Teen Drug Abuse - Teen Drug Abuse Prevention

Today drug abuse is a key reason for worry and concern and has a negative effect on society at large. Though mostly the teenagers or the students constitute a large segment of drug abusers, adults also succumb to drug abuse. There is an affinity amongst teenagers as well as middle-aged people to abuse prescription drugs. Drug abuse by mainly teenagers is very common, which can lead to disastrous consequences in the near future. A large proportion of premature deaths in people between 15 and 24 are reportedly connected in some way or the other to drug or alcohol abuse.

Such abuse of drugs also leads to brutal criminal acts, such as assault, murder or rape. Some young or teenage people also take drugs to overcome depression and anxiety. If a young member of the family suddenly starts behaving in an aberrant manner or tries to keep him or her self aloof from other family members, people have some fair reasons to be suspicious. Physical signs like nagging cough, red eyes, and changes in eating and sleeping habits should also serve as warning signals. A teenager with a pronounced family history of drug abuse and a lack of social skills can move quickly from the level of experimentation to grave abuse or dependency. Some of the other teenagers, who have no family history of such drug abuse, may also reach the level of utter addiction. Although any prophecy is almost impossible, teenagers with a family history of drug or alcohol abuse should especially abstain and refrain from experimenting.

The preoccupation of the user with drugs, plus its effects on mood and act, can lead to poor performance in schools, colleges or workplaces, resulting in dismissal. Drug abuse of a teenager can devastate parents and other family members, and ruin family life. According to the research of National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, teenagers and their parents view drugs as their biggest concern. The consequences of different types of drugs on teenagers include convulsions, insomnia, lethargy, irritability, panic attacks, anxiety, paranoia, violent behavior, memory loss, learning problems, increased heart rate, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, daily coughs and phlegm, more frequent chest colds, muscle tension, teeth clenching, dehydration, hypothermia, brain damage, and even death.

The first effective step towards combating drug addiction is to make the abuser aware of the damage it causes to the body. Most drug addicts lack self-confidence and must be taught to become a master of the situation and not a slave to drug addiction. There are many organizations and institutions that help mainly the teenage drug abusers to kick the habit. The support of closed friends and family is of major importance. A drug abuser must be committed to giving up the addiction first. Counselors and the doctors is a drug abusers greatest ally in the battle against the deadly addiction. People specially the teenagers who realize they have to quit this dangerous addiction may be too embarrassed or afraid to confide in anyone. These people might even be worried that they will land into difficulty if they admit to having this fatal problem. Drug abusers must talk to anyone they trust the most regarding their problem and remedy.

• Felicia Byrnes
• 10/01/2009, 12:59 PM
• 0 Comments