31 Jan 2017

Stopping Teen Substance Abuse

From Afternoons, 1:15 pm on 31 January 2017

According to the New Zealand Drug Foundation, New Zealanders as a population, have some of the higher drug-use rates in the developed world. Thirty two per cent of people aged under 18 report drinking alcohol, on more than three occasions in the past month, and 18 per cent describe themselves as current smokers. But are we doing enough to tackle the problem? Harvey B Milkman is professor of psychology at Metropolitan State College of Denver, and he teaches for part of the year at Reykjavik University, in Iceland. And he has been heavily involved in stamping out teen substance abuse. Twenty years ago, Icelandic teens were among the heaviest-drinking youths in Europe. Today, it tops the European table for the cleanest-living teens. But could this community-approach work here?

Māori suffer disproportionate harm from the use of drugs, especially alcohol and cannabis.

Māori suffer disproportionate harm from the use of drugs, especially alcohol and cannabis. Photo: Pixabay