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Other stories we’ve been reading:
Read one father’s story on how he became an advocate for safer teen driving. Check out these safe driving tips for your teen. [Read about the dangers of drowsy driving.]
Advertising guilt doesn’t curb binge drinking. Teen alcohol and marijuana use is on the rise. [A recent teen drug survey predicted this.] Young people who smoke marijuana for long periods of time are more likely to risk psychosis. [click to continue…]
The federal government’s annual report monitoring kids’ alcohol and drug abuse has been released. The 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey reports that while use of cigarettes, methamphetamines, cocaine and binge drinking is down the use of prescription drugs and smokeless tobacco is up. Marijuana use is holding steady.
John Knight, MD, director of The Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research (CeASER) at Children’s says those findings aren’t particularly surprising. What we do need to worry about, he says, is that the survey also reports that adolescents’ perceived harm of marijuana is way down.
What exactly does that mean? Knight says that when adolescents think a drug has little or no harm, they are much more likely to use it. So, be ready for marijuana use to jump along with other drugs. “Marijuana is a gateway drug that leads kids towards all kinds of other drugs,” Knight says. [click to continue…]
The CDC just released its annual report on sexually transmitted diseases and the results for teens are pretty disturbing. Although 15- to 24-year-olds represent only 25% of the sexually experienced population, they acquire nearly half of all new STDs.
The report notes that sexually active teens are at a higher risk of contracting an STD because of a combination of behavioral, biological and cultural reasons. Barriers to accessing quality STD prevention services– like lack of insurance and transportation, or concerns about confidentiality, may also play a big role, the study concludes. [click to continue…]
In some cultures, it’s the norm to give kids a sip of wine or beer with dinner (Italians, for example, traditionally serve wine at the family dinner table). But recent evidence suggests the practice is not as innocuous as it seems. A study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research finds that genetic predisposition to alcohol dependence may kick into gear when kids take their first drink at an early age. The researchers reveal that the younger an individual is when they take their first alcoholic drink, the greater their risk for alcohol dependence and the more relevant genetic factors become.
John Knight, MD, director of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research, hopes that this study brings attention to a troubling problem. “The brain is more susceptible when young,” he says. “There are greater opportunities for a longer period of time to cause damage to the brain.” [click to continue…]
Other children’s health stories we’ve been reading:
Recently, LA Times Health Blog Booster Shots reported that psychiatrist Morris Chafetz, who was on the presidential commission responsible for raising the drinking age to 21, called that “the single most regrettable decision of his career”.
John Knight, MD, director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Children’s Hospital Boston, offers his thoughts on the drinking age, and how parents and physicians can best approach the issue of underage drinking.
