Substance use among tricycle drivers in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja

Background: Substance use is an increasing trend and has become one of the most disturbing public health problems. More attention has been drawn recently to substance use and driving because of road traffic accidents causally related to substance use. The study aims to assess substance use and its effect among tricycle drivers in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Methods: A cross sectional study using semi-structured pre-tested Questionnaires among 360 tricycle drivers in FCT, Abuja was done. They were selected for the study using Time location sampling and simple random sampling. Chi square test was employed and tested at a significance level of 95%. Results: The study revealed that the prevalence of substance use among tricycle riders in FCT, Abuja was high 291(80.8%). The most used substance was alcoholic beverages 291 (100%) followed by tobacco products 260 (89.3%) and bitter cola, kolanut, 256 (88.0%), etc. Only 35(9.7%) of the substance was prescribed by a medical personnel while one-third 13(37.1%) were prescribed by mostly non-certified doctors. The knowledge of the effects of substance use among the tricycle drivers was high 291 (80.9%). The effects of substance use on the physical health of the tricycle riders in FCT include liver damage 261(72.5%), hand tremors 251(69.7%), high blood pressure 214(59.4%), etc. There was a significant association between the age, educational status, marital status, ethnic origin, religion and income level of the tricycle riders and their abuse of substance (P-value <0.001 in all cases). Conclusion: The prevalence of substance use among tricycle riders in FCT, Abuja was high and there was significant association of characteristic with substance use. There is need for intervention to reduce the health burden associated with substance abuse among through health education on the dangers of substance use at all levels