The Sara Bellum Blog

In the U.S. military, servicemembers ask each other this question to make sure that they’re ready and able to accomplish the mission at hand. If someone is “good to go,” then they are alert, accountable, and prepared to do their job. Someone who is “good to go” will avoid mistakes and make better decisions.

One thing is for sure: you can’t be “good to go” when you’re taking drugs.

For you, the workplace might be school or your summer job. If you’re not “good to go,” it could mean a bad grade on your chemistry test or getting benched on your football team. But for our men and women in uniform, drug use threatens their ability to protect one another and defend our Nation. A lack of concentration or a wrong decision could put everyone in danger. It could even cost someone their life.

That’s why the Department of Defense is taking steps to create the largest drug-free workplace in the world. Its zero-tolerance policy (PDF, 51.27KB)on drugs means that servicemembers will have the best mental and physical health necessary to do their jobs.

At the same time, many of our servicemen and women are young and need as much support as they can get. Just like when you had to move to a new school or find a new group of friends, life in the military can be stressful. The day-to-day grind of combat, the effects of injury, or being apart from family can cause people to be depressed. And depression can lead to drug use. Just like you, service men and women sometimes need help getting through those tough periods – using healthy ways to cope without turning to drugs.

The Real Warriors Program is aimed at wiping out the stigma associated with getting mental health care in the military. The campaign uses the stories of servicemembers who admitted they needed help and now are pursuing successful military careers. From October 23-31, the Defense Department will honor these real warriors during Red Ribbon Week, an event to raise public awareness about the negative effects of drugs on military personnel, civilians, and their families.

Now, more than ever, we need good role models. Whether you are serving in the military, working at a desk job, or going to school, don’t hesitate to offer help to someone in need. When’s the last time you asked someone, “Are you good to go?”

Do you have a personal story about the importance of role models and encouraging one another to overcome life’s challenges?  If so, please comment on this blog post – we’d love to hear your story!

This is a guest post from Dr. John Ohab, host of the Defense Department’s weekly science radio show, “Armed with Science: Research and Applications for the Modern Military.”

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It’s a disease caused by the HIV virus, which breaks down the body’s immune system, or our natural defenses against disease. Without our immune system, our bodies cannot fight off illness.

HIV used to be thought of as a disease that happened only to injection drug users and gay men. That is not true. In fact, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control, heterosexual contact between men and women accounted for the second biggest chunk (31%) of all new HIV infections in 2006—more than twice the rate of infections among intravenous drug users. And guess which age group had the most new HIV infections? Young people ages 13-29. In particular, adolescents who have unprotected sex are putting themselves at increased risk of getting HIV.

NIDA research backs this up. It shows that teens like Kim and her friends who drink or use drugs may be putting themselves at a higher risk for contracting HIV, because being high or drunk can lead to having risky sex. To learn more about the link between HIV/AIDS and drug abuse, check out NIDA’s Learn the Link campaign, and get to know the facts on how our decisions, however small they may seem, can majorly affect our health.

Image Courtesy of Eszter Hargittai

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (known by most people as the “FDA”) has banned cigarettes with flavors that make them taste like fruit, candy, or clove. Which reminds me…real candy and fruit are soooo much better …but this ban does raise some questions–so, in case you were wondering:

Who is smoking flavored cigarettes? Studies show that 17-year-olds who smoke are three times more likely to use flavored cigarettes as smokers over 25. In fact, some people think cigarette companies add the flavors as a way to get teens to try smoking. The FDA says young people are twice as likely to report seeing advertising for these flavored products, so the cigarette companies are obviously putting the ads in places that are popular with teens. (Hmmm, pretty sneaky).

Why ban the flavored cigarettes? 3,600 young people start smoking each day, and almost all adult smokers (90 percent) started smoking as teenagers. If the idea of flavors encourages kids to smoke, many of them will keep smoking and face a lifelong battle with nicotine addiction (hardly worth it).

