Smartphones May Impact Teen Substance Use

Everyday millions of Americans of practically every demographic spend an inordinate amount of time on their smartphones. Between checking for the latest news and playing games, there are countless ways to waste time on the pocket-sized devices. In recent years, many experts have raised concerns about our reliance on smartphones. It cannot be denied that they are sometimes used to distract us from the really important life issues, whether that be responsibilities or our mental state. For some people, smartphone use turns into dependence and even addiction. With that in mind, we would be seriously remiss if we failed to mention that smartphones may actually be doing some good when it comes to drug and alcohol use.

With the United States in the continued grip of an opioid addiction epidemic, it is hard to pinpoint areas of progress when it comes to substance use and abuse, until you take a look at teenagers. Research has shown that teens are trying and using drugs and alcohol less and less over the last decade. “Monitoring the Future,” is an annual survey which essentially takes a snapshot of teenage (eighth, 10th and 12th graders) drug and alcohol use. The most recent findings indicate that past-year use of illicit drugs (excluding marijuana) was the lowest in several decades.

While education and prevention can account for some of that progress, it would seem there are other factors at play that could be responsible for the decline. Researchers have theorized that smartphones could be one of the major causes for a drop in teen substance use rates, The New York Times reports. They point out that the downswing of drug and alcohol use coincides nicely with the significant increase in smartphone use.

The director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Dr. Nora Volkow, has plans in the works to research the correlation between smartphones and substance use reductions, according to the article. Interactive media is, the director of NIDA describes, “an alternative reinforcer” to
mind-altering substances, “teens can get literally high when playing these games.” Dr. Volkow will share the findings with a group of scholars this spring.

Dr. Volkow’s theory is “highly plausible,” said Dr. Silvia Martins, an expert on substance abuse at Columbia University. “Playing video games, using social media, that fulfills the necessity of sensation seeking, their need to seek novel activity.”

We will continue to follow this interesting story in the coming months. Whatever the findings are, they will surely be of interest to those working in the field of addiction, or for those recovering from it. Parents will likely have a vested interest in Dr. Volkow's findings, as well.

Teenage E-Cigarette Dripping

The e-cigarette conversation continues as more and more teenagers are using the devices. A 2015 survey found that 24 percent of high school students reported using e-cigarettes during the past 30 days, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally been given authority to regulate e-cigs, creating age restrictions, the devices are still being used by minors and young adults.

Most experts agree that electronic cigarettes are less harmful than other forms of nicotine delivery. However, nicotine is still addictive and can potentially start young people on the road to harmful behaviors that can lead to addiction. Furthermore, e-cig nicotine juices come in a number of flavors that can keep people coming back for more, where as traditional cigarettes have one flavor—you either like it or you don’t.

There have also been concerns raised about nicotine levels in e-cigarette “juices,” and how the devices are used. A new trend called “dripping,” allows e-cigarette users to get more bang for their buck, HealthDay reports. In fact, a survey shows that 1 in 4 teens have reported having tried dripping. So, what is dripping?

Normally, e-cigs users inhale to gradually draw the e-juice into a heating coil through what are known as “wicks,” creating a vapor, according to lead researcher Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. "Dripping" is when e-cig users place drops of the nicotine juice directly onto the exposed heating coil and then quickly inhaling the thick vapor cloud produced. Krishnan-Sarin’s survey indicates that 26 percent of student e-cigarette users at eight Connecticut high schools has "dripped."

The immediate or long term health consequences of dripping are not known yet, according to the article. Although, the chief of general pediatrics of Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, Dr. Karen Wilson, says that the more potent nicotine could impact the developing brains of teenagers.

"Adolescents should not be using nicotine at all," Wilson said. "It changes the brain chemistry, and adolescents are uniquely susceptible to the addictive properties of nicotine." 

The findings of the report were published in Pediatrics.