Consumption of addictive substances in mariners
Total prevalence
In the studies using the same definitions of consumption, total prevalence was calculated. The main substances
used were: tobacco (63.1%), alcohol (14.5%) and cannabis
This literature review was used to assess the prevalence of addiction in seafarers according to international publications:
63.1% smoked, 14.5% were hazardous drinkers according to the WHO definition and 3.4% had used cannabis
in the previous month. Few studies focused on the use of heroin, cocaine, sedatives or other drugs. The use
of alcohol or drugs on board a ship was also infrequently studies. However, 10% of mariners (or more) consume
alcohol on board.
This literature review showed a high prevalence of smoking. Seafarers smoked more than the general populations of
France and the United States: 63.1% vs. 21.5% and 20.6%, respectively . Several reasons may contribute to
these findings, such as unusual work patterns and lack of sleep . Tobacco may be used as a stimulant, a distraction
in those who are bored or as an anxiolytic for those in a stressful environment ].
The prevalence of alcohol consumption was also higher than in the general population. By comparison, in France,
problem drinking is seen in 10% of the population
Cannabis
Cannabis use was studied according to different definitionsshowed that 45.2% of
the sailors had used cannabis at least once in their lives.This prevalence was higher among merchant seamen than
among fishermen: 48.1% vs. 40.5%. During the previous year, 20.8% of mariners had used cannabis . The
prevalence of use in the previous month ranged from 3% to 16%
Sedatives and other drugs
Use of these drugs is rarely studied. One study evaluatedthe use of sedative drugs , and another the use
of other drugs Fort et al.showed that 15% of seafarers had tried a narcotic at least once in their life
Hallucinogenic mushrooms, cocaine and poppers were he other main drugs used (Table 1). The prevalence of use
of these other drugs in the previous month was low (1%)
Co-addiction
Canals Pol-Lina studied the use of several simultaneousdrugs uses. 73% of the seafarers had used a drug
at some point in their life. 90% of these involved alcohol and tobacco. A link was found between the use of cannabis
and other drugs: cocaine (r = 0.94), sedatives (r = 0.91), alcohol (r = 0.77), heroin (r = 0.71). Alcohol use was not
defined in this study
Drug use on board
Several studies considered the use of drugs on board.Percin et al. [27] showed that 68% of fishers used alcohol,
but only 10% used it on board a ship whilst fishing. 81%of fishermen smoked on board, two thirds smoking more
than 20 a day and 72% smoking more often on boardthan ashore . Novalbos et al. found that 9% of
fishers used illegal drugs, of whom 3% used drugs onboard. 30% of fishermen drank alcohol on board, at anaverage of 8.5 g/day
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c520/b ... 9a32c3.pdf
