So You Found Out Your Teen’s Tried Drugs…

…What do you do now?

Most parents of teens have to ask this question at some point.  Drugs are ubiquitous, especially as your teen grows older.  For example, as shown in our teen drug use infographic, 82.1% of high school seniors think marijuana is “easy or fairly easy” to get.  That’s more than 4 out of 5 teenagers, so it’s likely that at least one person in your teen’s social circle feels confident they could obtain marijuana.  About 90% of 12th graders think alcohol is easy or fairly easy to get.  The breakdown for 8th graders is just over 40% think marijuana is easy to get, and just over 60% think alcohol is, while for 10th graders 70% think marijuana is easy to get and 80% think alcohol is (if you’d like to check the statistics drug by drug you can check out the Monitoring the Future study for 2010 here.  Scroll down to Tables 15, 16, and 17 for availability info).  With prom either here or around the corner, these are statistics to keep in mind.

We have an article coming up tomorrow about being aware as a parent about the potential issues surrounding prom and graduation parties, etc. but today we leave you with a video by Licensed Family Psychotherapist Susan Stiffelman, MFT on parentdish.com.  Watch below or check out her extended advice at the article link, “My Son Confessed That He’s Tried Pot!  Should I Punish Him?” And if you are interested in testing your teen, you can also check out our urine drug test kits page for more information and/or to purchase.

Teen Smoking

We all know that smoking is hazardous to health and yet we are also aware of the increasing number of teens who smoke cigarettes in our country. It is estimated that more than 3000 kids under the age of 18 start smoking every day. About a third of this number actually ends up becoming addicted smokers for life. Today the estimated number of adolescent smokers in the United States is more than 4.5 million.

Health Risks of Teen Smoking

While smoking is extremely unhealthy for everyone, the health risk associated with teens is higher. It is known that teens who smoke fall sick more often than teens that do not. Their lungs do not develop completely and they tend to have smaller lungs.

People who start smoking early in life are more prone to have a long term addiction and are also likely to get into alcohol or drug addiction. Those who smoke a pack a day have lives that are shorter by about 7 years on an average from other comparable teens.

The health risks of smoking are too many. Here are some of them:

– The sense of smell and taste of smokers is affected over time. This means that they cannot enjoy good tastes and smells over time.

– Smokers have low immunity and are more susceptible to various ailments including heart diseases and respiratory diseases. It is a common cause of throat and mouth cancer.

– Teen girls who smoke have a tough time becoming pregnant and they may also have painful periods. Teen boys who smoke are likely to have a lower sperm count.

– With narrowing of veins in hands and legs, circulation becomes an issue, something that in rare cases can even lead to gangrene and amputation.

– Cigarettes contain tar, hydrogen cyanide, benzene, acetone, formaldehyde, ammonia, carbon monoxide and nicotine, each one of which is like poison for the body.

– Other issues caused by smoking include bad hair, bad skin, bad breath, reduced lung power and slower healing to mention just a few.

Helping Kids Stay Away From Smoking

No one can help your kids from staying away from this habit better than you can. Here are some tips that you can use to ensure that your kids do not ever light up that first cigarette that leads to many more.

– Many teens start to smoke because they think it is cool and hip to do so. They also think that it will make them look older. It is important that you help your teen develop a positive attitude towards what s/he is so that the pressure of trying to fit in is not too high to lead to habits like smoking.

– Ensure that you have a chat with your child about smoking before s/he has a chance to get exposed to it. This means that it is never too soon for such a chat due to the high level of exposure that we have these days in media, schools and colleges about smoking, drugs and alcohol.

– Understand that sometimes it may be extremely difficult for your teen to say no. You need to discuss the various ways in which they can say no. Stock a tobacco test at home and ask them to cite that to their peers to avoid a puff.

– Discuss the portrayal of smoking in the movies and make sure to explain that it is not cool to hang a cigarette between the lips.

Using a tobacco test to ascertain whether your teen has been smoking on a regular basis can really have your teen thinking about whether s/he can afford to light that cigarette and take the risk. It is definitely better than allowing them to get addicted to the habit.