Posts Tagged ‘abuse’
Drug Abuse in Teens
‘Passive Pusher’ Parents Enabling Drug Abuse in Teens
A new survey reports that inattentive parents are to blame for their children abusing common prescription drugs.
According to questions asked by researchers from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), more teens today say it’s easy to get prescription drugs without a prescription than it was a year ago.
And before you start blaming the Internet, the survey pointed out that in the majority of cases where teens obtained illegal prescription drugs, they got them from their parents’ medicine cabinet.
D’oh!
That’s right, folks. It’s your fault your kid is hopped up on Percocet or Vicodin.
The Columbia University study involved 1,002 kids age 12-17 from April to June of 2008.
The problem, according to Elizabeth Planet, the study’s lead author, is the disconnect between teens and their parents. Most of the parents were not aware of how often teens abuse prescription drugs. But prescription drug abuse among teenagers has been an issue for years, say experts.
Not only did parents not think their teens were taking their meds, there were also large discrepancies in the reporting of how often the teens were out of the house.
Fifty percent of the teens surveyed said they were hanging out with their friends on weekday evenings, while only 14% of the parents said they knew their kids weren’t home.
"Parents are not paying attention," said Planet to reporters. "There are parents who are out in the evening themselves. There are parents out at work."
While marijuana remains the easiest drug for kids to get (in fact, 43% of 17-year-olds surveyed said they could get their hands on some within an hour), prescription drugs are now third on the list, harder to get than cigarettes but easier than beer.
Fifty percent of teens who reported staying out past 10:00 at night said there was drinking and drug abuse occurring among the people they were with. For those who returned home between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 pm, 29% said there was alcohol and drug use happening.
National Institute on Drug Abuse representative Nora Volkow told reporters that part of the concern with prescription drug abuse is that kids think it’s safe if their parents have it. "Kids think that because these are medicines that are prescribed, they are safe," said Volkow. "[But] the problem is that there is very little difference between the amount they take for a high and the amount that causes an overdose."
CASA’s president Joseph A. Califano had harsher words for those inattentive "problem parents": "Preventing substance abuse among teens is primarily a mom and pop operation. It is inexcusable that so many parents fail to appropriately monitor their children, fail to keep dangerous prescription drugs out of the reach of their children and tolerate drug infected schools," said Califano to reporters.
He added, "By identifying the characteristics of problem parents we seek to identify the actions that parents can take – and avoid – in order to become part of the solution and raise healthy, drug-free children."
By Anastacia Mott Austin
By Buzzle Staff and Agencies
Published: 8/15/2008
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Casual Drinkers
Casual Drinkers A Problem Too
The loss to companies in the United States due to alcohol and drug-related abuse by employees’ totals $100 billion a year, according to the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.
Remarkably, a research article posted by Christian Science Monitor in 2003 shows that it is the social drinkers who are responsible for most of lost productivity.
This study also found that it was managers, who were most often drinking during the workday, not hourly employees. The study also found that 21 percent of employees said their own productivity had been affected because of a co-worker’s drinking. Twenty-three percent of upper managers and 11 percent of first-line supervisors reported having a drink during the workday, compared with only eight percent of hourly employees.
Substance abuse by employees causes many expensive problems for businesses ranging from lost productivity, absenteeism, accidents, and an increase in the health insurance claims.
Impact of Alcohol and drug abuse on employers: There are many impacts due to drug in workplace.
Lowers productivity: Studies have shown that substance-abusing employees function at about 67% of their capacity. Problems related to alcohol and drug abuse cost American businesses roughly $81 billion in lost productivity in just one year.
Higher Rates of Employee Turnover: Employees who tested positive on their pre-employment drug tests were 77 % more likely to be discharged within the first three years of employment and absent from work 66 % more often than those who tested negative according to US Postal Service
Increases absenteeism and turnover: An estimated 500 million workdays are lost annually due to alcoholism. Illicit drug users are more than twice as likely than those who do not use drugs to have changed employers three or more times in the past year.
Causes accidents and injuries: Employees who use drugs are 3.6 times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident and 5 times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim. Up to 40 percent of industrial fatalities and 47 percent of industrial injuries are linked to alcohol use and alcoholism.
Increases an employer’s medical costs: Employees who abused to drugs, costs twice in medical claims to their employers, compared to the other normal employees.
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from casual drinker
At what point do I go from casual drinker at work to addict?
The Devil Wears White
My father was sixteen or seventeen when he started drinking alcohol. I’ve been reminded countless times that there are “responsible casual drinkers” and then there are “alcoholics”. Dad obviously fell into this pre-defined “alcoholic”…
can a problem drinker learn moderation
Can a problem drinker learn moderation. For years, Phil was a normal social drinker. “It’s a nice, simple pleasure,” he said. But a few years ago, Phil’s casual drinking took an ominous turn. Instead of stopping after two or three beers or glasses …. Moderation management might work in the short run for an alcoholic, Angres added. But in the long run, it could simply feed the alcoholic’s powerful denial system. “You run the risk of doing more harm….
Should You Tell Your Kids About Past Drug Use?
My husband and I have always been very casual drinkers, sometimes going for long stretches without any alcohol. When the oldest was about 10, we were sitting in a restaurant having a glass of wine with our meal and it suddenly occurred to me that before … It’s an ongoing conversation in our home, as I also work at his high school and know what’s going on with the kids there. Many times, we discuss issues like kids showing up at a dance, etc and drinking.
Dealing with Substance Abuse in the Workplace
This problem also extends to the workers who drink alcohol on a casual basis. They may not be as bothersome compared to the hard-core drinkers, but casual drinkers are responsible for most of lost productivity, especially when it comes to the issue of hangover and the loss of production. … To address the issue of substance abuse in the work place, the company should establish a comprehensive program that would benefit both the employer and the employees.
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