Teens & Alcohol



On the TV program, Street Cents profiled a Winnipeg teen who has successfully 
fought her drinking problem. Street Cents Online presents some information you 
may find interesting about alcohol addiction...
We talked to Dr. Sheldon Pearlman, a treatment specialist and Head of the Youth 
and Family Clinic at the Addiction Research Foundation in Toronto. Here are his 
answers to Street Cents researcher Joanna Hilchie's questions :
Q. Can you tell me the difference between a habit and an addiction?
A. A habit is something you do in normal every day life. An addiction is a habit 
that is out of control and has a negative impact on some aspects of your life.
Q. What kind of signs tell you that drinking is becoming a problem for you?
A. It's not how often someone drinks or how much. It's when drinking causes 
difficulty in your ability to function in the rest of your life, whether it's 
school, work, or home. You should consider drinking to be problematic when you 
find yourself getting into trouble in your performance of your every day life.
Q. How do teens tend to get started drinking?
A. Usually they are introduced to drinking by their parents during some type of 
family ritual. (Jo's note:This could even be the parents drinking wine with 
their meal, or spiked punch at Christmas time, or just a general ingredient to a 
family celebration). Peers are also more than willing to explore alcohol with 
their friends. These are the two main sources for hands on introduction to 
alcohol.
Q. Where can I find help?
A. The first place to look will be general health care providers in your 
community. This could be a family doctor, provincial health department, 
community centre, school nurse.
Q. What kind of intervention programs do you participate in?
A. Addiction Research Foundation has an education program which promotes healthy 
lifestyles. There are a range of services offered through various agencies 
designed to help teens identify alcohol problems before they become severe. 
These services come in the form of one, mostly through education programs. Most 
provinces have a Drug Dependency Unit as part of the Department of Health, 
Health Canada has information, local hospital can help, 1800 help lines can 
connect you with services in your area. The best place to start may be with a 
significant adult that the teen trusts.



The preceding is information gathered from a past season. It may contain facts 
or conclusions that are now dated. It has been posted for archival purposes 
only.
Contents
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streetcents@halifax.cbc.ca