Adolescent Health: Planting Seeds for a - Society for Public Health ...

Alcohol, Tobacco
and Other Drug Use:
Integrating
evidence-based
strategies for
prevention
National Perspective
OVERVIEW
A
lcohol, tobacco and other drug use pose a
threat to the health and well-being of
adolescents. Adolescents and young adults in their
20s are at the highest risk for illicit drug use. For
some drug users, use that begins in adolescence
continues well into adulthood. Addiction is a
developmental disease; the earlier an adolescent
begins drug use, the more likely their use will
progress to become serious abuse or addiction. 1 Additionally, adolescence is period of critical cognitive and behavioral
development. When adolescents introduce drugs into their bodies during this time, it is easier to develop a
dependence and addiction. 2 The adolescent years mark major physical, psychological and social transitions. It is
during this stage — early adolescence — that children are likely to encounter drugs for the first time and/or have
greater availability of drugs or situations involving tobacco and substance use.
According to the findings from the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance Survey (YRBSS) 3 :
Tobacco Use
44.7% of high school students had ever tried cigarette smoking
10.3% of high school students had smoked a whole cigarette for the
first time before age 13 years
7.7% of high school students had used smokeless tobacco (e.g.,
chewing tobacco, snuff, or dip) during the 30 days before the survey
Alcohol Use
Adolescent Health:
Planting Seeds for a Healthier Generation
National Health Education Week | October 15-19, 2012
70.8% of high school students had had at least 1 drink of
alcohol on at least 1 day during their life
38.7% of high school students are current alcohol users
21.9% of high school students had had five or more drinks of alcohol in a row
on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey
Courtesy of U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Other Drug Use
20.7% of high school students had taken prescription drugs such as Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, codeine, Adderall,
Ritalin, or Xanas without a doctor’s prescription one or more times during their life
39.9% of high school students had used marijuana one or more times during their life
Key Words: adolescents, substance use, abuse, drug, alcohol, tobacco, smoking, health, student
Society for Public Health Education • National Health Education Week 2012 | 37