[Factors forming opnion on marijuana legalization in Poland among group of students from medical and technical college faculty]. / Czynniki ksztaltujace opinie o legalizacji marihuany w Polsce w grupie studentów kierunku o profilu medycznym i technicznym.

Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the world. In 2010 17.6% of polish adult population (age 15-64) and 37.3% of youth (age 17-18) declared use of marijuana at least once in their lifetime. Recent years in Poland brought back public discussion regarding decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. The main goal of the study was to reveal the opinion about legalization of marijuana in Poland among students of medical and technical faculty in correlation with chosen socio-demographic factors, college major, attitude to tobacco smoking, use of drugs and religious practice. Study included 230 students (110 from Medical University of Lodz and 120 from Technical University of Lodz). Women consisted on 56.1% of surveyed and men on 43.9%. Study used audit survey as a research method. Results. 40.4% of students considered marijuana as "soft" drug and in majority (65.7%) are convinced that it is not addictive. The main part of studied group (83%) claimed that marijuana is easily accessible in Poland. The majority of the group (38.75%) was against marijuana legalization, a little bit less (35.2%) approved its legalization in Poland and 26.1% had no opinion. Type of college faculty had not been detected as a factor influencing support for legalization. Important factors influencing positive opinion on legalization was: living in the city, tobacco smoking, socializing with legalization supporters, lack of regular religious practice, drug use. CONCLUSION. Young people's diversified opinion regarding legalization of marijuana in Poland should encourage further discussion. Educational and preventive activities within different social groups are necessary to form a conscious opinion on legalization of marijuana in Poland based on the knowledge of actual scientific facts.

[Alcohol and other psychoactive substances addiction risk assessment among chosen high school students test group]. / Ocena ryzyka uzaleznienia od alkoholu i innych substancji psychoaktywnych w wybranej grupie mlodziezy szkól srednich.

UNLABELLED: Use of nicotine, alcohol and other psychoactive substances plays an important role in youth death rate and incidence proportion. The probability of accidents, risky sexual behaviors or interpersonal aggression rises when young people are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. In all the developed countries alcohol and other psychoactive substances are the main risk factors leading to youth death caused by traffic accidents, murders and suicides. That is the reason why the popularization of a simple and effective screening tool that would allow choosing the high risk youth group and implementing early intervention program is so important to conduct in Poland. AIM: Alcohol and other psychoactive substances addiction risk assessment within the chosen test group of high school youth attending different types of schools in a medium size city. MATERIAL AND METHODOLOGY: Study was conducted in February 2014 in three high schools - public high school, catholic high school and technical high school, located in Stalowa Wola reaching 119 students from 3rd grade (18-19 years old). Study utilized CRAFFT test (Alcohol and Other Drug Screening Test). RESULTS: Within the past 12 months previous to the screening 92.4% of tested students drunk alcohol, 26.1% smoked marihuana and 10.9% used other psychoactive substances. One fourth of students admitted to driving or riding the car with the driver who was under the influence of alcohol or other drug. One half of the students ad. mitted drinking alcohol or using drugs to relax, improve the mood or to fit in. One in five students was confronted by friends or family members and asked to limit use of alcohol or drugs. CONCLUSION: Based on CRAFFT test results over a half of students (53.6%) may be diagnosed with significant psychoactive substances addiction risk and should be promptly subjected to preventive actions.

[Characteristic features accompanying the development of addiction to drugs]. / Cechy towarzyszace rozwojowi uzaleznienia od opiatów w grupie internautów.

It was confirmed that recreational use of opiates causes social and health problems and the more addicted the person is, the more often such problems occur. One hundred and four subjects, the users of the Internet forum on psychoactive substances www. talk.hypperreal.info, who at least once in their life had used opiates to become intoxicated, were included in the study. Of the number of 104, 46 subjects were addicted, 43 were at risk of becoming addicted and the remaining ones had not used opiates within a period of 12 months. The mean age of the subjects was 22 +/- 3.5 years. The majority was males (76.9%). Most of the subjects lived in cities whose population was higher than 100 inhabitants (63.7%). Most frequently they used codeine and tramadol on their own. When they were becoming more and more addicted they were also more tolerant. They felt guilty because of the addiction, took drugs not only orally but they administered them in a different way, too. They tried to get opiates illegally and modified the activity of the drugs with other substances.

