A follow-up survey of alcohol consumption and knowledge in medical students

We surveyed a medical school's students' drinking habits and knowledge 12 y ears after a previous survey. In this current survey from two academic year s, final year students drank less than second year students did. Women in t heir second year drank as much as men. Overall, 28% of students drank more than the safe limits; 27% of students were problem drinkers, as measured by the CAGE questionnaire, and 52%, as measured by the AUDIT questionnaire. T he proportion of students not drinking any alcohol rose from 6% in the prev ious survey to 27% in the current survey, possibly due to context and demog raphic changes. In spite of this difference, there have been no statistical ly significant reductions in either unsafe drinking levels or CAGE scores o ver 12 years. A third of students overestimated the safe levels of drinking . All medical schools should write and implement an alcohol policy.