Teen drug exposure remains a common phenomenon, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the chance exists for casual experimentation to cross the line and become full-blown addiction. Adolescent drug addiction is a complex disorder...
Chronic heroin abuse caused significant changes in the central nervous system of a drug addicted person. Common consequences include building first an addiction, and, then, a tolerance to certain effects of heroin. The brain of an adolescent...
According to a 2004 national survey on drug use and health by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 4,000 kids under 18 smoke their first cigarette each day. Over 1,000 of them will become regular smokers. It's estimated...
If you don't have a healthy disgust for smoking, chances are your kids won't, either. The most important step in discouraging cigarette addiction in children is to quit yourself, and encourage others to kick the habit. Whether kids admit it or...
The primary factors that seem to affect increased drug use generally among teens are perceived risk, perceived social approval and perceived availability, according to the Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base, or ASK. Other, more specific...
If you are a teenager with a drug or alcohol addiction, or if a teenager you love is addicted, prompt admission to an inpatient rehabilitation program can be the difference between life and death. Many insurance plans cover 30 to 90 days of...
Smoking among adolescents and teens in the United States is a major public health concern. Many young people pick up their first cigarette before age 18. Youth smoking causes early onset of serious health problems, and it can cause serious...
Drug and alcohol abuse and addiction are serious problems that affect the victim as well as friends, family and loved ones. Every situation is different, and everyone facing a drug or alcohol--or both--dependency requires the right method of...
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who have specialized in psychiatry by completing an additional four years of training in the specialty of psychiatry. Psychiatrists can undertake additional training and become subspecialists.
Alcohol use by adolescents runs the spectrum from one-time experimentation to problematic use to full-blown alcoholism. Teens who find themselves repeatedly drinking to excess and getting in trouble with the law, at school or at home may require...
When you couple the fact that adolescents become addicted to substances more quickly than adults do with the reality that alcohol abuse frequently results in adolescent suicides and traffic deaths, the need for swift intervention becomes obvious....
Drug use among adolescents is a serious health, societal and economic problem facing America today. Drug use can alter the brain, resulting in compulsive drug abuse and chronic addiction. Drug addiction is associated with many health problems,...
If you suspect that someone you know is smoking marijuana, there are a few telltale signs you can look for. While the presence of one or more of these indicators is not necessarily proof that the individual is using marijuana, it can provide a...
Substance dependency during adolescence can have devastating effects on a teenager's life and future development. Effects vary depending on the specific drug used, the severity of the addiction, the potential legal ramifications and the individual...
Drug abuse is a prevalent problem, affecting millions of teens every year. Focus Adolescent Services reports that 1.2 million U.S. adolescents ages 12 to 17 smoked cigarettes, 63,100 drank alcohol and 586,000 experimented with marijuana on an...
Many adolescents face ups and downs; excitement, growth and discovery are coupled with uncertainty, new stresses and vacillating hormones. Any kind of memory loss that occurs during this time can add an additional layer of angst and worry for...
A number of influences can increase the risk of drug abuse by an individual. These include influences that are present in the home environment and in the individual's peer and social group that may make it seem more acceptable to experiment with...
Minnesota is home to dozens of drug rehabilitation programs. Spread throughout the state, the programs offer a variety of rehabilitation methods and options, from residential psychiatric care programs to outpatient 12-step care and family...
Most adolescents will try drugs or alcohol at some point during their high school years. While for many teenagers the experience will never progress past occasional experimentation and use with friends, for others, it's the starting point for the...
Medical doctors in the U.S. hold an undergraduate bachelor's degree and an M.D. degree earned through a four-year course of graduate study in an accredited school of medicine. After medical school, medical doctors enter a period of postgraduate...
Drug use in adolescence continues to be a major health risk. Many individuals begin using drugs in high school, with smaller numbers of people beginning in junior high. Developmentally, adolescents are oriented toward risk taking, including...
Alcoholism can adversely impact your personal and professional life. Extensive and long-term drinkers may face many serious health complications. The Mayo Clinic reports adolescents who begin drinking in their early teenage years are more likely...
Adolescence substance abuse is a complex problem for the child and the parents. The younger the child is when the substance abuse starts the more difficult it is to resolve the problem. Parental involvement in a child's life is crucial to stopping...
Nicotine is an addictive and poisonous chemical found in tobacco plants. Kids ingest nicotine by smoking tobacco and inhaling second hand smoke. Second hand smoke is the smoke streaming from the lit end of the cigarette and exhaled by the smoker....
As you've probably noticed, teens are not just young adults. Adolescents have specific developmental tasks, different behaviors and unique needs from those of adults; therefore, it's important when considering drug rehab for youth to choose one...
More than 5,000 deaths of people under the age of 21 are linked to alcohol every year, according to Focus Adolescent Services. And the three leading causes of deaths among 15- to 24-year-olds are car crashes, homicides and suicides, with alcohol...
Doctors at the Mayo Clinic report that depression is a medical condition that involves a variety of emotional and physical conditions. Anger is a common symptom of depression, a reaction that often occurs because the patient feels a loss of...
Physical exercise provides the most benefit when performed regularly. Whether you are exercising to build strength or endurance or to lose or maintain weight, a regular exercise schedule increases your chances of success. However, taking that...
Aside from the personal effects of drug addiction, the disease can cause problems for everyone around the addict as well. The person may have a drug addiction to alcohol, illicit substances such as cocaine, heroine, opiate pills and prescription...
