MERS‹N’DE ERGENLER ARASINDA S‹GARA, ALKOL VE YASA DIfiI MADDE KULLANIM ORANLARININ YAYGINLI⁄I: ORTAOKUL, L‹SE VE ÜN‹VERS‹TE Ö⁄RENC‹LER‹N‹N KARfiILAfiTIRILMASI

Mersin is an international harbor city on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. This city receives migrations from many other parts of Turkey and shelters people from various ethnic roots and different socioeconomic strata. The majority of inhabitants are Muslims. There is no clear data about the prevalence of smoking, alcohol and illicit drug use in Mersin. Previous studies conducted in different regions of Turkey on different samples have reported that the prevalence of illicit drug use was significantly lower than the rates found in European countries and USA (Martinez et al. 1999, Gfroerer et al 1997, Webb et al. 1996, Thomas et al. 1993, Macfadden and Woody 2000). Views about alcohol and rates of use may vary according to geographic, cultural, religious and educational (Ögel et al. 2001). Lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use was found 3.3% among high school students (15-17 year age group) in a study done in 15 different cities of Turkey in 1998 (Ögel et al 2000). The P