Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 15, 2002|Volume 31, Number 11

Conference to focus on adolescents'
alcohol, tobacco use

Researchers at Yale, community leaders, and U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Patricia Dillon will lead a conference on alcohol and tobacco use on Saturday Nov. 23, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Hill Regional Career High School.

The conference will help address the problem of tobacco and alcohol use among adolescents and dependence among adults. It is sponsored by the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center at Yale (TTURC), led by Stephanie O'Malley, professor of psychiatry; and the Yale Center for Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism, led by Dr. John Krystal, professor of psychiatry.

"Drinking and smoking are enormous causes of illness and disability in our society," says Krystal. "The use of alcohol and drugs often goes together, and the use of one might lead to the use of the other. Of further concern is the role these substances play as gateways to other substance abuse, including cocaine and opiates."

O'Malley notes that the conference focuses on both tobacco and alcohol because the two legal drugs tend to be co-used and the use of one can alter the way the other substance affects the body and its systems.

"These are the most frequently used substances by adolescents and the most prevalent substance abuse problems in this country," she says.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over five million children under age 18 in the United States are regular smokers and nationwide, about 35% of all high school students are daily smokers. When it comes to alcohol, 49% of ninth-graders reported having consumed alcohol before they were 13, and 41% of ninth-graders reported drinking in the past month. Almost one-fourth of ninth graders reported binge drinking in the past month.

The community conference will present information on medical and psychiatric complications that are related to use of alcohol and tobacco. Topics will include current information about risks of lung cancer, liver disease, birth defects, changes in sex hormones, and effects on brain size and function. Presenters will explain effects, based on age of onset and duration of use. The effectiveness of various types of treatment interventions, behavioral and those using medications will be explained. Attendees will have an opportunity for questions and informal discussions with the researchers.

DeLauro and Dillon will speak to the community leaders who have made extensive efforts to support initiatives in these areas. Dean Wilkerson, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, will describe efforts to advocate for specific legislation designed to reduce the number of drinking related driving fatalities, utilizing arguments based on research findings. The conference is supported by Dr. David Kessler, dean of the School of Medicine, who helped lead the fight against the tobacco industry as head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"Participants will learn how research translates into practice, both at the clinical and policy level," says O'Malley. "They will find out what we know about alcohol and tobacco use in adolescents, and the latest findings on prevention will be presented. We'll talk about who gets into trouble and the difference between experimenting and getting hooked."

Community participants will also be presented with information about ongoing and upcoming Yale studies that can help people with alcohol and tobacco problems, and provide important information to research investigating these problems.

Community leaders are invited to participate in the conference with their colleagues, along with any interested community residents. To make a reservation or for more information, send e-mail to CTNA@yale.edu, or call (203) 932-5711, ext. 5318.

The Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism was formed to create links between basic research advances and the development of new treatments for alcoholism. It receives funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The TTURC was created to tackle the problem of people who find it hard to quit smoking. It is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Cancer Institute and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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