Clark, Perdue & List's Blog

"Know!" is a collaborative effort by the Drug-Free Action Alliance and The United Way of Central Ohio to conduct research and provide monthly information to parents and other caregivers on raising children to be substance-free. With more than 170 tips available on its website, http://www.helpthemknow.com/, Know! offers facts on a wide variety of substance abuse issues, such as summer smoking and the significance of 4/20 (a generic way of declaring that one likes marijuana). Know!'s goals are to make parents aware that their children are at risk; to bring home the message that parental actions make a difference; to promote and improve communication between parents and children concerning the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; and to empower parents with strategies that have been proven to prevent substance abuse.

If the results of a recent survey conducted upon middle school children are a true indication of the severity of the problem, such preventative measures have become a necessity. The 2006 Primary Prevention Awareness, Attitude and Use Survey conducted by The Safe and Drug-Free Schools Consortium confirms that the youth of Ohio are being exposed to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs at an alarmingly young age. Its data shows that:

• Eleven is the average age for first using alcohol;
• 1% of sixth graders and 5% of seventh and eighth graders drink at least once per month;
• 2% report smoking tobacco at least once per month;
• 0.4% of sixth graders and 1% of seventh and eighth graders admit to smoking cigarettes daily;
• Twelve is the average age for marijuana first usage; and,
• 0.6% of sixth graders and 4% of seventh and eighth graders report smoking marijuana once a month or more.

The significance of these numbers is heightened by the findings of the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information regarding just how and why the use of these substances places children at a greater risk for problems later on down the road. That organization concluded that the younger a person starts to use these substances, the more likely the person will become addicted and develop problems associated with such use. In addition, young substance users are more prone to end up as victims or perpetrators of violence, to engage in unplanned and unprotected sex, to experience failure in school and to sustain serious injury from driving, or other risky behavior. Moreover, youngsters who use tobacco are more likely to drink heavily later on, or to use illegal drugs.

However, many parents and other caregivers apparently simply do not appreciate the magnitude of the problem. For instance, Know! reports that when polled, the number of parents who thought that their children had experimented with marijuana - about 20% - represented only half the actual number of teens who admitted to having tried it!

You can find further information on the recent PPAAUS survey at http://www.edcouncel.org/. To learn more about the harmful effects of alcohol, drug and tobacco usage by kids, visit http://www.theantidrug.com/ and www.nida.nih.gov/drugpages, the National Institute for Drug Abuse website.