NEW ADDICTION TREATMENTS, TARGETED TO GIRLS, ARE URGED

WASHINGTON -(AP)- Girls and young women get hooked on cigarettes, alcohol
and drugs more quickly and for different reasons than boys, and should
receive specialized treatment that reflects that, according to a study
released Wednesday.

Teen-age girls often begin smoking and drinking to relieve stress or
alleviate depression, while boys do it for thrills or heightened social
status, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University.

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 center.

Califano said prevention and treatment centers need to design their programs
to deal with the risk factors leading to female substance abuse.

"With some exceptions, the substance abuse prevention programs have really
been designed with a unisex, one-size-fits-both-sexes mentality," said
Califano, who served as health and human services secretary under President
Jimmy Carter. "We now know that girls are different than boys - let's
recognize it and let's help them."

Florida first lady Columba Bush, whose daughter Noelle is struggling with
substance abuse, said that if parents and educators understand girls are
more vulnerable and need different treatments, "we can save millions of
young girls and women from the agony of addiction."

Mrs. Bush is married to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

The study, based on a nationwide survey of more than 1,200 girls and women
age 8 to 22, found that approximately 45 percent of high school girls drink
alcohol, compared with 49 percent of boys, and girls outpace boys in the use
of prescription drugs, the study found.

Researchers determined girls are also more likely to abuse substances if
they reached puberty early, had eating disorders or were ever physically or
sexually abused. Their likelihood of using cigarettes, alcohol or drugs also
increases if their families move often or when girls advance from middle
school to high school or from high school to college.

As they develop into teen-agers, "girls are likelier than boys to compare
themselves physically and academically to their new peers, increasing the
doubts they feel about themselves," the study said.

The study faults alcohol and tobacco companies for promoting their products
by linking them to glamorous models, and calls for a ban on alcohol
advertising on television and cigarette and alcohol advertising in magazines
with large numbers of young readers.