[Knowledge about tobacco smoking as a cervical cancer risk factor among economically active nurses from Lodz region]. / Wiedza aktywnych zawodowo pielegniarek regionu lódzkiego na temat palenia tytoniu jako czynnika ryzyka raka szyki macicy.

Cervical cancer constitutes a serious public health problem in Poland as well as worldwide. Its main risk factor is HPV virus infection (especially type 16 and 18) but also a wide range of other factors associated with sexual behaviour, including tobacco smoking. The most important part of cervical cancer prevention is immunotherapy as well as reduction and elimination of modifiable risk factors. On the secondary level of prevention the most important are actions allowing early disease recognition, thanks to the mass screening test like Pap smear. In all preventive actions nurses play an important role. Their knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors is the basis of effectiveness and involvement in preventive programs directed toward polish women. The research took place in 2009 among 107 economically active nurses from Lódz region and its main goal was to identify knowledge about tobacco smoking as a cervical cancer risk factor. The study indicates that the knowledge is insufficient - only 59% of researched nurses included smoking as a risk factor. Among 19 analyzed in the paper potential risk factors tobacco smoking was ranked 12th by percentage of correct answers. The higher level of knowledge was represented by non-smoking older nurses, working at the ambulatory care units at the hospitals and living in the big cities. Nurses' knowledge requires systematical improvement as an element of under and post graduate degree education.

[Nicotine abusing in adult children of alcoholics]. / Uzaleznienie od nikotyny w grupie Doroslych Dzieci Alkoholików (DDA).

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) are people who were raised in families abusing alcohol where one of the parents (or both) was addicted to alcohol and where alcohol was the main problem affecting all areas of life. It is estimated that in Poland adult population consists of ACA in 35-40%. Those people represent higher risk of addiction to psychoactive substances, most of all alcohol, but also nicotine. Higher addiction propensity among ACA is a result of their personality's features consisting so called "ACA syndrome". The goal of the study was to determine nicotine addiction frequency and assessment of self-propensity to addiction in chosen ACA group, gathered in three abstinent clubs for alcoholics in Warsaw. Nicotine addiction frequency among the study group members was 58.4% and alcohol addiction frequency was 21.2%. Strong nicotine addiction represented 49.2% of smokers. Men more often than women were addicted to nicotine (0.67 vs. 0.52), on the other hand women were more often than men alcohol addicts (0.18 vs. 0.15). All smokers and nicotine addicts (assessment by HIS test) were aware of their addiction. In relation to initial addiction diagnosis by CAGE test regarded higher percentage of people than it resulted from study group self-assessment (21.2% vs. 16.8). Professional psychotherapy for ACA did not influence substantially the nicotine addiction frequency in the study group.

[Detection of nicotine dependence in different age groups]. / Wykrywanie uzaleznienia od tytoniu w róznych grupach wieku.

The work discusses the usefulness of different diagnostics tests helpful in nicotine dependence diagnosis in relation to patients age. The Hooked on Nicotine Checklist (HONC) test proved to be the most useful for the group of teenagers whereas for adults the CAGE questionnaire, the Four C test, the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and Heaviness of Smoking Index (HIS) gave the best results. In the elderly people age group the limits of FTND and HIS test were pointed out.

[Tobacco smoking in small communes of Lodz province]. / Palenie tytoniu w malych gminach województwa lódzkiego.

