Health & Medicine
Underage Youth get Cigarettes and Alcohol From Friends and Family: Study
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Sep 25, 2013 09:09 AM EDT
A latest survey says underage youth get cigarettes and alcohol from friends and family members.
The latest survey conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Metal Health (CAMH) reveals that underage students in Ontario and Canada who indulge in smoking or drinking get their cigarettes and alcohol either from a family member or a friend. The study involved 9,822 students from grades 7-12 and was conducted every two years since 1977.
Worldwide teen smoking and drinking has been a major issue and these are two crucial factors that explain early mortality. According to Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, each day nearly 4,000 people younger than 18 years of age smoke their first cigarettes and each year 400,000 young Americans become daily smokers.
The youth got their cigarettes and alcohol from their family and friends, the survey found. Nearly 58 percent of the students who were a part of the study received their last cigarette from family or friends and 19 percent of them got it from a grocery store, bar or gas station.
Twenty six per cent of the males got their cigarettes from grocery stores or gas stations compared to 10 percent of the females. On the other hand, nearly 76 percent of the females obtained their last cigarettes from a friend or family member compared to 46 percent of the males.
Focusing on those who consumed alcohol, 39 percent said that 'someone gave it to them' while 4 percent of them bought it from a liquor store and two percent from a beer store.
More students in urban centers compared to rural areas claimed that alcohol was given to them by someone (40 percent , 35 percent).
A greater number of older students reported offering money to someone else to buy them liquor. And younger students were more likely to obtain it from someone else.
Dr. Robert Mann, CAMH Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator on the survey concluded saying, "Despite efforts to curb youth smoking and prevent youth alcohol use, the survey tells us that youth are still able to easily access these substances, often from the very people who should be looking out for their well-being. It is also very clear that young people find it much easier to obtain cigarettes from corner stores than to obtain alcohol from liquor or beer stores. If we begin selling alcohol in corner stores, we can expect a large increase in underage drinking."
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First Posted: Sep 25, 2013 09:09 AM EDT
A latest survey says underage youth get cigarettes and alcohol from friends and family members.
The latest survey conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Metal Health (CAMH) reveals that underage students in Ontario and Canada who indulge in smoking or drinking get their cigarettes and alcohol either from a family member or a friend. The study involved 9,822 students from grades 7-12 and was conducted every two years since 1977.
Worldwide teen smoking and drinking has been a major issue and these are two crucial factors that explain early mortality. According to Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, each day nearly 4,000 people younger than 18 years of age smoke their first cigarettes and each year 400,000 young Americans become daily smokers.
The youth got their cigarettes and alcohol from their family and friends, the survey found. Nearly 58 percent of the students who were a part of the study received their last cigarette from family or friends and 19 percent of them got it from a grocery store, bar or gas station.
Twenty six per cent of the males got their cigarettes from grocery stores or gas stations compared to 10 percent of the females. On the other hand, nearly 76 percent of the females obtained their last cigarettes from a friend or family member compared to 46 percent of the males.
Focusing on those who consumed alcohol, 39 percent said that 'someone gave it to them' while 4 percent of them bought it from a liquor store and two percent from a beer store.
More students in urban centers compared to rural areas claimed that alcohol was given to them by someone (40 percent , 35 percent).
A greater number of older students reported offering money to someone else to buy them liquor. And younger students were more likely to obtain it from someone else.
Dr. Robert Mann, CAMH Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator on the survey concluded saying, "Despite efforts to curb youth smoking and prevent youth alcohol use, the survey tells us that youth are still able to easily access these substances, often from the very people who should be looking out for their well-being. It is also very clear that young people find it much easier to obtain cigarettes from corner stores than to obtain alcohol from liquor or beer stores. If we begin selling alcohol in corner stores, we can expect a large increase in underage drinking."
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone