• Inadequately managed stress can lead to poor coping skills such as drug and/or alcohol use, according to the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry
• 29 percent of all students in grades 9-12 reported that someone had offered, sold, or given them an illegal drug on school property in the 12 months before the survey. – U.S. Department of Justice, Indicators of School Crime & Safety: 2004
• Middle school students who experienced mental and/or physical bullying were more likely to report use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and inhalants.
– Victimization from Mental and Physical Bullying and Substance Use in Early Adolescence; Shannah Tharp-Taylor, Amelia Haviland, Elizabeth J. D’Amico, 2009
• One in five teenagers smoke and nearly 3,000 American youth under age 18 become regular smokers each day according to the federal government. Of these, a third will die early from tobacco-related diseases. Ironically, researchers from Columbia University found that smoking may actually cause anxiety disorders versus remedying them. – Journal of the American Medical Association, 1999
