Volatile substance abuse among school students of eastern Saudi Arabia.

A questionnaire-based cross-sectional epidemiological survey of volatile solvent (VS) abuse in a representative sample of 1778 male Saudi students drawn from nine intermediate and nine secondary schools in three urban areas in Eastern Saudi Arabia showed a prevalence rate of 5.3%. The majority (52%) started their abuse between 112 to 14 years of age and the involvement was mostly once (45%) or occasionally (44%), while daily abuse was rare (11%). Predominantly (63%), the behavior lasted less than a month and solitary abuse prevailed (54%). The commonly abused substances were petrol (27%) and glue (23%). VS abuse was significantly associated with family troubles, truancy and smoking, but neither correlated with socioeconomic status, family structure nor with scholastic achievement. Preventive measures are suggested.