Monitoring the Future 2017 Survey Results
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Teenage Behavior Influenced by Video Games?
Experts from the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies at The University of Nottingham have carried out the first ever analysis of best-selling video games to find out the extent to which the games include this content and to assess the link between playing the games and drinking and smoking behavior. They found that teenagers who play video games featuring alcohol and tobacco references appeared to be directly influenced because they were twice as likely to have tried smoking or drinking themselves. Click here for more in this research study
NC Law: Underage Drinking and Private Parties
Although it is legal in some states for minors to drink alcohol at private parties with permission from their parents, North Carolina is not one of those states. Officials with the state Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement said any adult who allows a minor to consume alcohol or reasonably should have known that underage drinking was occurring in their home can be criminally charged for misdemeanor aiding and abetting. Click HERE for more on this story.
SAMHSA Defends Keeping Drinking Age at 21
An opinion piece in the NY Times argued for the US to “Return the Drinking Age to 18, and Enforce It” SAMHA’s Pamela S. Hyde responded with the reasons why “maintaining the current minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21 is critical to the health and safety of our nation’s individuals, families, and communities: Studies have found that people who begin drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence during their lifetime than are people who begin drinking at age 21. Research has also shown a clear link between age 21 MLDA laws and a…
Connection Between Early Age of First Drink and Heavy Drinking
“Our research suggests that teenagers who have their first drink at an early age drink more heavily, on average, than those who start drinking later on,” said Meghan E. Morean, assistant professor of psychology at Oberlin College, Ohio and adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. “Our work also suggests that how quickly teenagers move from having their first drink to getting drunk for the first time is an important piece of the puzzle. In total, having your first drink at a young age and quickly moving to drinking to the point of getting drunk are associated…
Consequences of Teen Alcohol, Marijuana Use Studied
Now a new study asked high school seniors to indicate whether they experienced various adverse psychosocial outcomes resulting from use of each substance. The most alarming finding was that alcohol use was highly associated with unsafe driving, especially among frequent drinkers,” said Dr. Palamar, , PhD, MPH, a CDUHR affiliated researcher and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC). “Compared to non-drinkers, frequent drinkers were over 13 times more likely to report that their alcohol use has led to unsafe driving. Marijuana users, compared to non-users, were three times more likely to report unsafe driving as…
Governor McCrory Creates Task Force to Combat Substance Abuse and Underage Drinking
Governor Pat McCrory signed an executive order that creates a multi-agency task force aimed at reducing substance abuse and underage drinking. The Governor’s Substance Abuse and Underage Drinking Prevention and Treatment Task Force will build on statewide prevention, treatment and enforcement initiatives implemented by the Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Commission, Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) Division, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) System. As a part of this initiative, six UNC campuses that will take part in a pilot program that will emphasize prevention and treatment: East Carolina University, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina…
Troubling Trend: Internet Drinking Game
There’s a new horrifying drinking game making global headlines that’s already taken the lives of several young adults and the dignity of some who survive. It’s called #NekNominate or #NekNominations (hashtag used for social media purposes), and it’s an online craze spreading rapidly across countries thanks to Twitter and Facebook. Here’s how it works: kids are nominated by their peers to take video of themselves downing — or “necking” — strong drinks under bizarre or dangerous circumstances before challenging others to film an even more shocking video by the next day. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nek-nominations-drinking-game-2014-2#ixzz2t3s9sDE8
Kids Who First Drink During Puberty…
New research shows that youths who first drink during puberty are at greater risk for developing later alcohol problems. “Most teenagers have their first alcoholic drink during puberty. However, most research on the risks of early-onset alcohol use up to now has not focused on the pubertal stage during which the first alcoholic drink is consumed,” said Miriam Schneider, Ph.D., a researcher at the Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, and one of the authors of the new study. Click here for full story…