Tobacco smoking sill remains a dominating, single and variable risk factor of circulatory system diseases (CSD) morbidity and mortality. The population studies conducted over the last years in Poland makes the monitoring of CSD risk factors, including smoking frequency, possible, however mainly in urban populations. The purpose of the study was to determine the tobacco smoking frequency in rural population of Lodz province depending on such demographic-social features as: sex, age, marital status, education level, professional activity and income. The study, which is a part of the Multi-Center Representative Nationwide Health Survey of Population (WOBASZ), included 324 inhabitants of two randomly chosen, small (up to 8.000 inhabitants) communes in Lodz province - Zloczew and Ostrowek. The tobacco smoking frequency (regular and occasional) in the investigated group was 24.7%, among men--34.7%, among women--16.1%. Women who smoke cigarettes were usually aged under 34 whereas men-smokers were most frequently under 55. Regular smokers smoked on average 14.6 +/- 7.23 cigarettes per day (men constitute significantly larger statistical group than women). The average duration of regular smoking was 21.8 +/- 13.01 years. Persons who had never smoked constituted 62.3% of the investigated group (50.0% of men and 73.0% of women). Among the inhabitants of small communes of Lodz province, persons with a low level of education (vocational education) and higher (or incomplete university) education smoked most frequently. In the latter education-level category, only a small group of men smoked (0.15) and as many as ? of women. No statistically characteristic dependence between tobacco smoking and professional activity, education level, marital status or month income was found (although men-smokers were most frequently unemployed and least frequently farmers).

[The police officers' knowledge about the health consequences of smoking tobacco]. / Wiedza funkcjonariuszy policji o zdrowotnych skutkach palenia tytoniu.

Smoking tobacco by the public service workers is a serious health and social problem as its consequences may restrict their efficiency. The aim of the test was assessing police officers' knowledge about smoking affecting health condition. The research tool was a questionnaire that included questions about knowledge on health consequences of smoking. The research included 102 police officers of District Police Headquarters in Tomaszow Mazowiecki. The average age was 36.0 +/- 7.36 years. The frequency of smoking in the group was 66.7%, the regular smokers constituted 56.9%. The level of knowledge among smokers and non-smokers was diverse. The smokers knew less than the nonsmokers, especially in the area of the influence of smoking on cardiovascular system and physical efficiency. The police officers knew about the influence of smoking on sense organs the least. It is recommended to implement systematic educational actions to increase the knowledge level about the health consequences of smoking tobacco.

[The influence of social-demographic attributes on tobacco smoking by elderly people]. / Wplyw cech spoleczno-demograficznych na palenie tytoniu w starszym wieku.

The quitting of tobacco smoking has advantageous influence on morbidity and mortality in each age. A reduction of deaths for cardiovascular reasons in the earliest. The research has taken over a random sample of people aged 65 and more, living in Lódz- Górna district. The 57.4% turnout to the research enabled to obtain data from 828 people (288 men and 540 women). The respondents were 71.5 +/- 5.1 years old on average. The tool of the research was the interview questionnaire including smoking tobacco related questions. The research was conducted within CINDI WHO Program in 2002. In the big city population the elderly people smoking frequency was 10.8%, while there were 9.5% of regular smokers. Twice as many men than women at the same age were smoking tobacco (16.6% vs. 7.8%). The percentage of heavy smokers was 44.3%. The proportion of regular smokers diminished together with the age and one observed a drop of the average number of cigarettes smoked. One stated that the age and sex are the strong predicators of smoking whereas the high of income and self-appreciation of health state have no influence on smoking by elderly people. The smoking frequency of elderly people living in the city environment is quite high, especially within men 65-75 aged.

[The use of the minimal intervention strategy among police officers]. / Stosowanie minimalnej interwencji antytytoniowej wsród funkcjonariuszy policji.

UNLABELLED: It has been estimated that current tobacco smoking will cause about 450 million deaths worldwide in the next fifty years. The intense search for effective methods of smoking reduction continues. Minimal Intervention Strategy (MIS) is a simple, cost saving as well as efficient method of smoking limitation. The survey analyzed the use of MIS by physicians among policemen from the economically active population. The tool of the research was the interview questionnaire including 49 smoking tobacco related questions. The research encompassed the group of 102 policemen from the headquarter in Tomaszów Mazowiecki. The respondents were 36.0 +/- 7.36 years old on average. The smoking frequency of the surveyed group was 66.7%, where there were 56.9% of regular smokers and 9.8% of occasional smokers. The percentage of never smokers reached the level of 28.4%. Physicians used the first step of MIS (question about smoking) in case of 55.9% respondents. However, only 1/3 of regular smokers were recommended to stop smoking (the second step of MIS). CONCLUSIONS: The tobacco smoking frequency among police officers was very high. The use of MIS in the surveyed group should be considered insufficient.

