GIRLS MORE 'VULNERABLE' TO ADDICTION

Girls and young women become addicted to drugs, tobacco and alcohol
differently than males and would be better served by treatment programs
that understand these sex differences, says a study released this week by a
New York research group. Top Stories

"Girls get hooked faster, they get hooked using lesser amounts of alcohol
and drugs and cocaine, and they suffer the consequences faster and more
severely," said Joseph A. Califano Jr., chairman of the National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

Most substance-abuse prevention programs have been developed "without
regard for gender, but often with males in mind," Mr. Califano said. "We
now know that girls are different than boys - let's recognize it and let's
help them."

Columba Bush, wife of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, attended a Capitol Hill event
on Tuesday to release CASA's three-year study on substance abuse of girls
ages 8 to 22.

"If we all understand the special characteristics that lead girls to use
substances, if we all realize how much more vulnerable girls are to
becoming addicted and to the devastating consequences of addiction, we can
save millions of girls and young women from the agony of addiction," Mrs.
Bush said.

The Bushes' adult daughter, Noelle, has had a public struggle with drug
addiction and is in treatment.

"It's a good study. It backs up everything we've been doing for years,"
said Elayne Bennett, founder of the national Best Friends program, which
has steered tens of thousands of girls away from premarital sex, drugs,
smoking and drinking.

The CASA study reviewed data from three national surveys and a poll of
1,220 teenage girls and 782 parents by the Survey Research Center of the
University of Maryland at College Park.

It revealed the following:

*Girls surpass boys in the consumption of stimulants, tranquilizers and
painkillers, and use alcohol, cigarettes, inhalants and cocaine at nearly
the same rates as boys.

* Girls are more likely than boys to use substances to lose weight, relieve
stress and alleviate depression.

* Girls are more vulnerable to addictions if they reach puberty at an early
age, have eating disorders, have been physically or sexually abused and/or
have mothers who smoked or drank during pregnancy. In addition, drinking
coffee at a young age is associated with addictions to cigarettes and alcohol.

*Girls tend to be introduced to drugs by female acquaintances, relatives or
boyfriends and in private places, such as homes. Boys are more likely to be
initiated to drugs by strangers, male acquaintances, relatives or parents,
and often in public settings, such as parks or on the street.

*Girls seem to "sink into abuse more quickly." Cocaine and cigarette
addictions, for instance, seem to occur faster and to be harder to escape
for girls.

*Girls are more susceptible to psychological problems, cocaine dependence,
brain damage from Ecstasy drugs and hospitalization from misuse of pain
medications.

*On a positive note, girls are especially responsive to healthy family
relationships and religious attendance when it comes to avoiding or
escaping substance abuse.