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INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH CONFERENCE IN TIRANA, ALBANIASubstance use among 15-16 year old adolescents inTirana Findings from the 2011 ESPAD studyErvin Toçi 1 , Eduard Kakarriqi 1,2 , Alban Ylli 1,2 , Roland Bani 1 ,Genc Burazeri 1,21Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania;2Faculty of Public Health, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania.Aim: During the last two decades, Albania hasexperienced vast population displacements andTirana, the capital, welcomed a good proportion ofthe newcomers. In this context of demographictransition and economic instability, our aim was toassess substance use prevalence among Tiranaadolescents living with the uncontrolled urbanizationprocess.Methods: In 2011, the European School SurveyProject on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) wascarried out for the first time in Albania using astandardized methodology. We used a two-stagestratified sample of 9 th and 10 th graders in Albania.The detailed questionnaire enquired about alcohol,tobacco and illicit drug use.Results: Life-time, last year, last month and lastweek prevalence of alcohol, tobacco and other illicitdrug use were higher among Tirana adolescentscompared with the rest of the country. Higherproportions of Tirana pupils engage in morefrequent, higher quantity and more dangerous useof psychoactive substances. Furthermore, higherproportions of Tirana school adolescents considerit easy or very easy to find alcohol, tobacco or illicitdrugs compared with their counterparts livingelsewhere.Conclusion: The prevalence of substance use ishigher among Tirana adolescents than in otherdistricts of Albania. Future studies are needed inorder to understand the mechanisms and risk factorsof substance use among Albanian adolescents.Keywords: adolescents, ESPAD, substance use, Tirana.ALBANIAN MEDICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT77