Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Prescription Drug Use a Growing Problem for Teens

Parents worried about drug use in their teenage children need look no farther than the medicine cabinet: A study from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine showed that teens are abusing prescription drugs at a higher rate than ever.

"Teens are getting into the medicine cabinet and helping themselves," said Dr. Kathleen Cowling, vice president of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

"Prescription drug abuse is second only to marijuana use in teens," she said.

Access is the primary reason teenagers turn to prescription drugs, Cowling said. A common scenario: A parent undergoes surgery, puts leftover pain pills in a cabinet – and the teen finds those pills.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 15.2 million Americans 12 and older had taken a prescription pain reliever, tranquilizer, stimulant or sedative for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year before being surveyed.

Source: Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/healthyliving/family/stories/DN-nh_teendrugs_0420gd.ART.State.Edition1.4c77022.html

90 Percent of Teens Admit Stronger Likelihood of Drinking and Driving on Prom Night

An important reminder to parents on the increased temptation of drinking and driving as we head into the prom and graduation seasons...

Each year, spring school rituals – prom and graduation – begin with so much excitement and promise yet end in tragedy for hundreds of teen drivers and their passengers. New research from Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) suggests this season could be no different. According to a national survey of more than 2,500 eleventh and twelfth graders, 90 percent of teens believe their counterparts are more likely to drink and drive on prom night and 79 percent believe the same is true for graduation night. Yet, that belief does not translate to concern, as only 29 percent and 25 percent of teens say that driving on prom night and graduation night, respectively, comes with a high degree of danger.

There were 380 teen alcohol-related traffic deaths during prom and graduation season (April, May and June) in 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports 1,009 total teen fatalities (alcohol and non-alcohol-related) in motor vehicle crashes during those same months in 2008.

Source: Insurancenewsnet.com
http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=178786&type=newswires

Study Finds Link Between Catchy Ads and Whether Teens Smoke

Years ago, a popular cigarette advertising campaign proudly proclaimed to women, "You've come a long way, baby!"

But a recent study of teens shows the war on cigarette advertising that targets teens, especially teenage girls, might still have a ways to go.

Although the 1998 settlement agreement between big tobacco and state governments restricted advertising to children and teens, nearly half of teenage girls participating in the study could name their favorite cigarette ad. What's more, the study found that teenagers who could name a favorite cigarette ad were 50 percent more likely to have smoked during the five-year study period.

One ad campaign in particular stood out in the minds of teen girls and increased their awareness of cigarette advertising, the study found. The product was Camel No. 9 cigarettes, and the ads featured a pink camel and a sub-brand of cigarettes called Stiletto. In addition to the very feminine ads placed in such magazines as Glamour and Vogue, the campaign also featured promotional giveaways, including flavored lip balm, purses and cell phone jewelry.

R.J. Reynolds, which makes Camel No. 9, said that the product and the advertisements were not designed to attract teenagers. "Camel No. 9 was developed in response to female adult smokers, both of Camel and competitive brands, who were asking for a product that better reflected their taste preferences and style," according to a prepared statement issued by the tobacco company.

"When Camel No. 9 was launched in 2007, all magazine advertisements for it appeared in publications whose readership was at least 85 percent age 18 or older," the statement continued. "More importantly, R.J. Reynolds has not run any print advertising for cigarettes, including Camel No. 9, for more than two years, and there has been no in-store advertising for Camel No. 9 since 2008."

Source: Businessweek
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/636963.html

Young Marijuana Smokers at Higher Risk for Psychoses

Parents, if you've been waiting for one more reason to talk to your kids about the dangers of using marijuana, here it is...

Teenage marijuana smokers are at higher risk for developing psychoses -- such as schizophrenia, hallucinations and delusions -- compared with those who don't smoke marijuana, a new study says.

The study tracked 3,800 people born from 1981 to 1984, according to researchers at the Brain Institute at the University of Queensland in Australia. They asked the test subjects at ages 14 and 21, and their mothers, about their mental health record and whether they had used any drugs, specifically cannabis. Fourteen percent acknowledged using marijuana for six or more years.

