Tough teens
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
The image is that young teens who smoke or drink are tough. But research suggests that the teens who don’t smoke and drink are tougher. Dr. Jennifer Epstein of Weill Cornell Medical College found signs of that in data on middle and junior high school students in New York City. Her study in the journal Addictive Behaviors was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Epstein says students who reported more willingness to say no and to make their own decisions were less likely to smoke and drink – even when their siblings or friends did. Epstein says these abilities can be taught in schools with effective prevention programs. Also, by parents: "Parents can have their children role-play situations, so they can pretend that they are in these types of situations in which the kids need to decide something." (9 seconds) Learn more at hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: November, 12 2008 | 
Print 
Download Reader 
HHS Home|About HHS|Contact Us
