Title: Addiction and Girls
Producer: Emily Halevy
Feed: CWKN #444, July 1, 2009
Time: 1:39
SUGGESTED LEAD: THE LATEST NUMBERS FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS AREN’T ENCOURAGING IF YOU HAVE DAUGHTERS. IT USED TO BE THAT THE MOST LIKELY USERS OF DRUGS, ALCOHOL, AND TOBACCO WERE BOYS... BUT NOT ANY MORE.
IN FACT, TODAY, IN SOME CATEGORIES… THERE ARE MORE DRUG-USING GIRLS THAN BOYS. CONNECT WITH KIDS HAS THE STORY.
<<PKG>>

NARR: RENEE POTTER STARTED SMOKING WHEN SHE WAS EIGHT-YEARS-OLD-

BUT HER TOBACCO DEPENDENCY QUICKLY LED TO OTHER ADDICTIONS … ALCOHOL, POT, METH, COCAINE. (:11)

SOT: Renee, 15 years old (:12)
“There’s some people that can actually do that, just experiment once in their whole life, and never do drugs again. It wasn’t like that for me.”

NARR: SHE’S AMONG MILLIONS OF GIRLS WHO SUFFER FROM WHAT ONCE WAS BELIEVED TO BE A MOSTLY MALE PROBLEM … (:06)

SUPER: Heather Hayes, M.Ed, licensed professional counselor (:26)
“We used to believe that boys were more likely to use than girls and that there were more boys out there using than girls, and what this study has shown is that the numbers are the same now.”

NARR: AND, SHE SAYS, WOMEN MAY BE EVEN MORE AFFECTED BY ADDICTIVE DRUGS THAN MEN. (:05)

SOT: Heather Hayes, M.Ed, licensed professional counselor
“Every time a man has a drink and a woman has the same amount- it’s almost a double impact for her, because of the body fat, because she doesn’t hold as much water.”

NARR: EXPERTS SAY PHYSICAL CHANGES, ALONG WITH HORMONAL AND EMOTIONAL STRESS CAN LEAD GIRLS INTO AN ADDICTION. (:06)

SOT: Heather Hayes, M.Ed, licensed professional counselor
“Take a teenage girl who’s going through puberty and is feeling awkward, their bodies are changing, and you pour drugs and alcohol on top of that - you may get immediate relief, but then what happens afterwards makes it worse.”

NARR: SHE SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PARENTS TO HAVE A “ZERO-TOLERANCE” POLICY FOR ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS - AND TO TEACH YOUR DAUGHTERS TO PROTECT THEIR HEALTH AND THEIR FUTURE. (:11)

SOT: Heather Hayes, M.Ed, licensed professional counselor
“Teach them self-respect, teach them self-care, teach them how to nurture their self-esteem.”

NARR: ALL THE THINGS THAT RENEE IS NOW LEARNING IN THERAPY. (:04)

SOT: Renee, 15 years old
“I’m taking care of myself and I’m doing something for myself that I know I deserve.”

SUGGESTED TAG:  THESE NEW FINDINGS WILL ALSO HELP TO BETTER TREAT GIRLS WHO SUFFER FROM ADDICTION.  FOR MORE INFORMATION LOG ONTO <LOCAL URL> AND CLICK ON THE CONNECT WITH KIDS ICON.