The report also cited alcohol as the most common drug of choice by high school students, followed by cigarettes and marijuana. Of the ten million high school students in the country, 75% of them have already experimented with alcohol, marijuana, and even cocaine, with one out of every five qualifying in the criteria of being an addict.

CASA vice president and director of research Susan E. Foster says that their study sends out the message to parents that it’s time to intervene and prevent addictions of their teens. “Do everything you can to get young people through their teen years without using drugs or alcohol,” she says. “Every year they don’t use drugs or alcohol reduces their risk of negative consequences, such as addiction.”

Teen substance abuse has become a very big problem. But Dr. Stephen Grcevich, a child psychologist from the Family Center in Ohio, says that the problem can be avoided with parents guiding their children at the earliest stage. There is a need for parents to influence their kids even in their early years so that by the time they reach teenage years, they would be able to handle the pressure and eventually say no to drugs and alcohol.

People who drink only by age 21 are 40% less likely to become addicts later on in life than those who start drinking even before they reach 15 years old. The human brain is still developing between the ages of 15 and 22, and the process could be negatively affected by drinking, smoking or drug use.

In a Reuters feature, Yvonne Terry-McElrath, one of the authors of the study from the University of Michigan, suggests that exercise could be a starting point to discourage drug use among teens. Getting kids into sports may not be a total cure for drug addiction, but it could at least make an impact on lowering the statistics of teens who get hooked on drugs. “If we can encourage an enjoyment in general exercise, we may be able to see a lowering of participation in drug use,” she says.

The study was done on about 12,000 students. Results yielded show that those who participate in athletic activities or just in simple exercises don’t usually pick drugs or cigarettes, registering only zero to two times of instances in the past year. The times that they drank alcohol in the past year though was put at an average of five instances.

Put into figures, the group who were not into sports reached 38% smoking population and at least 23% who were into pot smoking. Compared to the group who got themselves moving and working out, they only had 25% of cigarette smoking and 17% of pot incidents.

An increase in drinking statistics among athletes can be attributed to group drinking that usually happens when they get together in teams. Drinking becomes a social activity for them, and the pressure to drink after games is always present. Teens who are also in a team would not risk their team’s reputation by taking illicit drugs, and sees alcohol as a better alternative.

There are still a lot of factors that need attention in determining causes of teen drinking and drug abuse. The authors admit that their results are just the tip of the iceberg, and that a long-term study about the subject is encouraged.

Whatever reasons teens and young adults may have for drinking, the same dangerous effects will be experienced. Here are some examples presented to show that drinking isn’t at all good for the body.

When an individual is in puberty, a lot of hormonal changes in the body are taking place. If a certain adolescent starts to drink at this time, his alcohol intake may affect the hormone balances which could have drastic results. The widely affected hormones include those of the sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone. The balance of these substances in the body is disturbed with the presence of alcohol, and the normal development of muscles and bones as well as other organs will be upset resulting to abnormalities.

Drinking is also a major cause why minors get into vehicular accidents. Accidents that happen due to drunk driving have become a leading cause for teen deaths. Other causes of death linked to alcohol intake are suicide, drowning, and even murder.

Early drinking can develop into an alcohol addiction and dependence during adult life. In a study done by the Mayo Clinic, those who drink before the age of 21 are four times more likely to become alcohol addicts when they become adults, compared to those who wait until the age of 21 before starting to drink.

Lastly, sexual irresponsibility is also linked to teen drinking. Most teens that get into drinking also becomes careless and involve themselves into sexual activities without proper protection, ending up with unwanted pregnancies or acquiring STDs. When alcohol affects the brain, the individual’s inhibitions are also hit, making him or her sexually active.

It is important then for both parents and children to know about the laws that govern DUI cases of minors. Laws can vary from one state to another, but in general, they can be summarized as follows:

Criminal Consequences – Penalties for DUI could range from fines to imprisonment. While it is true that minors are dealt with separately from adults when charged with DUI, sentences can vary depending on each court’s discretion. Aside from fines and jail time, juvenile violators can be put on programs that deal with alcohol and drugs addiction. Minors can also be given community service tasks and sent into detention facilities.

Zero Tolerance – States have set limits for blood alcohol content (BAC) levels to consider a driver who is driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI). For adults, the BAC is usually at 0.08 and if adult drivers go way beyond the limit, they are arrested. In a minor’s case, he need not go beyond 0.08 to be charged; a BAC of more than 0.02 can already suffice for drivers under 21 to be arrested for DUI or DWI.

Driving Restrictions – For minors who are charged with DUI, their licenses are automatically suspended and can even be revoked. Just a DUI charge, not necessarily a conviction, may be enough for a minor’s license to be completely taken from him. The state also implements suspension sanctions but when minors are involved, the three to six months usual suspension can extend up to a few more months, even years.

A study was conducted of more than 1900 teen participants aged 12-13 years old of Australian and American bloodlines. In Australia, almost 67% of teens drink with the supervision of their parents while in the US, only 35% do. After a year, Australian teens who experienced alcohol-related problems was put at 36% while the American counterpart only had 21% incident rate.

More findings and results will be published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (JSAD). The research was a joint effort of the Centre for Adolescent Health in Melbourne, Australia, and the Social Development Research Group in Seattle, Washington.

