Beaver Valley Mac Kid is working with Community Health Challenge this year! They've given me some great articles about your health and your kids' health to share with you.
According to CASA (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University), about 4,000 American kids a day use a tobacco product for the first time--a startling statistic for many people. For others, it’s old news. Still, no matter how unfamiliar or aware one may be regarding the numbers, the often-repeated question remains, “What is it about the adolescent brain that makes it particularly susceptible to the effects of nicotine?” In short, we know it’s bad for adults, but what makes it so much worse for kids?
Bombarded by media in every form, most of us are well aware that smoking often leads to lifelong addiction, chronic illness, and premature death, but when they light up for the first time, it’s highly likely that kids have no clue that their brains are chemically and physically at risk.
Brains At Risk
While teens figure experimenting with tobacco products is harmless, new studies supported in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggest the opposite. Laboratory experiments confirm that nicotine alters the structure and function of an already-vulnerable brain within a day of the very first dose. These alterations could then trigger addiction with a single cigarette. J.R. DiFranza reports in the Journal of Family Practice that an alarming percentage of youth were addicted from their initial use. In addition, there is a viable link between nicotine exposure and alcohol consumption, resulting in a traceable progression from cigarettes to alcohol use.
Not only can smoking young lead to drinking young, research further demonstrates that because of the increase of nicotine receptors in adolescents, there is a greater risk of cigarette consumption, nicotine dependence, and difficulty quitting. Because the smoker’s brain is never restored to its original state due to this kind of brain remodeling, the tolerance is permanent.
This Is Your Brain On Nicotine
So why, after being told by parents, teachers, and other role models, do kids try it anyway? Not so long ago, we believed raging hormones were solely responsible for this brand of recklessness, but a more scientific approach has uncovered that biochemically speaking, it’s far more than that.
Irony does appear to have a hand in it, as the time the brain is most vulnerable corresponds with the time most teens are likely to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. They lack a balance between their brain’s cognitive (the brake pedal) and affective (the accelerator) functions. Underdevelopment of the cognitive system, or brake, tends to render adolescents prone to acting more emotionally or going headlong with their “gut reactions” which often leads to poor judgment and risky behavior (“Adolescent Brain Development,” University of Utah, Utah Addiction Center).
Central to these brain brake and accelerator functions are essential neurochemicals like dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Dopamine strongly influences reward-related learning. When developmental immaturity is coupled with cellular changes caused by repeated dopamine stimulation from nicotine, the reward associated with tobacco becomes stronger and increasingly compulsive. Next, factor in norepinephrine which is associated with attention and impulsivity and commonly connected with depression, ADHD, and anxiety. Nicotine impacts levels of norepinephrine in the part of the brain associated with concentration and memory, making teen smokers particularly jittery and unfocused when in need of a cigarette. Finally, add serotonin. Nicotine increases serotonin receptors in the brain regions associated with drug abuse and may lead to chemical depression.
Teaching Your Teenager
Even when adults better understand the structural and chemical complexities of the teenage brain, the science doesn’t outline how best to keep kids nicotine free. This is where common sense and basic good parenting come in.
It’s imperative to remember that teenagers aren’t adults yet. They’re operating from the emotional, impulsive, reward-oriented part of their brains, and they need valuable input from their parents and other responsible adults. They require boundaries to keep them relatively safe while they continue to grow and still need to be taught the importance of knowing vs. feeling and understanding vs. behaving. Teens also require adult mentors and role-models who demonstrate how to make good decisions and how to control emotions while keeping consequences in clear view.
Beyond emotional support, there are even a few tips to improve the brain function of many teens. One of the most obvious pieces of advice is to protect the adolescent brain from traumatic injury. It would also benefit them to maintain a healthy diet, drink plenty of water, and get adequate sleep. Finally, the Oregon University of Health and Science confirms that exercise plays a vital role in the health of the teenage brain. New studies indicate that exercise stimulates new cell growth in the brain, increasing mental abilities 20 to 30%.
