Portrayal of New Psychoactive Substances in the Hungarian Online Media

Abstract

We assessed the portrayal of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in online Hungarian printed media between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014 using content analysis. Altogether five topics were identified: 1: effects/side effects from the point of view of an outsider; 2: motivation of drug use; 3: type of NPS mentioned; 4: location of consumption or seizures; 5: tone of the article. The results suggest that much of the Hungarian online printed media is written in a sensation seeking way and mainly focuses on police seizures and on the physical (especially on the deviant and aggressive behavioral) effects of NPS usage. Articles mainly associate NPS with events among the marginalized population of the 8th district in Budapest (a low socioeconomic and drug infested area with a high population proportion of marginalized Roma minorities), or law-enforcement activities outside of Budapest. The monitoring of written online media may inform public health professionals and policy makers about emerging problems related to NPS, while such professionals may inform journalists to counterbalance the sensationalist tone of news pieces about NPS.