Addiction Vaccine and Teen Drug Use - Health Nutrition and Fitness

Dr. Kim D. Janda is working on an addiction vaccine and parents and families of drug addicts are begging him to hurry. They want help. What is an addiction vaccine and why is it so important to parents? Here?s a Q-and-A to explain.

How widespread is drug use in kids?

10 percent of high schoolers said they have driven drunk within a 30-day period. 28 percent rode with someone who had been drinking. 20 percent of teens took another person?s prescription drugs. 10.6 percent of kids used tobacco on school property. 22.7 percent used or sold drugs at school. 1 out of 16 middle-school-age kids and 20 percent of high school students smoke.

How does an addiction vaccine work?

Dr. Janda, of the Scripps Research Institute says it?s ?simplistically stupid.? Like a vaccine given to children, to ward off polio, a small amount of the drug is injected into the system. Antibodies are produced in response to it. So far, Dr. Janda has had more success with nicotine and narcotics vaccines, than with alcohol and marijuana inoculations. The vaccine isn?t quite there yet, but it?s getting close.

How can this help young addicts?

When the vaccinated person ingests the drug, the antibodies prevent it from having the desired affect. In early and younger users, this is especially significant. If teens try a drug and or have only been using for a short period, a vaccine can prevent them from getting a taste for it.

Are kids more at-risk with drugs than adults?

Yes, in several ways. First, children and especially teens have an sense of invincibility. When taking risks, they believe ?nothing bad will happen to me.? Because children are in a state of ongoing development, drugs, nicotine, alcohol and even caffeine can do more harm. Also, drugs retard development. There?s a maxim in substance abuse treatment, that an addict?s maturity stops at the age he began drinking. If an alcoholic began imbibing at age 12, that is the thinking level with which she approaches situations.

What about cyclical family addiction?

Drug use in children is more common in homes with addicted parents. Drug addiction is passed on in utero. Infants suffer when mom smokes. Alcoholic mothers pass Fetal Alcohol Syndrome on to their babies. Children are vulnerable to secondhand smoke because their bodies aren?t fully developed. An addict also parents from that thwarted maturity. Children of addicts suffer a host of problems. A vaccine wouldn?t necessarily prevent children from suffering consequences or addictions or succumbing to their own addictions, but it could put a stop-gap in the cycle.

Vaccines prevent disease, so how will that help those already addicted?

Children are vaccinated to prevent disease. Vaccines are pointless if the person has already had the disease. However the addiction vaccine was developed specifically for those who are currently addicts. That?s why so many parents are eager for the vaccination. They?re past the stage where preventative treatment can help. They or their children are already in the throes of addiction.

Do drug addicts really want help?

Yes, especially younger addicts, said a study from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Hazelden (where ?Co-Dependency? author Melodie Beattie got her start). They just need help to do it. That?s why an addiction vaccine holds so much hope.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes from 23 years parenting four children and 25 years teaching K-8, special needs, adult education and homeschool.

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/addiction-vaccine-teen-drug-225100028.html

Source: http://health-nutrition-fitness.net/medical-and-health-news/addiction-vaccine-and-teen-drug-use/

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