Smoking linked to teen alcohol, drug use

Teenagers who smoke are five times more likely to drink and 13 times more likely to use marijuana than those who are not smokers, a study suggests. The report by Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse presented further evidence linking youth smoking to other substance abuse and spotlighted research on how nicotine affects the adolescent brain. The report analyzed surveys conducted by the US Substance Administration and other data on youth smokers. It said that smokers aged 12 to 17 are more likely to drink alcohol than non-smokers. Those who became regular smokers by age 12 are more than three times more likely to report binge drinking than those who never smoked.