SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND YOUNG WOMEN

Everybody knows that girls and boys are different, but now we know
that the differences extend to the risks of substance abuse. Girls and
young women are more vulnerable than boys and young men, according to
a study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University. The report's message should be taken seriously.

"The findings from this study cry out for a fundamental overhaul of
public health prevention programs," said former Health, Education and
Welfare Secretary Joseph Califano, CASA's president. "Unisex
prevention programs -- largely developed without regard to gender,
often with males in mind -- fail to influence millions of girls and
young women. The women of America have paid a fearful price in
premature death and destroyed lives for our failure to craft programs
aimed at their unique needs."

Some of the study's findings:

Girls who reach puberty early are at higher risk of addictive
substances sooner, more frequently and in greater quantity than girls
who mature later. Girls are more at risk at puberty than boys.

Girls are more susceptible to depression, eating disorders, and sexual
or physical abuse than boys. All those conditions increase the risk of
substance abuse.

Girls who use drugs and alcohol are more likely than boys to attempt
suicide.

Girls are more likely than boys to misuse prescription painkillers,
stimulants and tranquilizers.

Girls and young women can become abusers or addicts more quickly than
males, even if they use the same amount -- or less -of a particular
substance.

Girls and young women are more likely to experience adverse health
consequences from substance abuse, including lung damage, brain
damage, heart problems and liver disease.

CASA board member Columba Bush, wife of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, joined
with Califano in releasing the study, which surveyed 1,220 girls and
young women between the ages of 8 and 22.

"My heart goes out to all those saddened parents across America whose
daughters have sunk into substance abuse and addiction," said Columba
Bush. "By showing the many and varied paths that girls may go down to
substance abuse and how these paths frequently differ from those of
boys, CASA's report empowers families, schools, communities and clergy
to take steps needed to make a difference."

The report suggested a variety of prevention approaches, beginning
with parental guidance. Most of the girls surveyed said that
conversations with parents about substance abuse made them less likely
to smoke, drink or use drugs. Another recommendation was that mass
media refrain from presenting glamorous images of women using
addictive substances, that alcohol advertising be kept off television
and that more informational programming be devoted to substance-abuse
subjects.

And the report urged that government research "focus on the special
needs of girls and women."

Most medical research has concentrated on men, assuming that its
findings apply equally to women. The CASA study provides more evidence
that gender-specific research is needed.