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A study in the Journal of Adolescent Health suggests that teens exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) may be at increased risk for failing tests at school.

Lead author Bradley Collins, Ph.D., assistant professor of public health and director of the Health Behavior Research Clinic at Temple University, commented on the study's findings: "Our retrospective study suggests that in adolescents, secondhand smoke exposure could interfere with academic test performance."

Researchers found that exposure to SHS at home decreased the odds of passing standardized achievement tests by 30 percent in 16- and 18-year-olds, after accounting for other known risk factors such as socioeconomic status, gender, prenatal exposure to smoking and active smoking during adolescence.

According to study authors, smoking prevalence is similar in the United Kingdom and the United States. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of women of childbearing age are smokers, and up to 60 percent of children may be exposed to smoke at home.

Dr. Collins commented on parental responsibility: "It's important that we help smoking parents learn how to reduce their children's exposure to secondhand smoke, a goal that can be achieved without requiring the parent to immediately quit smoking, although that's the ultimate goal for the health of the entire family."

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: second hand smoke, testing

Posted By: Teen Drug Help 1 Comment

Fewer teens are smoking tobacco, but more are smoking marijuana. In the Dec. 20 edition of the LA Times, Bill Piper ( director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance) addressed the question of whether this signifies a successful anti-tobacco effort or a failure to dissuade teens from smoking pot.

To Piper, the answer is clear: It's a bit of both:

For the first time since 1981, fewer high school seniors report having used cigarettes in the past month than marijuana. This is a victory for U.S. tobacco policy, which has used education, prevention and regulation to massively reduce cigarette smoking; it's also an embarrassment for marijuana prohibition, which has wasted enormous amounts of taxpayer money arresting millions of citizens with very little to show for it except construction of new prisons and shocking racial disparities.

• According to the 2010 Monitoring the Future survey, teen marijuana use has risen for all prevalence periods (lifetime, past year, past 30 days and daily in the past 30 days).
• Daily marijuana use among high school seniors is now at 6.1%, the highest rate since the early 1980s.
• Overall, 21.4% of high school seniors used marijuana at least once last month, an increase of 0.8% over the past year.

Labels: marijuana, tobacco

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment

Teenagers in New Jersey are being encouraged to put their musical talents to use in the anti-drug effort. In addition to encouraging their peers to stay drug-free, a few teens will also earn music contracts valued at thousands of dollars.

A Dec. 17 article on the website NJToday provided the following details:

• The New Jersey Shout Down Drugs music competition is a drug prevention song writing contest looking for talented high school students to create original peer-to-peer substance abuse prevention songs.
• All entries must be received by Jan. 14. County finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges for a chance to win one of three music contracts at the annual statewide Prevention Concert.
• The concert will be held on May 5, 2011, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark.
• The music contracts are valued at $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000.

“The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey has witnessed enormous enthusiasm from past participants of this program,” noted PDFNJ executive director, Angelo M. Valente. “Last year we received entries from 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties. “This year we look forward to hearing from students from every county across the state. Whether you’re a rocker, a hip hop artist, a gospel or ballad singer, all music genres are welcome.”

Labels: awareness

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment

In an effort to increase awareness of teen drug and alcohol abuse among area youth, school authorities in Swampscott, Massachusetts are taking the creative -- and, to some, controversial -- step of requiring parents to attend a program on the dangers of drinking and drug use.

According to a Jan. 6 Boston Globe article, teens whose parents fail to show may be prohibited from taking part in a number of activities:

Teenagers whose parents are no-shows at Monday night’s gathering will not be allowed to participate in sports or extracurricular activities, the district said.

School administrators said they know the unorthodox approach might be off-putting to some — at least a handful of parents have already criticized it — but they insist the meeting is meant to be collaborative, not punitive.

“We can’t do this alone as a school district,’’ said Superintendent Lynne Celli, adding that it is important to present a unified front against underage drinking. “It sends a message when we’re all speaking the same language.’’

Labels: parental-involvement, prevention, awareness

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment

In the Jan. 6 edition of Florida's Sun Sentinel newspaper, columnist Nicole Brochu took the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to task for failing to take action to stop what is becoming the widespread teen abuse of a synthetic drug that simulates the effect of marijuana:

It's known on the street as "legal weed" and "fake pot," considered a sort of synthetic marijuana and accessibly sold in gas stations, head shops and convenience stores as incense. Branded under names like Mr. Nice Guy, Spice, Black Mamba and K2 and sold for as little as $15.99, the "herbal smoke blend" is in many cases clearly marked "not for human consumption," but of course, that's all just a game.

Marketed as more potent than marijuana and leaving no trace in drug tests, it is quickly becoming the drug of choice among those looking for a quick, easy high. And the law enforcement community knows it. Yet, it still sits on store shelves.

In November, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency announced that in response to the alarming rise in reported abuse of the herbal blends over the past year, it would issue within a month a temporary one-year ban on sale or possession of the products and label synthetic marijuana a Schedule 1 drug along with marijuana, heroin and Ecstasy.

But that month has come and gone without action. In the intervening silence, kids like Nancy Ferreira's boys are indulging in a new high that's all too easy to find, and paying the price.
 

Labels: drug-abuse, marijuana

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment