
Teen drug and alcohol use has fallen - daegloe
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/13/todays-teens-are-way-better-behaved-than-you-were/
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lowpro
I worked with some college students from South Korea, and they were very
surprised that hardly anyone smokes on campus, mainly people from outside the
country. Although it's decreased in the US, I wonder if the cig companies have
coped by pivoting into the global market and pushing hard that way.

Also, I'm betting that alcohol consumption isn't down overall in teens,
they're just smart and would never say they've had a drink or drink at any
point. Speaking from very recent personal experience.

~~~
setrofim_
> I wonder if the cig companies have coped by pivoting into the global market
> and pushing hard that way.

That is exactly what happened. Global tobacco business is better than ever:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UsHHOCH4q8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UsHHOCH4q8)

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rednerrus
They have better drugs now: Internet, iPhone, Facebook.

~~~
galago
"They have better drugs now" could also be followed by a list of common
prescription drugs. I think there was a previous thread about this study
showing that Adderall and methamphetamine are, at similar dose,
indistinguishable.

[http://theinfluence.org/neuroscientist-meth-is-virtually-
ide...](http://theinfluence.org/neuroscientist-meth-is-virtually-identical-to-
adderall-this-is-how-i-found-out/)

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plussed_reader
Boy oh boy, I'd love to see this data correlated with which parts of the
country practice comprehensive sex ed vs abstinence only (mis)education.

~~~
allenz
There might be a correlation, but it wouldn't prove anything. The data might
be just as strongly correlated with income, class, race, etc.

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jondiggsit
Who needs drugs and alcohol when the kids are hopelessly addicted to input

~~~
eliasbagley
Hey man... Got any more of that snow crash?

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mc32
Cigarette smoking has trended down. There was an article the other day
claiming that evidence showed cig smokers tended to eventually drink and go
into other drugs.... So, if cigs were a gateway, then it could make sense
alcohol and other drugs use has gone down.

~~~
spoiledtechie
If this is true, it proves the gateway drugs can have a large affect on
stronger things.

~~~
yazaddaruvala
The causality here has always been misguided because of the name "Gateway"
given to these drugs by the media. "Gateway" drugs are not gateways people use
to transition through, and shouldn't be thought of or called as such. They are
"first warning" drugs.

Almost all toothaches do not need a root canal, but some toothaches are
definitely the first warning sign for needing a root canal.

<strike>Children</strike> People, who are more likely to try
cigarettes/alcohol are also more likely to try harder drugs, and people who
are more likely to try harder drugs are more likely to try even harder ones.
Usually the causality is related to issues at home / issues at school / issues
of biology+psychology. They have a desire to exit society because it has
failed them. The fact that they do "mild"(i.e. more common) drugs before they
do "harder" ones is simply common sense on their part. FWIW, these same people
would likely fail the cookie test[0].

There is an interesting Ted talk[1] which discusses the correlation between
heroin addiction and a feeling of belonging. i.e. if you feel detached from
your community you're at risk. And inversely if you're an addict, being
accepted into a community is the biggest predictor of successfully overcoming
the addiction.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experimen...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment)

[1]
[https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_y...](https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_you_know_about_addiction_is_wrong)

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jaclaz
I suspect that also sex and rock'n roll are not going that strong anymore ...

~~~
TallGuyShort
My disappointment every time I turn on the radio concurs with your hypothesis.

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kkoomi
It's pretty fun finding and deleting all the HTML/JS elements in Chrome that
block the article..

~~~
rShergold
Or in Chrome, the Just Read plugin actually makes the internet usable again!

[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/just-
read/dgmanlpm...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/just-
read/dgmanlpmmkibanfdgjocnabmcaclkmod)

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fatdog
There could be a diversity effect in their data, given demographic changes as
a consequence of immigration patterns, relationship to authority, and cultural
attitudes toward alcohol.