"We looked at the association between how old they were when they first started to use cannabis. And then, on the other hand, we looked at how their mental health was and, in particular, whether they had psychotic disorders or isolated symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions. And indeed we found a highly significant relationship," said psychiatrist John McGrath, a professor at the Brain Institute, the study's lead researcher.

"For those who started using cannabis when they were 14 or 15, they had about a two-fold risk of schizophrenia."

Previous studies also have looked at the relationship between marijuana use and psychosis.

"The quality of the evidence is really mounting up," McGrath said. "There have been several studies now, which all point in the same direction, and there's consistent and robust evidence that there's an association between cannabis use and increased risk of psychosis."

The University of Queensland study did not consider how much marijuana the teens used, only their age when they started using.

Source: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/02/teen.marijuana.risks/

Study: Teen Use of Marijuana, Alcohol on the Rise

I can't envision a time when we won't have to be concerned about drug and alcohol use among teens. The usage statistics will rise and fall, but parents should continue to be intentional about talking to their kids about the dangers of drug and alcohol use and abuse. The current rise in usage rates provides an open door for parents to do so.

Alcohol and marijuana use among teens is on the rise, ending a decade-long decline, a study being released Tuesday found.

"I'm a little worried that we may be seeing the leading edge of a trend here," said Sean Clarkin, director of strategy at The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which was releasing the study. "Historically, you do see the increase in recreational drugs before you see increases in some of the harder drugs."

The annual "Partnership Attitude Tracking Study" (PATS) found the number of teens in grades 9 through 12 who reported drinking alcohol in the last month rose 11 percent last year, with 39 percent — about 6.5 million teens — reporting alcohol use. That's up from 35 percent, or about 5.8 million teens, in 2008.

For pot, 25 percent of teens reported smoking marijuana in the last month, up from 19 percent.

Until last year, those measures for pot and alcohol use had been on a steady decline since 1998, when use hovered around 50 percent of teens for alcohol and 27 percent for pot.

The study also found use of the party drug Ecstasy on the rise. Six percent of teens surveyed said they used Ecstasy in the past month, compared with 4 percent in 2008.

Source: Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587708,00.html

Canadian Study Finds Correlation Between Teen Drug, Alcohol Use and Increased Sexual Activity

A new study from the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) revealed that teenagers who use drugs, alcohol and smoke were more likely to report engaging in sexual activity. Also, the study found that increased time with a boyfriend or girlfriend was connected with a greater likelihood of being sexually active. Regarding teens' emotional health, a correlation was found between attempting suicide and being sexually active in girls.

Source: Institute of Marriage and Family Canada
http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/Rated_PG_Part_II.pdf

Teen Survey Shows Drops in Meth Use, Smoking

Methamphetamine use and smoking among U.S. teens has dropped significantly in recent years, but declines in marijuana use have stalled, according to the annual "Monitoring the Future" study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse released on Monday.

Only 1.2 percent of high school seniors say they used meth, as it is commonly called, in the past year, the survey found -- the lowest level since 1999 when use of the street drug was reported at 4.7 percent.

The proportion of 10th graders reporting meth was easy to obtain dropped to 14 percent, down from 19.5 percent five years ago, according to the survey of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders by researchers at the University of Michigan.

Cigarette smoking among teens also dropped to the lowest level since the survey began in 1975.

Only 2.7 percent of eighth graders smoke daily -- down from a peak rate of 10.4 percent in 1996 -- while 11.2 percent of high school seniors say they smoke daily, less than half of the 24.6 percent rate reported in 1997, the survey said.

It indicated marijuana use among teens has been on a downward trend since the mid-1990s, but the decline has stalled with use rates at the same levels as five years ago. schools in the eighth, 10th, and 12th grades were surveyed.

So far, we have not seen any dramatic rise in marijuana use, but the upward trending of the past two or three years stands in stark contrast to the steady decline that preceded it for nearly a decade," said University of Michigan researcher Lloyd Johnston, the study's principal investigator.

"Not only is use rising, but a key belief about the degree of risk associated with marijuana use has been in decline among young people even longer, and the degree to which teens disapprove of use of the drug has recently begun to decline. Changes in these beliefs and attitudes are often very influential in driving changes in use."

