[Water pipe smoking and psychoactive substances]

In recent years a water pipe gains popularity among Polish young people. Unfortunately, young people use it to burn not only tobacco, but also other addictive and psychoactive substances.

The aim of the study was to assess the phenomenon of using a water pipe to smoke psychoactive substances by young people.

The study was conducted based on the author's guestionnaire. The anonymous test was conducted throughout Poland, selecting randomly ten high schools and two universities from each province.

In the survey participated 19 037 people from the region of Poland. 83% of them were high school pupils aged 15-19 years and 17% of them were students aged 20-25 years. 38% of volunteers at least once in their life have smoked a water pipe, and 22% have smoked it during last 30 days. Apart from tobacco 38% of the smoking people used also, apart from the tobacco designet for smoking in a water pipe, psychoactive substances. The most common is marihuana. 16% of school pupils and 17% of students used marihuana, 14% and 15% hashish, 8% and 11% crack, and 11% and 15% boosters.

Presented data from all-Poland research conducted among school pupils and students illustrate only occasional and sporadic experience in drug use and the outright conclusions about the scale of the permanent use of psychoactive substances can not be drawn. A social aspect of a water pipe smoking is favourable to an alcohol consumption and lots of with different psychoactive substances. Due to the scale of the problem it is advisable to do in-depth research about the described phenomenon. It is also advisable to conduct more intensive programs to promote healthy behaviors and increase more attention to the reasons of such behaviour among young people.