A Study on Teenage and College Culture: Why Substance Abuse is Considered as Cool?

The present study was aimed to investigate the reasons why teenagers and college going students consider using substance abuse as cool. A sample of 40 students from Pune University ranging from the age of 17 to 21 years was collected through individual interviews and verbal consent was taken from the students. The sample was collected using snowball sampling and accidental sampling. The interview was conducted in small batches of 10 per day. A comprehensive data about the regularity and pattern of substance abuse was collected. The students were labelled as habitual- using once a day, casual- using once a week and experimental- using once a month or less. Data was collected among three categories- smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and other drugs. Results indicated that substance abuse was prevalent among 26 (70%) of the total population, out of which 67% students were smokers, 57% drank alcohol, 41% used other drugs; specifically, habitual smokers (42%), casual smokers (31%), experimental smokers (26%); habitual drinkers (7%), casual drinkers (28%), experimental drinkers (57%); habitual substance users (10%), casual substance users (27%), experimental substance users (42%). There was significant increase in the consumption of cigarettes/ marijuana, alcohol and other drugs. Majority of the population of students reported starting using the substance after joining the university and were mostly influenced by “the pop culture” and peer pressure being the main reasons for these increasing numbers. Furthermore, not being concerned by the long term usage or the consequences of using these substances was reported by the students. The study raises a question about how it is not conducted across other geographical locations. Further studies can explore these possibilities.