Sources: ABC News and Healthcanal.com
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=9332709
http://www.healthcanal.com/substance-abuse/4312.html

Study: Alcohol Companies Target Youths With Magazine Ads

I'm neither surprised or shocked by the news that despite assurances to the contrary, alcohol companies target teens in magazine advertising. Still, it's interesting to see the actual data on how it's being done. Given that the companies continue to spend money on this type of advertising, I'm led to the assumption that they must feel that their ads are paying off. Frankly, I'm more eager to see a study on the effectiveness of such advertising.

I might be mistaken, but I believe that peer pressure is a much larger factor than magazine advertising when it comes to how kids are influenced to drink alcohol.

Alcoholic beverages popular among youths are more likely to be advertised in magazines with high youth readership than alcoholic drinks consumed mainly by adults, resulting in disproportionately high youth exposure to such targeted alcohol ads, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Virtual Media Resources who conducted the study -- published in this month's issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health -- say their findings present the strongest evidence to date that alcohol companies are targeting youths through magazine advertising.

They note that three major trade associations representing the alcoholic beverage industry -- the Wine Institute, the Beer Institute, and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States -- have publicly stated that they do not advertise to underage youths.

"Alcohol companies are deceiving us," said Dr. Michael Siegel, professor of community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health and a co-author of the study.

The researchers found that in magazines with the highest levels of youth readership, youth alcoholic beverage types (e.g., premium beer, low calorie beer, rum, vodka, and flavored alcohol beverages) were more than four times more likely to be advertised than non-youth types (e.g., gin, brandy, whiskey, and scotch). As youth readership increased in a magazine, so did the number of youth alcoholic beverage advertisements.

Source: Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091202114034.htm

Students Drink More Living in Coed Dorms

Found this interesting piece... something that parents with teens approaching the college years should keep in mind. For college students, rates of drinking and sexual activity are higher when they live in coed dorms.

In the past 30 years, coed college dormitories have gone from rare to routine, with nearly all students who live on campus now sharing housing with members of the opposite sex.

But a new study suggests that the shift may have had unintended results.

It finds that students in coed dorms are far more likely than those in single-sex dorms to drink alcohol regularly – and nearly 2½ times as likely to drink to excess on a weekly basis.

More than 90% of college dorms today house both sexes, generally separated by floors or building wings, say the study's authors – yet very little research has accompanied the change.

The new findings, they say, suggest that colleges searching for ways to reduce binge drinking and other entrenched behaviors may consider whether the social pressures of coed housing are making matters worse.

These students were more likely to say they'd had a sexual partner in the past year and more likely to think it's all right "for two people to get together for sex and not necessarily expect anything further," the study says.

They were also more likely to say they drink alcohol at least weekly and far more likely to say they drink excessively on a regular basis – 41.5% reported weekly binge drinking. Among students in single-sex housing, the figure was 17.6%.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-11-17-coed17_ST_N.htm

Teens Think Drinking on MySpace, Facebook Is Real

Teenagers spend lots of time on MySpace, Facebook, and other social media sites talking about what they do. Often that talk is about underage drinking, risky sexual activity, and violence. But does it describe their actual activities, or is it just bragging?

About half of teenagers' social media posts refer to drinking, sex, or violence, according to Megan Moreno, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That discovery, which was reported earlier this year, left Moreno wondering if all that chatter was reality or trash talk. She's still working on answering that question, but she has found out this: Kids do think that what they see on social media sites is real, and the younger they are, the more they believe it. That's important, because teenagers are powerfully influenced by the behavior of their peers.

"There is good data that if kids think their friends are drinking, they're more likely to drink," Moreno says. "The perception of normal is powerful." Teenagers' behavior also is influenced by seeing behavior on television and hearing about it on the radio and in music. Social media combines those two influences. "Say it's the most popular kid in your school, and they're [pictured] drinking. You might drink to be more like that kid," she says.

Moreno doesn't yet have hard data on how much of the teenage drinking on social media sites is real. She thinks some of it is, some is nonsense, and some is a "gesture of intention"—that is, a teen may be thinking of getting into the drinking scene and is testing the waters by putting up pictures or writing about it. That, she says, is good news for parents who want to know what's up with the kid. It's also a great time to step in.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/blogs/on-parenting/2009/10/30/teens-think-drinking-on-myspace-facebook-is-real.html