Teens more likely to use drugs in the summer - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

THOMASVILLE, GA (WALB) - A warning for parents.

Your teens are more likely to try alcohol for the first time this time of year.

A new study shows that more than 11,000 teenagers will have their first taste of alcohol during the summer.

That's much higher than when students are in school.

More free time and less supervision increases the likelihood for experimentation, so police are encouraging parents to listen, speak, and act.

Thomas County DARE Officer Steve Jones says it doesn't matter if teenagers enroll in summer camp, a summer job, or summer school, as long as it occupies their time. "During the summertime the best advice I can give anybody, a parent or guardian, is to make sure all of their activities are structured."

A recent study conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says teenagers are more likely to try alcohol, cigarettes, or other drugs during the summer months.

"Adding any kind of drug or alcohol to the body in its developmental stages, the research is there. It shows it has an effect on the development. It has an effect on the growth, the body, and we're mostly talking about the brain and the internal organs," said Jones.

Jones says parents need to stay in tune with their kids. "Listen to the music they listen to. Play the games they play. Read what they reed and you'll connect number one, but also you'll understand what drives and what influences kids today."

But Jones says it's up to parents to make the first move. "Teens will feel comfortable talking to their parents as soon as parents feel comfortable talking to their teens. Parents got to make that first step. Parents need to make sure that door is always open."

For millions of smokers, quitting is expensive and in many cases impossible.

And Jones hopes this information will dissuade the 5,000 teenagers who will smoke their first cigarette today. "It's a lot harder to stop a bad habit than to never start a bad habit."

Jones says between cell phones, TV, and the internet, the amount of influences teens experience every day are exponentially higher than in previous generations.

The only substances that did not have higher rates of first-time users during the summer months were cocaine and prescription pain drugs used for non-medical reasons.

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