[Detection of alcohol problems among elderly people]. / Wykrywanie problemów alkoholowych u osób w starszym wieku.

UNLABELLED: Although alcohol problems among elderly people are common, doctors hardly ever recognize them. There are numerous symptoms observed among people over 65 years old that may signal alcohol problems, but are incorrectly perceived as typical onsets of the ageing process. One of the reasons doctors avoid talking to their patients about alcohol use is the fact they feel incompetent as to the early detection of alcohol use disorders. AIM: The purpose of the study is to present standardized tests aimed at alcohol use disorders detection among elderly people, interpretation of their results and alcohol interview guidelines. DISCUSSION: The alcohol use disorders among elderly people may have serious health consequences. Polish doctors seem to ignore the issue of alcohol use when interviewing both young people and those over 65 years old. The majority of elderly patients see their GPs on regular basis, which is a great opportunity to detect the alcohol problem and then to give proper treatment. The most popular standardized tests aimed at alcohol use disorders detection are: S-MAST-G Test, Quantity/Frequency Screen, CHARM Questionnaire, CAGE Test and its modifications. CONCLUSIONS: Using the presented tests enables preliminary identification of at-risk drinkers, harmful drinkers and alcohol dependents as well as gives an opportunity to recognize people who need a thorough diagnosis or short intervention method. The usage of the presented tools has medical justification because of the fact that drinking alcohol causes serious health consequences and deteriorates the length and quality of life. It is also economical to apply such methods as the cost of screening is low.

[Elderly ex-smokers and their health status]. / Byli palacze tytoniu w starszym wieku a ich stan zdrowia.

UNLABELLED: The risk of numerous diseases development as well as death due to cancer, coronary and pulmonary diseases, is higher among smokers than non-smokers. It is estimated that one in three smokers will die prematurely of complications caused by smoking tobacco. Quitting smoking, even by patients over 65 years old, diminishes the risk of death and chronic diseases considerably as well as increases life expectancy rate. AIM OF THE STUDY: The research aim was to find out how smoking cessation influences subjective health status. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research included a random trial of 828 people aged 65 and over from urban population. RESULTS: 87.4% of ex-tobacco smokers, who made up 10.7% of the group, quit smoking before turning 65. The average age of smoking cessation was 45.9+/-15.8 years and the average smoking period was 26.9+/-15.0 years. The health evaluation with the use of visual analog scale (VAS) was better among smokers than ex-smokers (63.4 vs 57.7; p<0.04). Smoking women assessed their health status considerably better than ex-smoking women (66.1 vs 53.1; p<0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The non-smoking period length did not influence the VAS health status assessment substantially. Only 1/3 of ex-smokers assessed their health status as rather poor or poor, despite the frequent presence of such risk factors as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity and lipid disorder.

[The analysis of smoking conditionings for junior high school students]. / Analiza uwarunkowan palenia papierosów przez mlodziez gimnazjalna.

The use of psychoactive substances by children and teenagers is an important public healthcare issue in Poland. Starting smoking by teenagers increases the likelihood of addiction to smoking later as well as getting numerous smoking related diseases. The aim of the study was to examine the smoking prevalence and its conditionings for the 15-year-olds living in a city of 60.5 thousand people as well as provide the group profile. The study included 114 randomly selected students. 9.6% of the study group were smokers, out of whom 3.5% junior high students were occasional smokers and 6,1% declared everyday smoking (boys only). Over half of the students (57.1%) have never smoked. There has been a coexistence of smoking and using other psychoactive substances. The smokers used vodka or other types of alcohol far more often than the non-smokers, and they become drank. All of them have been drunk at least once. Approximately 40% of the smokers experimented with drugs. The conditionings of smoking for junior high school students have been defined. The study showed an important relation between smoking by junior high school students and being raised in dysfunctional family or being raised in a healthy lifestyle family of non-smokers.

