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INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH CONFERENCE IN TIRANA, ALBANIAKnowledge, attitudes and practices on drug useamong students in Prizren, Kosovo, in 2013Nurishahe Hulaj 1 , Naser Ramadani 1 , Ilir Begolli 1 , Lebibe Hashani 1 ,Violeta Kryeziu 1 , Nazif Ahmeti 1 , Fadil Kryeziu 1 , Myrvete Rexhepi 1 ,Agron Hoxha 11National Institute of Public Health of Kosova, Prizren Branch.Aim: To assess the level of knowledge, attitudes andpractices regarding drug use among students inPrizren, Kosovo.Method: This was a cross-sectional research study.An anonymous self-administered questionnaireconsisting of 20 items was used in this survey. Thesurvey was conducted during March 2013.Approval for research was obtained from theMunicipal Education Directorate of Prizren. In theresearch participated 465 students from grades X,XI, XII and XIII (age range: 15-19 years).Results: Mean age of the students was 17.0 years.There were 51% males and 49% females. Studentsfrom urban areas were 57.4%. About 65% of thestudents reported that they read sufficiently aboutdrugs, whereas 28% of the students felt that theschool taught them quite little about drug-relatedissues. However, students reported that the keysource of information about drug-relatedinformation was television advertising. About 86.3of the students have never taken part in activitiesdiscussing about drug effects.Conclusion: The level of knowledge about drugrelatedissues is not satisfactory among students inthis region of Kosovo. The main source ofinformation appears to be television viewing. Multisectoralactions and effective measures should beundertaken in Prizren in order to control and preventthe drug use among students.Keywords: drugs, public health, schools, student knowledge.ALBANIAN MEDICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT79