Teen Smoking And Drinking Drops, Marijuana Consumption Rises, USA

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Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Also Included In: Smoking / Quit Smoking;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 14 Dec 2011 - 18:00 PST

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Cigarette and alcohol consumption among 8th, 10th and 12th graders (14, 16 and 18 year olds) are lower than they have ever been since certain records began in 1975, but marijuana and non-medical prescription medication usage has increased, says a new report - "Monitoring the Future" (MTF) - issued by The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Consumption of some tobacco products did not fall, such as hookahs, smokeless tobacco and small cigars, the authors added.

In a news conference today, a NIDA spokesperson explained that more children appear to be abusing marijuana than cigarettes. Although alcohol consumption has dropped, it is still the favorite drug for children of these three ages.

Monitoring The Future is a survey which is done in classrooms and paid for by NIDA; it was carried out by researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

NIDA director Dr. Nora D. Volkow, said:

"That cigarette use has declined to historically low rates is welcome news, given our concerns that declines may have slowed or stalled in recent years. That said, the teen smoking rate is declining much more slowly than in years past, and we are seeing teens consume other tobacco products at high levels.

This highlights the urgency of maintaining strong prevention efforts against teen smoking and of targeting other tobacco products."

The findings for 2011 revealed that 18.7% of 12th-graders said they had smoked a cigarette during the previous four weeks, compared to 36.5% in 1997 and 21.6% in 2006. Among 8th graders, 6.1% say they are smokers, versus 21% fifteen years ago and 8.7% in 2006.

Assistant Secretary for Health, Howard K. Koh, MD, MPH, said:

"While it is good news that cigarette use has declined to historically low rates, we can and must do more to accelerate that decline. The actual decline is relatively small compared to the sharp declines we witnessed in the late nineties."

Below are some of the results from the 2011 survey for self-reported alcohol consumption: 12th graders - 63.5% said they had consumed alcohol during the previous 12-month period, versus 74.8% in 19978th graders - 26.9% said they had consumed alcohol during the previous 12-month period, versus 46.8% in 1994Binge drinking - defined as consuming at least five drinks in one sitting at any time during the previous two weeks:

- 8th graders - 6.4% said they had, compared to 8.7% in 2006
-10th graders - 14.7% said they had, compared to 19.9% in 2006
-12th graders - 21.6% said they had, compared to 25.4% in 2006

6.6% of 12th-graders say they use marijuana daily, while 36.4% say they have had it at some time during the previous twelve months - five years ago the figures stood at 5% and 31.5% respectively.

While teenage marijuana abuse grows, so does their downward perception of risk associated with the drug: 25.9% of high school seniors viewed occasional marijuana as a great risk, compared to 22.7% today.48.9% of 8th-graders viewed occasional marijuana smoking as a great risk compared to 43.4% today.Among 12-graders, 11.4% said they had used K2 (also known as spice, or synthetic marijuana) during the previous twelve months. This is the first time questions regarding K2 have been included in the survey. The authors expressed "surprise" at this figure.Gil Kerlikowske, director of National Drug Control Policy, said:

"K2 and spice are dangerous drugs that can cause serious harm. We will continue to work with the public health and safety community to respond to this emerging threat but in the meantime, parents must take action. Parents are the most powerful force in the lives of young people and we ask that all of them talk to their teens today about the serious consequences of using marijuana, K2, or spice."

Below are some more data regarding non-medical use of prescription and OTC medications In 2011, 8.1% of 12th-graders reported abusing Vicodin, an opioid painkiller, compared to 9.7% in 2009 (8.1% in 2010).In 2011, 5.9% of 10th-graders reported abusing Vicodin, compared to 7.7% in 2010.12th-graders - Adderal 6.5%, Ritalin 2.6%. Both medications used for ADHD treatment.8th graders - OTC cough medicines. Usage dropped to 2.7% in 2011, compared to 4.2% in 2006. For 12th-graders the figures were 5.3% and 6.9% respectively.Dr. Volkow said:

"To help educate teens about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, NIDA is launching an updated prescription drug section on our teen website. Teens can go to our PEERx page to find interactive videos and other tools that help them make healthy decisions and understand the risks of abusing prescription drugs. We are also encouraging teens to provide feedback on these resources through NIDA's teen blog, Sara Bellum, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or email."

Written by Christian Nordqvist

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Christian Nordqvist. "Teen Smoking And Drinking Drops, Marijuana Consumption Rises, USA." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 14 Dec. 2011. Web.
14 Dec. 2011. APA

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Binge Drinking By Freshman Women Tied To Sexual Assault Risk, According To New Research

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 11 Dec 2011 - 0:00 PST

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Many young women who steer clear of alcohol while they're in high school may change their ways once they go off to college. And those who take up binge drinking may be at relatively high risk of sexual assault, according to a University at Buffalo-led study in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

The college years are famously associated with drinking. But little has been known about how young women change their high school drinking habits once they start college.

So for the new study, the research team followed 437 young women from high school graduation through freshman year of college. They found that of women who had never drank heavily in high school (if at all), nearly half admitted to heavy episodic drinking -- commonly called binge drinking -- at least once by the end of their first college semester. Young women who were already engaging in binge drinking in high school continued drinking at similar levels in college.

What's more, binge drinking was linked to students' risk of sexual victimization -- regardless of what their drinking habits had been in high school.

Of all young women whose biggest binge had included four to six drinks, one quarter said they'd been sexually victimized in the fall semester. That included anything from unwanted sexual contact to rape.

And the more alcohol those binges involved, the greater the likelihood of sexual assault. Of women who'd ever consumed 10 or more drinks in a sitting since starting college, 59 percent were sexually victimized by the end of their first semester. Though young women are not to blame for being victimized -- that fault lies squarely with the perpetrator -- if colleges can make more headway in reducing heavy drinking, they may be able to prevent more sexual assaults in the process.

"This suggests that drinking-prevention efforts should begin before college," said lead researcher Maria Testa, a senior scientist at UB's Research Institute on Addictions.

The study also underscores the fact that even kids who don't drink in high school are at risk of heavy drinking once they head off to college, Testa said.

For parents, the bottom line is to talk with your kids about drinking before they go to college -- whatever you think their drinking habits have been in high school, according to Testa. And after they've left for college, keep talking. "Parents still do have an impact on their kids after they go to college," Testa said. "Parenting is not over."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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University at Buffalo. "Binge Drinking By Freshman Women Tied To Sexual Assault Risk, According To New Research." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 11 Dec. 2011. Web.
11 Dec. 2011. APA

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posted by Michelle Petersen on 11 Dec 2011 at 1:27 am

So in effect if a female is binge drinking she is more likely to be sexually assaulted by those waiting to take advantage of the situation. How unbelievably irresponsible for such a forward thinking medical site. As scientist and journalists we should be asking why there are gentlemen who only show their true colours when they feel the subject is vunerable, less likely to remember and less likely to fight back. Shouldn't this article be placing the onus on those that carry out these attacks rather than those on the recieving end. Linking binge drinking with sexual assault is a short term fix. If you want to write about the dangers of binge-drinking why not follow these young binge-drinkers into alcoholism in later life or study the loss of grey matter and brain cells or the addictive personality. Or we could concentrate on the perpetrators and ask why they do this in the first place?, are they just sexually assaulting women or both sexes in a dominance play? Why do they wait until someone is vunerable? Do they feel sexual assault is acceptable and if so why? So many different angles with this article and you choose the most offensive one.....

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Binge Drinking By Freshman Tied To Sexual Assault Risk

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 08 Dec 2011 - 2:00 PST

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Many young women who steer clear of alcohol while they're in high school may change their ways once they go off to college. And those who take up binge drinking may be at relatively high risk of sexual assault, according to a University at Buffalo-led study in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

The college years are famously associated with drinking. But little has been known about how young women change their high school drinking habits once they start college.

So for the new study, the research team followed 437 young women from high school graduation through freshman year of college. They found that of women who had never drank heavily in high school (if at all), nearly half admitted to heavy episodic drinking -- commonly called binge drinking -- at least once by the end of their first college semester. Young women who were already engaging in binge drinking in high school continued drinking at similar levels in college.

What's more, binge drinking was linked to students' risk of sexual victimization -- regardless of what their drinking habits had been in high school.

Of all young women whose biggest binge had included four to six drinks, one quarter said they'd been sexually victimized in the fall semester. That included anything from unwanted sexual contact to rape.

And the more alcohol those binges involved, the greater the likelihood of sexual assault. Of women who'd ever consumed 10 or more drinks in a sitting since starting college, 59 percent were sexually victimized by the end of their first semester. Though young women are not to blame for being victimized -- that fault lies squarely with the perpetrator -- if colleges can make more headway in reducing heavy drinking, they may be able to prevent more sexual assaults in the process.

"This suggests that drinking-prevention efforts should begin before college," said lead researcher Maria Testa, a senior scientist at UB's Research Institute on Addictions.

The study also underscores the fact that even kids who don't drink in high school are at risk of heavy drinking once they head off to college, Testa said.

For parents, the bottom line is to talk with your kids about drinking before they go to college -- whatever you think their drinking habits have been in high school, according to Testa. And after they've left for college, keep talking.

"Parents still do have an impact on their kids after they go to college," Testa said. "Parenting is not over."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Source: University of Gothenburg
Visit our alcohol / addiction / illegal drugs section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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University at Buffalo. "Binge Drinking By Freshman Tied To Sexual Assault Risk." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 8 Dec. 2011. Web.
8 Dec. 2011. APA

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View the original article here