Do the flavors make the cigarettes any safer? No way! They are just as toxic as ever. In fact, the flavors might hide some of the bad taste of cigarettes, so in a way they are more dangerous.

How will they enforce this ban? The FDA encourages people to report continuing sales of flavored cigarettes through a special tobacco hotline (1-877-CTP-1373) and Web site. You can learn more about the risks of flavored tobacco products at www.fda.gov. Might even make a great report for health or science class!

What does SBB think about flavored cigarettes? The companies that make these flavored cigarettes think they are pretty smart, trying to make money off of teens who think “candy, fruit and clove” sound like fun.  However, smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides and murders combined. *

So don’t be “tricked” into smoking by the lure of flavored cigarettes.

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*Flavored Tobacco Product Fact Sheet

Are you a fan of Degrassi: the Next Generation, on Teen Nick?  Well, I’ve got news for you.  In the first show of the season, which aired last Friday, one of the characters got into trouble abusing drugs.  I can’t tell you much more than that, but I do know that when someone decides to take a drug the first time, it can be for many reasons, like to get a buzz, to experiment, or just to fit in.  But, if you keep taking drugs, they can change the chemicals in your brain so that you may not be able to stop.

Degrassi star Jamie Johnston has recorded a special message about drug abuse that played during the show.  But, hey, since you’re here, why not view it now on NIDA’s YouTube channel.

Questions about drugs? Lots of teens are asking. That’s why each year NIDA scientists spend a day chatting online with high school students and answering their questions.

At our last Drug Facts Chat Day, Livelaughlove94 asked:

“Do many kids in high school do drugs?”

The best way to find out if high school kids do drugs is to ask them. That’s exactly what NIDA does every year in its annual Monitoring the Future Study. This survey of more than 46,000 teens—8th, 10th, and 12th graders to be exact—showed that only about 3 percent, or 3 in 100 teens have used cocaine or Ecstasy in the last year, and only about 1 in 100 used methamphetamine. That’s not a lot. Teens also said they were smoking a lot less now than teens used to smoke in the ’90s—like 3x less if you’re a 10th grader. So, what is the most commonly used illegal drug?—Marijuana. About a quarter of 10th graders say they have tried it in the past year. You can see the numbers for each major drug type in this report (PDF, 971.57KB).

So, to answer your question, not that many kids in high school do drugs, although marijuana is the most common. So even though it may seem like “everyone’s doing it,” know that not everyone really is.

For more details on specific results from the Monitoring the Future Study, feel free to browse an overview of the results.

Last year, 14-year-old Shelby Marie Raye from Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida was looking through a teen magazine and saw an article that said “How To Be Popular in High School.” She wondered what traits made someone appear to be popular or “cool.” Since she had a science class that required a science fair project, she decided to study that question like a scientist. So she surveyed hundreds of students in her school about what it means to be “cool.”

Her project, titled, What’s In and What’s Out: High Schoolers’ Perceptions of Coolness, determined that in her school, football was considered to be the “coolest” sport for boys while cheerleading and dance were the coolest sports for girls.  Over 50% of the students said that grade point average was not related to being cool, and that as teens got older they thought it was less cool to be in honors classes. (What’s that about anyway?) She also learned that by the time boys turned 18, they thought it was less cool to drink, smoke, and take other dangerous risks than when they were younger.  

Interestingly, more boys thought it was cool to have a girlfriend….than girls, who weren’t as convinced it was cool to have a boyfriend. And what traits make boys seem cool? Boys said the coolest traits were to be funny and confident. Yet females thought being friendly and outgoing were the coolest traits.  

To see Shelby present her work to the Director of NIH and other scientists, check out the video above. You can also learn more about Shelby’s science project on NIDA’s Web site.

BTW,  NIDA scientists were so impressed with Shelby’s project that they awarded her third place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and Shelby walked away with a prize of $1000— proof that being smart is pretty cool after all!