Despite having peers and other people around them, it was clear in the study that regardless of race, the role of parents in their children’s lives should not be taken for granted. In a feature on Red Orbit, Minnesota University professor Dr. Barbara McMorris says that “Both studies show that parents matter. Despite the fact that peers and friends become important influences as adolescents get older, parents still have a big impact.”

“Kids need parents to be parents and not drinking buddies. Adults need to be clear about what messages they are sending. Kids need black and white messages early on. Such messages will help reinforce limits as teens get older and opportunities to drink increase,” she concluded.

Since kids this age obviously cannot buy the booze on their own, the study also learned how they get their hands on these beverages. While there are those who resort to sneaky tactics such as getting an older “friend” to buy a six-pack from the liquor store, or smuggling the stuff from the family stash, there are some kids who are actually getting alcohol directly from a parent, guardian, or adult relative.

According to a report from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), more than 200,000 kids were given alcohol by an adult family member – and this number is just in the past month alone.

Peter Delany, director of the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality at SAMHSA, said: “About 5.9 percent of 12- to 14-year-olds have used alcohol in the past month… That’s a pretty large number… And almost all of these kids got that alcohol for free.”

Delany revealed further that 45 percent of kids who drank alcoholic drinks either got them from a parent or a family member, or took it without permission from their own homes.

The reason behind why parents give kids liquor is not clear, according to Delany. He said: “Anecdotally, parents say, ‘Well, at least they are drinking at home and not on the street, or at least they are not smoking marijuana’ — all kind of silly things.”

Question: Does alcohol boost energy?
Answer: No. It is a depressant, so it naturally slows down your system and often makes you sleepy. That is why it is never safe to drink and drive. A driver’s skills are affected by the intake of alcohol.

Question: Does drinking alcohol improve sex?
Answer: The only thing that alcohol can do in relation to social situations is that it reduces inhibitions. This may make you try more interesting things while under the influence of alcohol. This does not mean, though, that sex becomes better. In reality, alcohol makes it difficult for the guys to have and keep an erection while it lowers sex drive for girls. Also, alcohol may make you forget to use a condom or influence you to proceed with sex wthout protection. This, of course, carries consequences like early pregnancy and contracting STDs.

Question: How can alcohol harm one’s body?
Answer: Significant alcohol intake may disturb sleep, thereby depriving your body of the sleep it needs to rejuvenate and recharge. Alcohol also causes nausea and vomiting. Serious diseases caused by too much drinking are cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and liver cancer; pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas); hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart attacks; osteoporosis (loss of bone mass); and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (brain disorder) among others.

Parents have a responsibility to always check the welfare of their children and see to it that they are away from serious danger. Here are some things to remember when dealing with a depressed teen:

1. Offer support and let them feel you are there to help them. Express your unconditional support. Let your child speak freely about what he feels and listen to what he has to say.  Do not judge. Do not criticize. Do not lecture.

2. Acknowledge their pain and take their concerns seriously. Do not underestimate their feelings. Do not try to talk teens out of their depression, although their concerns may appear shallow to you. Remember that this is important to them and that it may be difficult for them to open up about it.

3. If your teen tells you that nothing is wrong, although you feel in your heart that there is, trust your instincts. Be persistent but be gentle at the same time. Denial is a common reaction, or your teen may probably not realize it’s depression he is feeling.

4. Check your child’s activities. Make sure he does not involve himself in drugs, alcohol or gambling. Depressed teens are susceptible to drug abuse, recklessness and violence.

5. If you feel that your teen’s depression is getting worse, seek professional help.  Encourage your teen to confront this episode in his life with courage. Ensure him that you are just beside him to offer your full and unconditional support.

As a teenager, your child will naturally seek and even crave acceptance among his peers. A lot of kids put high value on being accepted by friends and society rather than think what is best for them no matter the costs. For example, classmates who stay home on Friday evenings doing their Math project may be branded as “nerds” while those who hang out with friends for some party time and alcohol drinking are considered “cool”.

Of course, as a parent, you need to realize that teenagers will have their own way of understanding alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse.  For this reason, it is important for you not only to tell your children to avoid alcohol, but also to carefully explain why.  You need to put value on their interpretation of things in order for them to appreciate what you have to teach them.

Parents often make the mistake of being too authoritative with their children, but children these days are smart enough to think on their own, and they usually don’t simply follow orders just because you said so.

Many things have contrived to make today’s young people very susceptible to misinterpreting the things around them. So, it is of extreme importance that parents painstakingly explain to their children the risks and the pressures as well as instill the right attitudes.

But he had one big character flaw, if you can call it that: he was an extreme loner. Somehow, he never got the hang of going out with other people. He was seen as one of the school’s biggest nerds. No one wanted to get close to him.

He could have gone on with his life and accepted this stereotyping as a passing phase – that it would not last, but his inner desire to be accepted overwhelmed his rational thinking. And so he made a choice: he would abandon his academic life in lieu of a “more active” social life. There began his downfall. He drank and drank with his buddies to no end, and began to use drugs as well.

As life would have it, things went out of control, and he found himself unable to escape his situation. His body grew dependent on the drugs, and he started to do petty crimes such as shoplifting just to sustain his habit. He dropped out of school, and he seemed to have lived off the grid; no one could contact him at all in any way.

I saw him again four years later. It turns out that he was in a rehabilitation center during the time he was gone. He admits how grave his mistakes early in life were, but he also understands that he can never live his life the same way ever again. He looks forward to a different and more meaningful future, though.