Substance+Abuse



Most parents believe their teens are staying away from illegal drugs and prescription painkillers, a new survey suggests, but that might not reflect what's actually going on. 70 per cent of the parents polled who have children between 12 and 17 don't think their kids have experimented with drugs. Eighty per cent of parents and non-parents said they're confident they'd recognize signs of drug use in someone close to them. However, about 1.2 million adolescents, age 12 to 17, smoked cigarettes, 631,000 drank alcohol, and 586,000 used marijuana.

Sex, drugs more common in hyper-texting teens
Teens who text 120 times a day or more — and there seems to be a lot of them — are more likely to have had sex or used alcohol and drugs than kids who don't send as many messages, according to provocative new research. The study's authors aren't suggesting that "hyper-texting" leads to sex, drinking or drugs, but say it's startling to see an apparent link between excessive messaging and that kind of risky behavior.

What do you think of this new study?
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National Drug Fact Week - November 7th - 13th
National Drug Facts Week (NDFW) is a health observance week for teens that aims to shatter the myths about drugs and drug abuse. Through community-‐based events and activities on the Web, on TV, and through contests, NIDA is working to encourage teens to get factual answers from scientific experts about drugs and drug abuse. Download the NDFW Information sheet

What are your questions about drug use?
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Teen Binge Drinking
Binge drinking can be dangerous no matter what your age, but for teens, the risks increase. Since the teenage brain is still growing and developing, it is more easily damaged by large amounts of alcohol; binge drinking can be the perfect way to destroy developing brain cells.

Almost two-thirds of teens admit to binge drinking. That’s two out of every three adolescents who is downing 5 or more drinks in a row (the definition of binge drinking in the US ). Many people assume that binge drinking means drinking over a long period of time, but it also refers to tossing back several drinks in a short amount of time. It’s important to get help if you suspect someone is binge drinking. It could save their life.

What is it like in your school? Do you think teen drinking is an issue?
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