148
Views
20
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Substance-Dependent Professional Drivers in Iran: A Descriptive Study

, , , , &
Pages 227-230 | Received 07 Nov 2008, Accepted 25 Feb 2009, Published online: 18 May 2009
 

Abstract

Objective: To determine characteristics of a nationwide sample of Iranian dependent drug users whose main profession is driving.

Methods: Data were derived from a larger study, which aimed to describe pattern of drug dependency in Iran. A “driver” was defined as a person whose main profession was driving a motor vehicle to earn a living. Nine hundred twenty individuals were interviewed by a trained drug abuse team in all provinces of Iran during a 5-month period, from April to August 2007. Socioeconomic characteristics, substance abused, and high-risk behaviors were collected by a checklist.

Results: All drivers were male and their mean (± standard deviation) age was 35.1 (± 8.6) years. Opioids (434 cases, 46.8%) and kerack (256 cases, 27.6%) were the two most common drugs used. Except for buprenorphine, which was used via intravenous injection, inhalation was the dominant method of us in other substances including opioids (56%), heroin (51.4%), kerack (80.1%), methamphetamine (73.9%), and cannabis (77.8%). Extramarital sexual relationships (414 cases, 45%) and nonfatal intoxication (362 cases, 39.3%) were the two most frequent high-risk behaviors.

Conclusions: There are people with drug dependencies who drive for living in Iran. Deterrence programs through screening and random drug testing at police stations and legislation regarding charges of drugged drivers and prohibition from driving for long time periods are essential priorities in traffic safety.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 331.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.