Smoking May Boost Problem Drinking in Teens

His findings mirror those of researchers who have studied animal models of addiction. "There are fairly striking parallels in the animal literature, which show that nicotine exposure during the animal equivalent of adolescence affects the brain's central-reward circuitry that is involved in all addictions," he said. "The adolescent brain is still very much in development. Unlike most people who start smoking in adulthood, adolescents who start smoking quickly become dependent on nicotine."

The health consequences are severe, Grucza added, because smoking and alcohol -- either separately or together -- account for more than 20 percent of deaths each year in the United States.

Although rates of adolescent smoking and drinking have declined since the 1970s, they've flattened out during the past decade and remain at alarmingly high levels, Grucza said.

"When people talk about 'gateway' drugs, they often focus on illegal drugs such as marijuana," Grucza said. "But the biggest public health problems are smoking and alcohol, with smoking being the single most important preventable cause of death."

"We need to look earlier in the 'gateway' series and see how smoking affects that process," Grucza said.

More information

To learn more about the consequences of alcohol abuse, visit the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

SOURCES: Richard A. Grucza, Ph.D., M.P.E., department of psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo; Elissa R. Weitzman, Sc.D., Division of Adolescent Medicine & Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Children's Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School and department of society, human development and health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston; December 2006Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research