Parent Drinking Behaviors Linked to Adolescent Drinking

Parent drinking behaviors, specifically frequent drinking and binge drinking, are associated with increased odds of drinking among adolescents, according to a study published by the Journal of Adolescent Health.  "The findings of this national study suggest that if parents drink less often and avoid binge drinking, it could reduce the likelihood of underage drinking and associated alcohol-related harms," the authors write.

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Smoking may not only harm the smoker and those who breathe in the secondhand fumes, but also their future children.

New research suggests that boys who smoke in their early teens risk passing on harmful genetic traits to future children.  People whose dads were early-teen smokers had gene markers associated with asthma, obesity and low lung function.  Early puberty may represent a critical window of physiological changes in boys.  This is when the stem cells are being established which will make sperm for the rest of their lives.  

The health of future generations depends on the actions and decisions made by young people today----long before they are parents!

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