IS THE STRONG POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN SMOKING AND USE OF ALCOHOLCONSISTENT OVER TIME - A STUDY OF FINNISH ADOLESCENTS FROM 1977 TO 1993

We studied the consistency over time of the addictive behaviour dimens ion measured by its key components, tobacco and alcohol use, Changes i n the relationship between the two behaviours in 1977-1993 were analys ed using data from the Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey, collect ed biannually by mailed questionnaires from nationally representative samples of 12- to 18-year-old Finns, The number of respondents varied from 2832 to 4275 and the response rate from 77 to 88%, Correlation be tween the two behaviours was strong (0.67) and stable during the 16 ye ars, A typology of tobacco and alcohol use was constructed (inexperien ced, only tried, experimental use of tobacco only, experimental use of alcohol only, smokes only, drinks only, regular user, hard user and o ther) and changes analysed by logistic regression models, A decrease w as observed among the inexperienced group (16 and 18 year olds) and in the experimental use of tobacco only group, A marked increase was obs erved in the drinks only group, The smokes only group became smaller i n the latest surveys, The results suggest that the addictive behaviour dimension should be divided into two subdimensions, a 'traditional' o ne, which is consistent over time and indicated by use of both substan ces, and a 'modern' one, where alcohol use only is present.