We do mention them collectively as substance abuse several times, but in reality there are several different forms of substances that can be abused. Alcohol and drugs are just two of them. But these are also the two substances that are the most widely abused in the world.
Recent statistics show that children are starting out with alcohol and drug abuse when they are quite young, in the eighth grade, to be particular. Most of these kids begin with a taste of alcohol at a surreptitious party with friends, which soon transforms into a habit. Sooner than you think, the kid gets hooked onto booze and becomes an addict. A smoking addiction can come either before or with the alcohol addiction. Smoking here refers to smoking cigarettes with tobacco in them. Alcoholism and smoking often go hand in hand.
Studies suggest that when youngsters are hooked onto both alcohol as well as tobacco, they will want to try out new things. This is when a propensity for a drug addiction will begin to evolve. Children usually begin with the simplest drug that they can lay their hands on, and that is marijuana. About 1 in every 5 teenagers in the eighth grade has already had alcohol, tobacco (through smoking) and marijuana. If that isn’t an alarming situation, what is?
That’s not the end of it all, either. Once the children are hooked to all the three, they will want to experiment with more daring drugs. This is when the tobacco will take a backseat and the person will go ahead with drug and alcohol abuse.
The situation cannot get worse than this. It’s high time we stood up and took stock of the situation. We owe it to our coming generations.