REPORT SHOWS SOME RISKY CHOICES YOUTHS CAN MAKE

A national survey of high schoolers shows teens are using drugs and
alcohol less than a decade ago, but there are increases in the use
of marijuana, cocaine and in students selling or being sold drugs on
school property.

The survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, found that while fewer students are drinking alcohol, 43
percent are current drinkers and 74.3 percent have had alcohol. That
number jumps to 76.5 percent in Ohio.

Marijuana use has jumped from 31.3 percent in 1991 to 38.4 percent
in 2005, although it's down from 47.2 percent in 1999.

Cocaine use has gone from 5.9 percent in 1991 to 7.6 percent in
2005, although it remains lower in Ohio, at 3.4 percent last year.

And more than a quarter of students nationwide and more than 30
percent in Ohio say that they have been offered, sold or given an
illegal drug by someone on school property in the last year.

"It's still a problem, especially the underage drinking," said Candy
Green, guidance counselor at Waterford High School. "It's hard for
us to have a very good feel for whether the prevalence is reducing
or increasing, but I know we're doing a variety of things in school
meant to address it."

Local parents and students say it may be a growing awareness of the
problems and the programs that have sprung up to combat them that
have led to the overall rosier picture for teens.

"I know there is still a lot of stuff going on but I've heard less
about drinking and smoking pot in the last couple years," said Kevin
Doebrich, 18, a 2006 Marietta High School graduate. "The
(preventative) activities that are going on now have helped a lot.
It's gotten kids involved."

The CDC survey of 14,000 U.S high school students showed that fewer
teens were taking part in dozens of categories of risky behavior.
The survey measured everything from bike helmet use and whether
students ate fruit and vegetables to whether they had ever carried a gun.

"The overall survey results are encouraging," said Howell Wechsler,
director of the CDC's adolescent and school health division. "They
show us that persistent efforts to get young people to adopt
healthier behaviors can achieve positive results."

According to the survey, 4 percent fewer teens had been sexually
active in the three months before the survey, down to 33.9 percent.

The number of students who had smoked a cigarette before age 13 has
steadily declined since 1995, from 24.9 percent of students then to
16 percent now.

The percentage of teens using inhalants has dropped from 20.3
percent in 1995 to 12.4 percent in 2005.

Heroin use has remained steady at 2.4 percent and the use of
methamphetamines is down from 9.1 percent in 1999 to 6.2 percent
last year. Ecstasy use has decreased from 11.1 percent in 2003 to
6.3 percent just two years later.

"I've never heard a lot about heroin or cocaine or other drugs in
this area," said Williamstown High School junior Ashlee Martin, 15.
"But every other person I know smokes marijuana and drinks."

Although marijuana use is up in the country and in Ohio, the
percentage of high schoolers who have had alcohol is down, although
still high.

In 1991, 81.6 percent of students reported drinking, down to 74.3
percent in 2005. Those numbers also dropped in the state, from 80.1
percent in 1993 to 76.5 percent last year.

There also may be fewer young children trying alcohol.

The percentage of students who had their first drink of alcohol
other than a few sips before age 13 decreased from 32.7 percent in
1991 to 25.6 percent.

"Everything's gone way down at Warren," said Warren High School
freshman Shelby Chidester, 13. "But I don't know why."

Parent involvement has likely played a big part, said Cathy Harper,
coordinator of the Right Path for Washington County, a group that
has worked the last several years to implement a healthy development
curriculum in all Washington County middle schools and form a youth
group that plans fun events for area teens.

"Anytime you can get adults and kids involved in something together,
it helps," Harper said. "We did a media project and when we went
into schools to talk to kids the overriding theme was that they were
looking to partner with adults in some way."

The group will do its own survey of local students in the fall, to
compare to results from 2003.

The Right Path's Youth Involvement Group (YIGZ) is in its second
summer of youth-planned events, including weekly dances and swimming parties.

The attendance has grown from about 30 students at the start to more
than 200, said Missy Day, 18, a 2006 Marietta High School graduate
who has helped plan the events.

"When school ends I've noticed fewer kids drinking and smoking," Day
said. "They have more things to do."

That's important in a county of small towns and rural areas, the
students said.

"It keeps me occupied," said Autumn Chidester, 16, a junior at
Williamstown High School, who attended a Right Path dance this week.
"After this, I just want to go home and go to bed. And talking about
it does help, too."

Often, parents are too scared to talk to their children about
alcohol, drugs or sex, but it's important to do so anyway, Harper said.

"I think kids are much more open these days and want to talk about
it," she said. "We have to let them."

The added awareness of teen alcohol and drug abuse hasn't only been
local, Doebrich said.

"I've noticed a lot more programs and groups devoted to this kind of
thing," he said. "You see it on TV, in the papers and at school. I
think it's made a difference."

Talking to kids about drugs

To get the conversation going:

Point out alcohol, tobacco and drug-related situations in your own
neighborhood. Use the moment to talk about the negative effects.

Use newspaper headlines or TV news stories as a conversation
starter. The daily news is filled with stories that detail the
consequences of drug and alcohol abuse.

Tips for children grades seven to nine:

Make sure your teen knows your rules and that you'll enforce the
consequences if they're broken. This applies to no drugs as well as
curfew and homework. Kids are less likely to start the negative
behavior if their parents have established a pattern of setting clear rules.

Let your teen in on all the things you find wonderful about him. He
needs to hear a lot of positive comments about his life and who he
is as an individual.

Show interest, and discuss, your child's daily ups and downs. You'll
earn your child's trust and learn how to talk to each other.

Tell your teen about the negative effect alcohol, tobacco and other
drugs have on physical appearance. Teens are extremely concerned
with their appearance and if they believe drugs will impair their
looks and health, they may be less tempted.

Don't just leave your child's anti-drug education up to his school.
Ask your teens what they've learned about drugs and fill in the blanks.

Tips for children grades 10 to 12:

Don't use general anti-drug messages. Older teens need to hear
detailed and reality-driven messages.

Emphasize what drug use can do to your teen's future. Discuss how
drugs can ruin your teen's chance of getting into the college she
wants or getting her dream job.

Encourage your teen to volunteer somewhere they can see the impact
drug use has had on your community.

Source: The Partnership for a Drug-Free America

To see the complete

survey on teens

www.cdc.gov/yrbs.

Some highlights

High school students who have carried a weapon to school, 11.8
percent in 1993; 6.5 percent in 2005.

Students who have seriously considered attempting suicide in the
last year: 29 percent in 1991; 16.9 percent in 2005.

Students who vomited or took laxatives to lose weight in the last 30
days: 4.8 percent in 1995; 4.5 percent in 2005.

Students who had sex before age 13: 10.2 percent in 1991; 6.2 percent in 2005.

Students who drank alcohol on school property: 5.2 percent in 1993;
4.3 percent in 2005.

Students who had taken steroids: 2.7 percent in 1991; 4 percent in 2005.

Upcoming YIGZ summer events

Swimming party with radio remotes Friday at the Devola Pool from 6
to 8 p.m.; then each Friday until Aug. 18 at the Marietta Aquatic Center.

Dance party each Tuesday through Aug. 8 at The Gathering Place at
Marietta College from 7 to 10 p.m.