[Subjective and objective health status ex-smokers among elderly persons. CINDI WHO survey]. / Subiektywna i obiektywna ocena stanu zdrowia bylych palaczy tytoniu w starszym wieku. Badanie Programu CINDI WHO.

Smoking tobacco increases the risk of numerous diseases as well as death due to tumours, cardiovascular and respiratory system diseases. It has been estimated that one of three smokers will die prematurely because of complications induced by smoking tobacco. Quitting smoking after turning 65 years old decreases the risk of chronic diseases and increases the estimated life expectancy. The aim of the research conducted within CINDI WHO Programme is exploring the influence of quitting smoking on subjective health perception and its objective condition among people of 65 and older depending on demographic and social factors as well as analysis of the reasons for quitting smoking by long-time tobacco smokers. The research included a group of 828 people of 65 years old and older living in an urban population. 10.7% of the senior citizen group were ex-smokers. Men more frequently than women quit smoking. A vast majority of ex-smokers (87.4%) quit before turning 65, however, 12.6% did it when they are above that age. The average age of quitting smoking was 45.9 +/- 15.8 years and the average smoking period was 26.9 +/- 15 years. The motivation for quitting smoking was mainly health reasons. Only 1/3 of ex-smokers assessed their health condition as poor or rather poor in spite of frequent risk factors such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity, lipid disorders.

[Tobacco smoking by elderly people according to CINDI WHO research]. / Palenie tytoniu u osób w starszym wieku. Badanie Programu CINDI WHO.

UNLABELLED: The epidemiological research results show that quitting smoking tobacco by elderly people (> or = 65 year old) reduces the risk of cancer both for men and women and there is a substantial cardiovascular system improvement after a one-year-period. From the medical and economic point of view it is purposeful to explore the smoking model of this age group in relation to sociodemographic features as well as analyzing the factors that may motivate them to quit smoking. The research included a random test group of people aged 65 and more, living in Lódz Górna district. The 57.4% turnout to the research enabled to obtain data from 828 people (288 men and 540 women). The respondents were 71.5 +/- 5.1 years old on average. The tool of the research was the interview questionnaire including smoking tobacco related questions. The research was conducted within CINDI WHO Program in 2002. In the big city population the elderly people smoking frequency was 10.8%, where there were 9.5% of regular smokers and 1.3% of occasional smokers. Twice as many men than women at the same age were smoking tobacco (16.6% vs. 7.8%). The majority of regular smokers represent the psychological nicotine dependence type assessed with the Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence. 65% of tobacco smokers declare the will to quit smoking and 68% have attempted to quit smoking. The percentage of ex-smokers was close to the percentage of current smokers and amounted to 10.7%. The predominant group of ex-smokers (87%) had stopped smoking before turning 65, however, the rest of the ex-smokers had quit before crossing the old age border. CONCLUSIONS: The smoking frequency of elderly people living in the city environment is quite high, especially within men. The intensification of actions towards limiting tobacco smoking in this age group may substantially contribute to decreasing the global risk of cardiovascular complications and life quality improvement.

[Alcohol use by future physicians--medical and social problem]. / Problem medyczno-spoleczny spozywania alkoholu w grupie przyszlych lekarzy.

The aim of the study was to assess the kind of alcohol disorders and their recurrence among students of medicine. Authors analysed 143 people using Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). It was found that 54.2% of students drink alcohol once a month or rarely, and 41.5% at least twice a month. The standard amount of alcohol for 53.1% of interviewed students were 1-2 standard drinks (10 g of ethanol), while every fourth student drinks 5 and more standard drinks. Hazardous drinking was found in 46.5% of studied subjects, three times more among men than women. The positive results of AUDIT obtained 11.9% of interviewed students. The percentage of people with alcohol problems found after AUDIT was 4.3%. Alcohol use among students of medicine is a medical and social problem according to performed studies.