Sexual behavior linked to teen drug use

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. teens are at much greater risk for smoking, drinking and using drugs if they have sexually active friends and spend more time with a significant other.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released its annual back-to-school survey Thursday, finding teens who reported over half of their friends are sexually active were 6.5 times more likely to drink, 31 times more likely to get drunk, 22.5 times likelier to have tried marijuana and 5.5 times likelier to smoke.

Teens who spend more than 10 hours a week with a boyfriend or girlfriend also tend to be linked to factors such as girls with older boyfriends and having friends who download Internet pornography.

Although the survey, which encompassed 1,000 teens, does not establish a causal relationship, "the thunder of teen dating practices ... may signal the lightning of substance abuse," Joseph A. Califano, Jr., chairman and president of CASA, said at a news conference.

"Parents need to talk to their kids about these issues," Califano told United Press International. "As much as parents think their kids don't listen, they really do hear what they have to say."