New report describes adolescent substance abuse as epidemic in America

The Center for Substance Abuse and Addiction (CASA) recently released a new report, Adolescent Substance Use: America's #1 Public Health Problem, that calls teen smoking, drinking, misusing prescription drugs and using illegal drugs a public health problem of epidemic proportion.

The report goes on to identify substance abuse as the primary origin of the complex brain disease of addiction. Because the adolescent brain is still developing, teens are more likely to take risks like smoking, drinking or using other drugs, and are more sensitive to the damaging and addictive properties of these drugs. The report documents that the critical period for preventing the initiation of substance use and its extensive, devastating and costly health and social consequences is adolescence.

The report examines how American culture increases the risk that teens will use addictive substances and how the messages sent by adults, and glamorized by the tobacco and alcohol industries and the media, normalize substance use and undermine the health and futures of our teens.

According to Jim Ramstad, Former Member of Congress and Chairman of the report's National Advisory Commission, "Teen substance use is our nation's number one public health problem. Smoking, drinking and using other drugs while the brain is still developing dramatically hikes the risk of addiction and other devastating consequences."

Susan Foster, CASA's Vice President and Director of Policy Research and Analysis noted, "The problem is not that we don't know what to do, it's that we are failing to act. It is time to recognize teen substance use as a preventable public health problem and addiction as a treatable medical disease, and to respond to it as fiercely as we would to any other public health epidemic threatening the safety of our children."

Click here to access the full report.

Click here to access some ready-to-use presentation slides about the report.