Smoking may boost problem drinking in teens

Smoking may prime the adolescent brain to be more vulnerable to alcoholism and other addictions, a new study suggests.

"The younger they start smoking, the more their brains appear to be more susceptible to other addictions," said study co-author Richard Grucza, an epidemiologist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "So, the longer we can delay these behaviors, the better."

The findings are published in the December issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

"Everybody knows that smokers, especially in adolescence, have a higher likelihood of alcohol problems and dependence," Grucza said. "We wanted to see if that was solely attributable to the fact that they drink more than nonsmokers do or if the story was more complicated."

Grucza and a colleague reviewed survey data on the smoking and drinking practices of nearly 75,000 subjects aged 12-20, collected from 2002-2004 by the U.S. National Surveys on Drug Use and Health.

Compared to adolescent nonsmokers who drink alcohol, they found that adolescent smokers have more than a 50 percent higher risk of an alcohol-use disorder -- anything from alcohol abuse and dependence to alcohol-related trouble with the law.

The researchers also found that the smokers' risk of an alcohol-related disorder is elevated even when they drink the same amount of alcohol as nonsmokers, and that the risk is especially high among younger smokers and lighter drinkers. Among 15- to 17-year-olds who drank fewer than eight drinks a month, the prevalence of an alcohol problem was 20 percent in smokers, compared to only 5 percent in nonsmokers. ...

•	Smoking may boost problem drinking in teens The Washington Post, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006 Byline: Rick Ansorge, HealthDay Reporter

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