The adolescent age remains a period of all kinds of experimentation, regardless of parenting skills and influence. Young males are more likely than young females to try illegal drugs. Marijuana is the most used illegal drug by teenagers, with around two-thirds having tried it at least once.

Parents often worry about their child becoming addicted to drugs, but hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine and ecstasy are tried or used by only a small number of adolescents. The real threat to an adolescent’s health is the use of drugs like alcohol and tobacco. There is evidence to suggest that an adolescent is more inclined to smoke and drink if their parents do.

Common reasons why an adolescent will try and continue to use alcohol and drugs include:

• Socializing with friends/peer pressure

• Relaxation

• Boredom

• Curiosity

• Risk-taking behavior

Most teens who start using drugs never expect to wind up with a substance abuse problem. There is a marked short-sightedness regarding the consequences of the consumption of alcohol and other drugs on the part of users. Of course, the worst that can happen to any "casual" drug and alcohol user are that this lifestyle develops into a full-blown addiction. By admission, few addicts can identify the moment they crossed over from "casual" use to true addiction.

Parental involvement plays a vital role in the prevention of alcohol and substance abuse and intervention. There is a strong connection between dips in drug use and more parents and guardians speaking with their children about the risks of drug use, and the same children being exposed to anti-drug messages conveyed in the media.

Alcohol and tobacco are the two most commonly used drugs among teenagers. There is evidence to suggest that parents are so alarmed at the thought of their children using more powerful drugs of addiction, that smoking and drinking are considered lesser, and therefore more acceptable, evils. There is nothing further from the truth.