More prescription drugs for teenagers

"The chance that a teenager or young adult will received a prescription for a controlled medication has nearly doubled in the last 15 years," according to a study summarized in an article in Reuters.

The article goes on to say, "In 2007, one of out every nine teens . . . received prescriptions for medication such as pain killers, sedatives and stimulants that could potentially be abused, the study, led by Robert Fortuna at the University of Rochester in New York, warned."

"While he told Reuters Health that this doesn't necessarily mean that teenagers and young adults will either abuse the medications or pass them onto others, it does reinforce the need to let people know how dangerous the drugs can be -- and the need to monitor their use."

Alcoholic energy drinks a symptom of a larger problem

In an effort to shift the conversation about the banning of alcoholic energy drinks, a Boston Globe columnist writes, ". . . Four Loko is merely an upstart outlier that is easy to pick on. The bigger issue is underage drinking and binge drinking. We remain a hypocritical nation that wags our fingers at kids not to drink but lets top beer companies target them with advertising."

While the column goes on to discuss the huge amount of alcohol ads that minors are exposed to, I would add that there are multiple factors that influence underage and binge drinking, including advertising and alcoholic beverages that are attractive to young people. Factors such as local laws and their enforcement; parental and community attitudes and actions; and opportunities for youth to play meaningful roles in their communities and to be recognized for their positive contributions.

While banning certain alcohol products and reducing alcohol advertising will reduce underage and binge drinking, there are more strategies that communities need to consider when acting to prevent youth substance abuse.