Posts Tagged teen smoking

Teen Drinking and Smoking Linked to Economic Status

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Raising Healthy Kids, Tobacco Abuse on May 25th, 2011

What does being rich or poor have to do with drinking and smoking? A study reveals that for teens, being rich leads to alcohol consumption while being poor leads to cigarette smoking.

drinking at homeIn a report from Reuters, the researchers from the University of Bristol found out that drinking and smoking habits of teens are largely dependent on their families’ economic status. Among the 5,837 13-year-old kids that they studied, those who come from high-income families are drinking more, while those of the poorer families often light up cigarettes instead. They too are 22 percent less likely to drink compared to their rich counterparts. The results of their study have been published in an issue of the journal on Pediatrics.

Another interesting fact that came out of the study was that teens whose moms have higher levels of education, regardless of social status, drink less too.

This result can be linked to the fact that most of the alcohol that teens consume come from their own homes. Mothers who put an emphasis on their child’s health and who educate themselves about the dangers of teen drinking usually lock up their cabinets where alcoholic drinks are stored. This makes it harder for teens at home to access them.

Teen drinking problems is most common in wealthier families, and parents that bring in higher incomes in a family should take this issue seriously. They should ensure that kids at home will not be able to see or get hold of their alcoholic substances at home.

Parents of lower-income families, on the other hand, should be wary of their child’s health when it comes to smoking. They too should act as caretakers of the health of their families.

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Educating Teens: A Tool to Help Reduce Tobacco Use

Posted by Drug Free in Raising Healthy Kids, Tobacco Abuse on May 12th, 2011

In Montana, officials, school authorities and parents are doing what they can to help keep children and adolescents stay away from tobacco use. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services together with concerned citizens have launched programs to discourage tobacco use through Quit Line and reACT.

teen smokingYet this joint effort is easily toppled by tobacco manufacturers, with the amount they spend on advertising almost four times more than what the state spends on anti-tobacco programs. Leading tobacco company R.J. Reynolds in Montana claims that the target group of their product is the adult user, and that there’s nothing they could do if teens somehow get hold of their cigarettes.

According to reACT Youth Empowerment Coordinator Erin Kintop, tobacco industries are simply using more of the addictive component in their products to have more users and to be able to gain large margins of profit. This is why there is a need for proper education of teens regarding the harmful addictive quality of cigarettes before they begin experimenting. Reaching out to the youth before addiction sets in is the most effective way to discourage them from using tobacco.

For officer Noal Petty of the Helena Police School Resource Department, peer pressure plays a big role on why teens are tempted to smoke. Anytime a teenager is with friends, he or she can be easily pushed to take on the plunge and be addicted to cigarettes. He agrees that educating the youth and information drive efforts are very critical.

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How to Get Drug Addicted Teens Into Rehab

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Rehabilitation, Tobacco Abuse on April 17th, 2011

Drug addiction is one problem that most families dread. Today’s changing times have made it even more difficult for teenagers to say no to this dangerous habit, and sometimes they get hooked with drugs no matter how school and parents try to educate them.

teen drug abuseIf this situation ever comes in the family, they would have to adopt measures to treat kids of drug and alcohol addiction. When it becomes too hard to deal with the problem by yourselves, you can always enlist the aid of rehab facilities. Within these institutions, the needs and concerns of drug addicted teens are addressed through the guidance of medical and professional experts.

A child is into drug abuse when he or she uses illicit substances (for teens, alcohol and tobacco are still illegal) for purposes not related to health development. Drug abuse can easily turn into drug addiction. When a person becomes an addict, he or she becomes physically and psychologically dependent on any drug. An individual makes decisions based on his cravings and are into activities where drugs are included. This is the time when a drug rehab is crucial.

The hardest task comes in when you would have to convince your child to get into rehab. Before anything else, parents need to confront their kids on their drug addiction. As parents, you should expect denials as kids will just say they’re fine and will not own up to their mistakes. It’s up to you now to determine the necessary steps that you would have to take to find the remedy to your child’s problem. Families should act fast regarding drug addiction; every second counts and the need to control long-term damage is pivotal.

