Abuse of ADHD Drugs on the Rise

Abuse of ADHD Drugs on the Rise

MONDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- As more and more prescriptions are being written for medications to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), more and more children are abusing these drugs.

That's the conclusion of new research in the September issue of Pediatrics that found the rate of ADHD medication abuse was up 76 percent from 1998 to 2005, and at the same time, the rates of prescriptions for these medications rose about 80 percent.

"We looked at all the poison control centers across the nation and found a significant increase in the number of calls for ADHD medication abuse that parallels the amount of prescriptions being written," said Dr. Jennifer Setlik, an emergency physician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio and a study author.

What's more, Setlik said, is that this study is "not an estimate of the total problem" because it looks only at data from poison control centers, but it gives doctors and parents a snapshot of the trend toward rising abuse of these medications with increasing availability.

ADHD affects between 8 percent and 12 percent of children, and as many as 4 percent of adults worldwide, according to background information in the study. The disorder is commonly treated with stimulant medications, which have a seemingly paradoxical effect on people with ADHD, allowing them to concentrate and function more effectively. The drugs most often prescribed are mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall) and methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta), according to the study.

The study also reports that next to marijuana, prescription medications are the most common drugs that teenagers use to get high. This may be because teens believe these medications are safe because they've been prescribed by a doctor, or simply because of their availability.

To assess whether increased availability of ADHD medications would also cause a rise in the number of teens abusing the drugs, Setlik and her colleagues reviewed data from the National Poison Data System, which includes information from poison control centers across the United States.

The researchers looked for cases of intentional abuse or misuse of ADHD medications in youths 13 to 19 years old from 1998 through 2005.

They found that over the eight-year study period, the number of calls to poison control centers regarding ADHD medication use went up 76 percent, from 330 calls during the first year to 581 calls the last year.

At the same time, overall ADHD prescriptions increased by 80 percent for all children and teens, and about 86 percent for kids between 10 and 19 years old.

The data didn't include information about whether a teen abusing an ADHD medication was the one who had been prescribed the drug or whether the abuser was a teen without ADHD who was taking the medications.

Parents "need to be aware of the potential for the abuse of these medications for teens that have and haven't been prescribed them," Setlik said.

If a child is taking ADHD medication, she recommended keeping an eye on the amount the child is using.

Tom Hedrick, one of the founding members of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, agreed that parents need to monitor any prescription medications their children use to make sure that they're being used properly. He also advised parents to safeguard their own prescriptions.

But what's critical, he said, is letting your kids know that taking drugs that weren't prescribed for them, or taking more than what was prescribed is not OK.

"We have to start thinking proactively instead of reactively," said Hedrick. "Fifty percent of kids report never hearing a single word about prescription drug abuse, but these drugs are just as dangerous, just as addictive and just as deadly as illicit drugs."

"Right now, parents may feel a sense of relief that their kids are taking medicines and not street drugs," he said. "But what we really have is the perfect storm because there's a lack of awareness and an ease of availability."

SOURCES: Jennifer Setlik, M.D., emergency physician, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati; Tom Hedrick, founding member, The Partnership for a Drug-Free America; September 2009 Pediatrics

Teen Drinkers Often Intend to Get Drunk, Survey Finds

Teen Drinkers Often Intend to Get Drunk, Survey Finds

News Feature
by Bob Curley

Most teens are not regular drinkers, but those who do drink on a monthly basis are frequently imbibing in order to get drunk, according to a major finding of the 2009 Teen Survey released today from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA*) at Columbia University.

About one in three U.S. 12- to 17-year-olds taking part in the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV said they had previously consumed alcohol, and of these about one in four said they had a drink within the previous 30 days. Among those who had used alcohol in their lifetime, 17 percent said they usually drank to get drunk, compared to 68 percent who said that getting intoxicated was not usually their intent.

However, one-third of teens who were monthly drinkers said that they typically drank to get drunk, and 65 percent said they had gotten drunk at least once during the past month. Further, about one-third of monthly drinkers who didn't intend to get drunk wound up getting intoxicated, anyway, according to researchers.

"The most important finding to come out of this survey for parents is that if your teen drinks monthly, odds are your teen gets drunk monthly, too," said CASA founder and chairman Joseph A. Califano Jr.

Learn More: 2009 Teen Survey

Read the press release Download the report (PDF, 1.7 MB) Order a copy

The telephone survey of teens and parents of teenagers also highlighted links between youth drinking and illicit-drug use and parental attitudes and behaviors regarding alcohol and other drugs. Notably, 34 percent of teens said they had seen one or both of their parents drunk (including half of 17-year-olds), and those who had were more than twice as likely to get drunk themselves in a typical month. Just 4 percent of teens said they had seen their parents high on illicit drugs, however.

Overall, 90 percent of teens described their relationship with their mothers or stepmothers as "excellent," "very good," or "good," and 77 percent said it was "very easy" or "fairly easy" to talk to talk to their mothers and stepmothers about drinking and other personal issues.

