Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Teens Who Text and Drive Take Other Driving Risks

If your teen texts while driving, chances are he or she also practices other dangerous motor vehicle habits — including failing to buckle up and driving after they have been drinking, a new federal analysis finds.

In 2011, 45% of all students 16 and older reported that they had texted or e-mailed while driving during the past 30 days, says the study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reported in June issue of Pediatrics.

Teens who texted while driving were five times more likely than those who didn't to drive when they had been drinking alcohol. And the more they texted the worse their seat belt habit. Teens who texted every day while driving during the past month were more than 40% more likely to not always wear their seat belts than were teens who engaged in texting while driving once or twice in the past 30 days.

It's not surprising that kids who take such risks in one area may be more likely to take risks in other areas, says CDC Director Thomas Frieden.

The new study (drawn from a survey of 8,500 high school students 16 and older) is the second this month to highlight evidence suggesting that texting and driving is associated with other dangerous behaviors.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/13/texting-driving-teens/2150755/

Texting While Driving Now Leading Cause of Death for Teen Drivers

Texting while driving has become a greater hazard than drinking and driving among teenagers who openly acknowledge sending and reading text messages while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

The number of teens who are dying or being injured as a result of texting while driving has skyrocketed as mobile device technology has advanced. Researchers at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park estimate more than 3,000 annual teen deaths nationwide from texting and 300,000 injuries.

The habit now surpasses the number of teens who drink and drive -- a hazard that has been on a dramatic decline in recent years, researchers say.

An estimated 2,700 young people die each year as a result of driving under the influence of alcohol and 282,000 are treated in emergency rooms for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Andrew Adesman and a team of Cohen investigators found that while driving between September 2010 and December 2011, among 8,947 teenagers aged 15-18 nationwide, an estimated 49 percent of boys admitted to texting while driving compared with 45 percent of girls.

Texting also increased with age. Only 24 percent of 15-year-olds tapped out messages while driving, compared with 58 percent of 18-year-olds, the data showed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acknowledged Wednesday that distracted driving of all kinds -- including the use of handheld cellphones -- is a growing hazard. Agency officials describe texting as among the worst of driver distractions because conversing by text simultaneously involves manual, visual and mental distractions.

Source: Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/study-texting-while-driving-now-leading-cause-of-death-for-teen-drivers-1.5226036

Study: Teen Athletes May Not Report Concussion Symptoms

Despite knowing the risk of serious injury from playing football with a concussion, half of high school football players would continue to play if they had a headache stemming from an injury sustained on the field.

In a new study, physicians from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center also report that approximately half of athletes wouldn't report concussion symptoms to a coach.

"We aren't yet at the point where we can make specific policy recommendations for sports teams, but this study raises concerns that young athletes may not report symptoms of concussions," says Brit Anderson, MD, an emergency medicine fellow at Cincinnati Children's and the study's lead author. "Other approaches, such as an increased use of sideline screening by coaches or athletic trainers, might be needed to identify injured athletes."

Of athletes surveyed, the vast majority recognized headaches, dizziness, difficulty with memory, difficulty concentrating, and sensitivity to light and sound as concussion symptoms. More than 90 percent recognized the risk of serious injury if they returned to play too quickly.

Despite these high levels of awareness, 53 percent responded that they would "always or sometimes continue to play with a headache sustained from an injury," and only 54 percent indicated they would "always or sometimes report symptoms of a concussion to their coach."

"Further study on concussion education in adolescent athletes and on ways to identify high school athletes who have sustained a concussion would be useful," says Dr. Anderson.

Source: Science Codex
http://www.sciencecodex.com/study_raises_concerns_that_teen_athletes_continue_to_play_with_concussion_symptoms-111652

43 Percent of Teens Text While Driving

According to a new study, about 43 percent high-school students taking part in a survey have said that they have texted while driving in the past month. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among U.S. teenagers, and texting while driving is a risk factor for accidents.

"Texting while driving has become, in the words of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a 'national epidemic,'" said Alexandra Bailin, a research assistant at Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, principal investigator of the study.

Researchers found that both gender and age were related to texting while driving; males and students above age 18 years were more likely to text while driving when compared with females or students below age 18 years.

Also, students who texted while driving were also more likely than others to engage in other risky behaviors such as drinking, having unprotected sex and using tanning beds/lamps.

The prevalence of texting while driving among teenagers in states that prohibit it was 39 percent compared with 44 percent in states that don't have such restrictions.

"Although texting while driving was slightly less common in states that prohibit it, the reality is that millions of teens text while driving. Regrettably, our analysis suggests that state laws do not significantly reduce teen texting while driving," said Andrew Adesman, chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, senior author of the study.

Source: Nature World News
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/1749/20130504/43-percent-teens-text-driving-study.htm

 

Survey: Nearly 1 in 4 Teens Drive While Impaired

Nearly a quarter of teens — 23% — admit to driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or prescription drugs used illegally at some point, a new survey finds.

What's worse, they don't view themselves as a danger: Almost 20% of those who drink and drive say it improves their driving, a view shared by 34% of those who drive under the influence of marijuana.

Those are among findings of a new survey of 1,708 11th- and 12th-graders by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and insurer Liberty Mutual.

The survey highlights the vital role of parents in keeping teens safe behind the wheel. It found that teens are more likely to drink around relatively unsupervised events, such as the Fourth of July or during the summer, than during heavily supervised activities like proms or graduations.

About twice as many teens report drinking on summer vacation than teens who admit drinking after prom or graduation, the survey found.

Cathy Chase of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety says the percentage of teens who think they can drive safely after drinking or using marijuana "seems high. But unfortunately, it's not surprising because teens think they're invincible and they thing nothing will happen to them. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a friend or someone in their school getting killed before the reality kind of hits them."

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/25/teens-drunken-driving-impaired-survey/2106325/

MDs Warn Teens - Don't Take the Cinnamon Challenge

Published online in the journal Pediatrics, doctors advise teens not to take the "cinnamon challenge," a dangerous prank depicted in popular YouTube videos, but which has led to hospitalizations and a surge in calls to the U.S. poison centers.

The fad involves daring someone to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds without water. But the spice is caustic, and trying to gulp it down can cause choking, throat irritation, breathing trouble and even collapsed lungs, the report said.

The number of poison control center calls about teens doing the prank "has increased dramatically," from 51 in 2011 to 222 last year, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, and at least 30 teens nationwide needed medical attention after taking the challenge last year.

"People with asthma or other respiratory conditions are at greater risk of having this result in shortness of breath and trouble breathing," according to an alert posted on the association's website.

Cinnamon is made from tree bark and contains cellulose fibers that don't easily break down. Animal research suggests that when cinnamon gets into the lungs, it can cause scarring, according to report co-author Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, a pediatrics professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Source: Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/22/3357734/mds-warn-teens-dont-take-the-cinnamon.html

Most Teen-Drinking Deaths Are Not Traffic Related

When it comes to teens and alcohol, drunken driving is far from the only thing that should concern parents.

That's the message from MADD, whose new analysis of alcohol-related deaths among people 15-20 estimates that 68% of fatalities connected to underage drinking are not traffic related.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving analyzed 2010 data from the FBI, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on deaths related to underage alcohol use. It estimates that 32% of these deaths were traffic fatalities; 30% were homicides, 14% suicides, 9% alcohol poisonings and 15% other causes.

"As parents, we are definitely aware of the dangers of drinking and driving," says MADD national President Jan Withers. "I think we're not as educated about all the dangers that drinking before age 21 can be related to. And they're very, very real."

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/17/underage-drinking-madd-alcohol/2070405/

Fatal Teen Wrecks Puts Focus on Parents

Twenty teenagers dead in five automobile crashes in five states. All within one week.

A rash of deadly wrecks in Illinois, Texas, Ohio, Indiana and North Dakota, is a jarring reminder that vehicle crashes are still the No. 1 killer of U.S. teenagers, and that teen road deaths are rising fastest of all as the improving economy draws more traffic.

The crashes hammer home an overlooked reality of teenage driving: The risk of a teen driver dying in a crash rises sharply with teen passengers in the car. Details vary in the recent crashes, but each involved a teen driver with teen passengers. That fact highlights both the pivotal role of parenting in the treacherous maze that is learning to drive, and the need for states to do more in implementing stronger graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs that phase in privileges for novice drivers as they gain experience, some safe driving advocates say.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/14/fatal-teen-wrecks-puts-focus-on-parents/1989319/

Synthetic Marijuana Linked to Kidney Damage

A new report links the use of synthetic cannabinoids, which are sold under the names of "synthetic marijuana," "Spice" and "K2," with kidney damage.

Sixteen cases of acute kidney injury were reported in 2012 in six states after people smoked the synthetic marijuana, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report out today. The patients became sick within days and sometimes even hours after smoking. Their symptoms included nausea and vomiting as well as abdominal and flank pain. They were found to be in various stages of kidney failure. The cases were reported in Kansas, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wyoming.

Synthetic cannabinoids are designer drugs dissolved in a solvent, applied to plant material and then smoked. They can mimic the effects of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Even though the products are often sold as incense and labeled "Not for consumption," some people still smoke them as an alternative to marijuana.

Michael Schwartz, a co-author of the report, says, "Synthetic cannabinoids are not safe alternatives to marijuana. There are unexpected and unpredictable health problems that can occur."

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/14/synthetic-marijuana-kidney-damage/1919319/

Teens Who Drink Excessively Face Increased Sex Risks

A new study finds that teens who drink alcohol to excess are much more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.

A stufy of more than 500 Australian teenagers found that students who reported binge drinking were three times as likely to have had three or more sexual partners in the past year. Compulsive drinkers, who said they were unable to stop, were four times as likely to have had sex they later regretted.

The study was published in The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

Lead author Paul Agius, of the Burnet Institute, said the links between excessive drinking and risky sexual behaviour occurred even in students with strong ties to school and family, which might have shown a protective effect.

The study found 19 per cent of sexually active students had three or more sexual partners in the past year, and 28 per cent had sex they later regretted due to alcohol use which, according to the study's authors, ''may indicate a sexual encounter contextualised by sexual coercion, poor communication about expectations of the encounter or sexual inexperience and unpreparedness for sex''.

Source: The Age
http://www.theage.com.au/national/alcohol-putting-teens-at-sex-risk-20130205-2dwkt.html