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Kelli Polson

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New stats on teens, drugs and alcohol

Consider a story about the scary statistics of teens and addictive substances. The statistics are from a SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) national survey. Interview students who have been affected by addictive substances. Compare these statistics with previous years and with survey results from your school. Find a counselor to talk to you about why teens become involved with drugs and alcohol. Could you tell this story with an alternative story form?

-- Kelli Polson

Poynter's Al Tompkins writes in his column, Al's Morning Meeting:

Talk about depressing -- look at these new stats about kids and addictive substances:

On an average day in 2006, youth used the following substances for the first time: 7,970 drank alcohol for the first time, 4,348 used an illicit drug for the first time, 4,082 smoked cigarettes for the first time, 3,577 used marijuana for the first time, and 2,517 used pain relievers nonmedically for the first time.

Youth who used alcohol in the past month drank an average of 4.7 drinks per day on the days they drank and those who smoked cigarettes in the past month smoked an average of 4.6 cigarettes per day on the days they smoked.

Posted at 11:59 AM November 15, 2007

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