Which geographic regions have the highest Provigil use? Where do people use Provigil?
Cephalon doesn’t give out that information. We can try to guess propensity for use of this drug from uses of other stimulants and related medicines. Do high-stress cities full of hard-working white collar workers (e.g. New York) lead to Provigil use? We can guess they might, but there is no hard evidence.
It is reasonable to think that younger adults would be more likely to use performance-enhancing stimulants just because they grew up as part of the Ritalin generation. Their classmates took Ritalin, and they don’t see use of this type of medicine as a big deal. They are less likely to have a stigma against ADHD drugs than their elders.
Culture matters, too, and Provigil has yet to reach a “tipping point”. People in the country of Turkey consume more tea per capita than any other country (90% of Turks drink tea every day). 60% of Turkish men and 20% of women smoke cigarettes. Yet Provigil, which is sold over the counter, is not widely used. A 2009 study by University of Nottingham researchers looked at modafinil coverage in the media. The authors found that "cultural conceptions of ‘normality’ were also central in the recreational discourse where debates were situated around the use of modafinil for enhancement or improvement of ‘normal bodies’."
Class considerations
Economists have the concept of luxury goods, which are things that show increasing demand as incomes rise. There is anecdotal evidence that Provigil is a luxury good.
Worldwide, ADHD medications use increased by a factor of three from 1993 through 2003. A recent study showed that per capita gross domestic product correlated positively with use of ADHD drugs across countries, but the United States, Canada, and Australia showed significantly higher-than-predicted use.
However, Provigil's benefits in treatment of excessive sleepiness due
to Shift Work Sleep Disorder
suggest that it will find use among working class people.