Amy Winehouse is in the news again, this time for being rushed to the hospital where she was reported to be coughing up blood. She is the latest in a series of stars whose "fast and furious" lifestyle is seductively appealing to many people - primarily young fans.

"The idea that some spirits burn too fiercely, consuming themselves in their own flames, is incredibly seductive to the people least likely to know better, by which I mean the young. As you get older, you start to question all that romantic nonsense and see such deaths for what they really are: a tragic waste."

The danger inherent in Winehouse's lifestyle is that, without ever realizing it, she may take others down with her. The singer is admired by many young people who don't view her as someone who makes reckless and destructive choices, but rather as a person who is living with an all-out passion. Source: Belfast Telegraph

Labels: influences, celebrities, media

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Wired magazine is in trouble for an article in the May issue, "Twelve Ways to Supercharge Your Brain." One part of the 15-page article, called "Do the Right Drugs," includes discussions of eight drugs, some of which are illegal. The list includes Adderall, nicotine, and even methamphetamine, which "increases concentration and creative output." The author advises the magazine's 650,000 subscribers to "tap the black market" to obtain these substances.

Worried your teen is experimenting with drugs and alcohol? Learn about teen addiction and teen alcoholism at DrugRehabTreatment.com.

Labels: influences, media

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A group of high school students from Lewistown, Pennsylvania have created anti-drug messages that are now appearing nationwide. Nickelodeon, Lifetime and Cartoon Network are just some of the networks that have picked up the ads.

"CNN aired one of the students' PSAs Friday afternoon in the region. In the PSA, two anti-drug messages targeting area youth came across the screen. One message said 'Mifflin County teens have better things to do than drugs.' This message showed area teens involved in extracurricular activities like basketball, band and 4H as opposed to the alternative."

Other ads dispel the myth that "everybody's doing it". A 2005 survey found that 72 percent of teens in the county said they didn't drink or do drugs, but more than 50 percent believed that their peers did. Read more at LewistownSentinel.com.

Labels: prevention, media, anti-drug_programs

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A recent study at the University of Pittsburgh found that drug and alcohol use are still popular subjects in the music industry. This latest study found that, of 279 popular songs researched, one-third of them portrayed drug and alcohol use - and most of the messages were positive.

"Previous research has shown that exposure to substance-use messages in the media is linked to actual substance use in adolescents,' [Brian] Primack says in a news release. 'This is why we need to be aware of exposures such as these, especially when they are associated with highly positive consequences and associations."

Of the substances referred to in music, alcohol was the most common, with rap and country being the genres most likely to convey positive substance use messages.

Looking for ways to protect your child from risky behaviors such as teen alcohol and drug use? Visit DrugRehabTreatment.com for more information.

Labels: music, influences, media

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David Nevins, son of HBO executive Sheila Nevins, has struggled with substance abuse for years. He's been sober for about a year now, but only after suffering through a decade of rehab, psychiatric treatment, and relapses. Nevins' experiences with her son made her realize how little she knew or understood about addiction and substance abuse, which inspired her to launch an HBO documentary serried called "Addiction".

"The short films that are a part of 'Addictions' include [Jon] Alpert's look at a busy Saturday night in a Dallas emergency room; [Rory] Kennedy and Liz Garbus' examination of brain imaging; and [D.A.] Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus' piece on opiate addiction."

The film airs on HBO on Thursday night, and all of the short films will be available for download from HBO's website. Read more online.

Labels: addiction, recovery, media

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Teenage boys have only two kinds of role models in the media: slackers and superheroes, according to a new study from the University of Massachusetts.

Professor Sharon Lamb studied 674 boys ages 4 to 18 years old in terms of male role models they saw in movies, on television, and in reading materials. Dr. Lamb said she found only two:

• The superhero: Someone who shows their masculinity through power over other people, through exploiting women, showing their wealth, and through sarcasm and superiority.
• The slacker: ''The pot-smoking smelly guy who hates school."

Dr. Lamb believes the superhero is harmful to boys.

"There is a big difference in the movie superhero of today and the comic book superhero of yesterday," she said. "Today's superhero is too much like an action hero who participates in nonstop violence: he is aggressive, sarcastic, and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity."

The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.
 

Labels: boys, influences, media

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Pediatricians want children to view fewer advertisements for cigarettes, alcohol and prescription drugs.

Among the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics are the following:

• Limit advertisements on television if 10% or more of the audience consists of children
• Launch a new government anti-smoking and anti-drinking campaign aimed at teenagers
• Ask parents to supervise their children's use of media
• Restrict erectile dysfunction messages for broadcast only after 10 p.m.
• Begin a debate about the wisdom of advertising prescription drugs.

"Alcohol remains the greatest public health problem, and it remains the most lethal drug for young people," said Dr. John Knight, Director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Children's Hospital of Boston. "Advertising glamorizes alcohol and really primes our kids to think they can't have fun unless there is booze."

The recommendations appear in the journal Pediatrics.

Labels: alcohol, prescription drugs, cigarettes, media

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