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Early Smoking Leads to Reduced Brain Activity

Posted by Drug Free in Tobacco Abuse on March 10th, 2011

Teenage smoking can cause reduced brain activity and could lead to poor decision-making. These were the findings released by a team from the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA led by Professor Edythe London, together with researchers from the University of Texas.

teenage smokingThe team formed a group of 50 members aged 15 to 21. Among the group, 25 were non-smokers and another 25 were smokers. Their smoking habit was measured according to their own Heaviness of Smoking Index (HIS) which the team used for their own study. The HIS indicates the amount of cigarettes used up by the individual and at what period he or she begins smoking each day.

These participants were made to perform under the Stop-Signal Task (SST) test, wherein each person is subjected to a push-the-button activity. It may be funny when viewed from the outside but the test has its own way of determining an individual’s brain activity. The data gathered from the SST showed that the more a teen smokes, the lesser brain activity is registered via the pre-frontal cortex; the part of the brain involved in decision-making.

While it may be true that the test data difference between a non-smoker and smoker does not differ so much (close actually), it suggests that brain activity or response of smokers may have been compensated by other parts of the brain instead of having the prefrontal cortex perform the said action on its own, like in the case of non-smokers.

The researchers say that it would be wise for teens to stay away from the smoking habit. It may be that more aggravated symptoms may manifest later in life if they begin smoking at very early ages.

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Smoking Rates in School Campuses Increasing

Posted by Drug Free in Raising Healthy Kids, Tobacco Abuse on March 9th, 2011

According to the latest report from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, adult smoking rates have plateaued in recent years, but high school smoking figures are rising.

A 4% drop in the smoking rate was observed from 2003 to 2004, and a plateau was seen from 2005 to 2009. There was only a minimal 2% increase by 2008 and 2009. Smoking rates in terms of age groups peak between the 18 to 24 year old brackets at 28.7%.

teen smokingThis is quite alarming since smoking has been linked to at least 30% of total cancer deaths. If a smoker quits, he could possibly save himself from the 9 out of 10 patients who die due to lung cancer as well as avoid a lot of illnesses and complications related to the smoking habit. The economy will likewise be improved if more smokers quit, since the thousands of dollars spent on treatments for illnesses related to their nicotine addiction can be significantly minimized.

This is why the Healthy People initiative sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched their project which aims to cut down adult smoking by 12% in the year 2020. It may be a hard battle for the advocates but they are ready to work hard for their goal. Younger people are the focus of the project. Most tobacco experimentations happen in high school and if they aren’t persuaded to stop, they could become heavy smokers as adults.

While the CDC recommends full funding for tobacco control programs, the state is implementing budget cuts that could be another problem for the organization. The FDA though has taken steps without the need for additional budget by requiring tobacco manufacturers to print graphic and highly visible effects of smoking on packages of cigarettes.

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Charlie Bartlett Highlights Teen Prescription Drug Abuse

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Drug Films and Books, Prescription Drug Abuse, Tobacco Abuse on April 20th, 2010

With its current wide scope and strong influence on people, many journalists, publishers and filmmakers have decided to discuss the very basic things that concern real people these days — love, war, money, sex and even drugs.

Charlie Bartlett is one of the recent movies that discussed the reality of teenage prescription drug abuse. It is a comedy-drama film that revolves around the character Charlie Bartlett, played by Anton Yelchin.

Charlie BartlettCharlie is a teen who came from a wealthy family yet attends a public school after being expelled from different private academic institutions. Other actors in the film are Robert Downey Jr. as Nathan Gardner, the school principal; Kat Dennings as Susan Gardner, Charlie’s love interest and the principal’s daughter; and Tyler Hilton as Murphey Bivens, the school bully. Nathan is an alcoholic, Susan smokes a lot and Murphey beats other students while an assistant films it. These characters have basically covered a lot of teen issues.

Charlie, as the new student in school, was initially unable to fit in. However, by acting as the students’ resident psychiatrist and supplying prescription drugs (with Murphey in charge of selling the drugs), he was able to gain influence in the community. He feigned symptoms during psychiatric sessions and was able to get prescriptions for several medications from different psychiatrists, a strategy also known these days as “doctor-shopping.”

Aside from prescription drug abuse, parent’s alcohol abuse, nicotine abuse and school bullying, the film also presents the issue of teen depression and suicide. One of the school’s students, Kip Crombwell, suffers from depression and attempts suicide by drinking the drugs Charlie has supplied. His depression was rooted on the need for acceptance and low self-esteem.

Some critics thought that the movie lack a clear train of thought, but others see it as a movie that embraced the many different pressures that teens face in their lives. The movie was released in 2007.

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