Seventy percent of teens rated their relationship with their fathers or stepfathers as "excellent," "very good," or "good," and 56 percent said it would be "very easy" or "fairly easy" to talk to their fathers about personal issues. Moreover, 62 percent of kids said their fathers were opposed to them drinking, whereas 8 percent believed their fathers sanctioned their alcohol use.

Teens who believe their fathers would not oppose their alcohol use were two-and-a-half times more likely to get drunk on a monthly basis than those who perceived paternal disapproval of drinking.

"Some Moms' and Dads' behavior and attitudes make them parent enablers," said Califano.

Youths who took part in the survey continue to report that alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs are readily available at school and elsewhere. One-third of respondents, for example, said they could obtain prescription drugs for misuse within a day, mostly from their home, parents, family members or friends -- and more teens said prescription drugs were easier to buy than beer. The percentage of teens who said that marijuana was easier to obtain than cigarettes, beer or prescription drugs rose 37 percent between 2007 and 2009; 23 percent of teens now say that they could obtain marijuana within an hour if they desired, most likely from friends or at school.

On a more encouraging note, the teens surveyed by CASA had a generally high level of awareness about the risks of marijuana use. For example, 75 percent declared "false" the statement, "Because marijuana comes from a plant, it is safer than other drugs people use to get high." Moreover, 78 percent believed that using marijuana increases the likelihood of using other drugs, 85 percent believed it is true that marijuana can be addictive, and 92 percent said it was false to assert that driving under the influence of marijuana is safe.

Sixty percent of teens said it was "very harmful" for people their age to use marijuana, while 23 percent said it was "fairly harmful" and just 15 percent thought it was "not too harmful" or "not harmful at all." Teens were less convinced by statements that today's marijuana is stronger than that used by their parents: 50 percent believed the potent-pot statement, while 37 percent declared it false, and 12 percent didn't know or didn't respond.

Just 16 percent of the teens surveyed by CASA admitted using marijuana in their lifetime, which is somewhat lower than other national surveys of youth drug use. The teen survey required prior parental consent, which researchers said may have affected responses, including possibly understating teen alcohol and other drug use rates. About one in four of the teens surveyed said their answers could be overheard by someone else in their home, which researchers said also might skew the results.

* The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University is neither affiliated with, nor sponsored by, the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (also known as "CASA") or any of its member organizations with the name of "CASA."

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Power of the family meal

Power of the family meal

By Pamela Cowan, Leader-Post/August 10, 2009

Dubbed the "most famous narc in America," Bob Stutman says the number of times parents eat dinner with their kids every week will predict whether they will be drug addicts.

"The higher the number, the less likely the child will have a long-term drug or alcohol problem," said Stutman, a former Special Agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). "It is probably the best long-term predictor. If parents are having dinner with their kids, it probably means they care. When you are at home, you are interacting with them. But very few parents do that today, unfortunately."

Stutman admits when he was in charge of the DEA's New York office, he was never home for dinner.

"What it means is that when you are home, you are paying attention to your kids," he said. "I work with about 30 high schools a year and kids line up to talk to me about their drug use. That's because kids want to talk to an adult they can trust and is being honest with them."

Tobacco use and the age a youth starts using drugs are also predictors of long-term substance abuse problems, Stutman said.

"The average age of first use in the United States is about 121/2 (years) and in Canada it appears to be 131/2 ... The younger, the more dangerous," he said.

When Stutman retired from the DEA in 1990, he established The Stutman Group, a firm that designs and implements substance abuse prevention programs for communities, corporations and school systems. He was in Regina for two days last week to speak to members of TEC -- an organization that provides learning and development for company presidents and business owners.

Stutman debunked the myth that only poor kids use drugs and challenged the audience to accept that their families or their businesses aren't immune from addiction problems.

"Just because they happen to be generally successful people in their community who live in nice homes, in nice areas, it can be their kid," Stutman said in a phone interview. "Substance abuse in the workplace, which is both drugs and alcohol, is as prevalent in Canada as it is in the United States. If you pretend it isn't there, it can have huge negative consequences on your company ... Family or workplace substance abuse doesn't get better if you pretend it isn't there. It's like a communicable disease that doesn't self-cure. You have to interrupt the chain."

To break the chain, Stutman said kids must be taught to deal with peer pressure.

"The problem is in the short run, when kids experiment, it feels good," he said. "One of the things that we fail to tell kids is, 'Yes, in the beginning it does feel good.' If it didn't, nobody would go back to it. By the time you realize that it's messing you up, it's too late to do something about it."

When he was head of the New York office, Stutman was targeted by the Columbian Cartel for assassination.

"I had a contract on me for 19 months," he said.

After retiring from the front lines of the drug wars, he began speaking tours all over North America.

"I don't have to do it for the money," Stutman said. "It's a calling if you will. I've seen too many kids dead."