This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the variables associated with friends and alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use in 965 adolescents from 50 public schools in Jacarei and Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil. The Drug Use Screening Inventory was used for data collection. Having friends who use substances, who are in trouble with the law, who have stolen/damaged something, who sell drugs, who take drugs to parties, and who get bored when they do not drink at parties progressively increased the risk of adolescents using alcohol, tobacco, both of them, and illicit drugs. This result shows the importance of evaluating the consumption of these substances separately, as the consumption of alcohol and tobacco together seems to be more hazardous than consuming them individually.
Alcohol abuse; Adolescent; Illicit drugs; Nicotine
