Study of Factors Influencing Drug Use Among Commercial Drivers in Suburban Public Transport

Background and aims: This study was conducted to determine the economic, social, and culturalfactors influencing the consumption of drugs by drivers of public vehicles in 2013.Materials and Methods: The capture-recapture method was employed to determine drug use, its type,and the time of consumption among drivers of public transport. At the capture stage, 384 of the sampleswere surveyed and then (15 days later) at the recapture stage, 1176 drivers were randomly selected.All drivers who crossed the boundaries of Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Khorasan Razavi, West and EastAzarbaijan, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Gilan during the defined time were randomly selected. Thesample size was 196 drivers for each boundary based on the traffic volume of each boundary and typeof vehicle.Results: The mean age of the addicted and non-addicted subjects was 41.65 ± 3.41 years and39.63 ± 2.11 years, respectively, with a significant difference (P = 0.01). There were significantdifferences between addicted and non-addicted subjects with respect to some of the socioeconomicvariables such as monthly income (P = 0.001), owning home (P = 0.001), owning car (P = 0.001),ethnicity (P = 0.016), and education (P = 0.01). There were significant differences in the economic andcultural factors affecting addictive drug use between non-addicted and addicted subjects (P = 0.001).Conclusion: A significant difference in economic and cultural factors, ethnicity, and levels of educationwas observed between non-addicted and addicted subjects.