistically significant differences in the prevalence of cocaine use between low income and high-income areas in two LCDAs in Lagos, Nigeria. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of lifetime, recent use, and current use of drugs among secondary school students in two LCDAs located in Lagos State, Nigeria were documented with alcohol as the drug with the highest prevalence.