05/11/2007 00:00:00
Switzerland: Teens who smoke pot but not tobacco function well
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Teens who smoke pot but not cigarettes appear to be more likely to get
good grades, play sports and live with both parents than those who also
use tobacco, finds a surprising new study from Switzerland.
What's more, the study found that teens who smoke pot were more likely
to have a good relationship with their friends than teens who smoked
neither tobacco nor pot, found the study published in the November issue
of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
To conduct the study Dr. J. C. Suris and colleagues at the University of
Lausanne, Switzerland, analyzed data from a 2002 national survey of
almost 5,300 Swiss students aged 16 to 20 years. Of the group, 455
smoked marijuana exclusively, 1,703 smoked marijuana and tobacco, and
3,105 abstained from both substances.
The survey also found that, compared with students who used both
substances, students who smoked marijuana only were more likely:
* to be male (71.6 per cent vs. 59.7 per cent),
* to play sports (85.5 per cent vs. 66.7 per cent)
* to live with both parents (78.2 vs. 68.3)
* to have good grades (77.5 vs. 66.6).
As well, the researchers noted that students who smoked marijuana only
were less likely:
* to have been drunk in the past 30 days (40.5 per cent vs. 55 per
cent)
* to have started using cannabis before the age of 15 years (25.9
per cent vs. 37.5 per cent)
* to have smoked marijuana more than once or twice during the
previous 30 days (44 per cent vs. 66 per cent)
* to use other illegal drugs (8.4 per cent vs. 17.9 per cent).
Those who smoked marijuana only used it less often than those who smokes
both cigarettes and pot. About half of the tobacco-and-marijuana group
had used pot 10 times or more in the previous month, compared to about
half in the marijuana-only group who had used the drug only once or
twice in the same time period.
Compared to teens who abstain from smoking pot or cigarettes, pot-only
smokers are more likely to skip class, but still have the same level of
good grades. And although they were more likely to report having a
relationship with their parents, they are not more likely to be
depressed than abstainers.
The study did not explain the reasons behind any of its findings.
The authors note that although teens who smoke both marijuana and
tobacco seem to have more psychosocial problems, those who smoke
marijuana only should be monitored closely too. They note as well that
marijuana use has increased in recent years among teens in Switzerland
and other European countries.
"The situation of those adolescents who use cannabis but who declare not
using tobacco should not be trivialized," the authors conclude.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071105/teens_pot_071105/20071105?hub=Health
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12987
Author:
CTV: Canada via UKCIA
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