Book contents
- How to Talk to Your Child About Drugs
- How to Talk to Your Child About Drugs
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 What Are Psychoactive Drugs, Who Uses Them and Why?
- 2 Understanding Adolescence
- 3 Having the Drug Conversation with Your Child
- 4 Drugs and the Brain
- 5 How Do Drugs Cause Harm?
- 6 Types of Drugs
- 7 Rise of the Synthetics
- 8 Legal but Harmful: Prescription Medications, Tobacco, Vaping and Alcohol
- 9 Behavioural Addictions
- 10 Detecting Drug Use and What to Do about It
- 11 Treatment and Recovery
- 12 Final Thoughts
- Useful Resources
- References
- Index
8 - Legal but Harmful: Prescription Medications, Tobacco, Vaping and Alcohol
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 February 2025
- How to Talk to Your Child About Drugs
- How to Talk to Your Child About Drugs
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 What Are Psychoactive Drugs, Who Uses Them and Why?
- 2 Understanding Adolescence
- 3 Having the Drug Conversation with Your Child
- 4 Drugs and the Brain
- 5 How Do Drugs Cause Harm?
- 6 Types of Drugs
- 7 Rise of the Synthetics
- 8 Legal but Harmful: Prescription Medications, Tobacco, Vaping and Alcohol
- 9 Behavioural Addictions
- 10 Detecting Drug Use and What to Do about It
- 11 Treatment and Recovery
- 12 Final Thoughts
- Useful Resources
- References
- Index
Summary
Prescription medications are highly regulated to make sure they are as safe and effective as possible.
The last decade has seen an emerging black market for prescription medications particularly from unscrupulous online pharmacies,
Some of the products sold illegally by these pharmacies are poor quality counterfeits
Tobacco is the largest killer of all the psychoactive drugs, but smoking rates are now falling.
Electronic cigarettes are safer than tobacco smoking because they only contain nicotine and none of the other harmful chemicals found in tobacco.
The aggressive marketing of electronic cigarettes to young people has rapidly driven up their use causing concern that they will result in a new generation addicted to nicotine.
If you don’t smoke, don’t vape!
Young people are drinking less, but tend to binge drink when they do drink
Reduce the many risks of alcohol intoxication but pacing drinking, avoiding drinking, understanding alcohol ‘units’ and knowing how to put a friend in the recovery position.
There is emerging research suggesting that some illegal psychoactive drugs, such as cannabis and some hallucinogens, may have therapeutic value, but further research is needed to understand their potential benefits.
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- Information
- How to Talk to Your Child About Drugs , pp. 162 - 181Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025