FAST FACTTeens who are exposed to parents’ substance use disorders are more than three times as likely as other teens to have a substance use disorder themselves.Source: Columbia University
The billboards are dotted around town — usually a parent and a child, close together. One shows a father and his toddler daughter reading a story. A thick haze surrounds them.
“Adrian smokes two packs a day,” the billboard states. “So does her dad.”
It’s the exact message emanating from Columbia University in New York City, where researchers have determined that the road to teen addiction often begins when children are still young enough to climb into their parents’ laps. The majority of alcohol and drug abuse begins right before adulthood, Columbia researchers said, but small children who see their parents smoking, drinking or pill-popping are more likely to give it a whirl during their teenage years.
The numbers from the 406-page study — which says teen addiction has become “the largest preventable and most costly public health problem in America today” — might shock those who believe their children can avoid a substance’s temptation during the high school years.