youth

The Youth-Smoking Collapse Nobody Wants to Talk About

For more than a decade, one of the most persistent claims in the tobacco control echo chamber has been that…

March 16, 2026

Beyond the Panic: A Harm Reduction Lens for Teen Drug Use

Adolescent drug use often triggers moral panics, fear-mongering and the passage of draconian laws to “keep the kids safe” by…

February 25, 2026

“Balance Your Buzz”—A Student-Led Alcohol Harm Reduction Initiative

Alcohol plays a role in the lives of many college students, and is often experienced as pleasurable or beneficial. Like…

September 2, 2025

When Harm Reduction Is Easy and Enjoyable, It’s More Effective

When I was young, I was living on the streets of Los Angeles at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic…

March 27, 2025

Do Pre-Existing Brain Structures Influence Early Nicotine Use?

Pre-existing differences in brain structure are associated with earlier substance use in young people, according to a recent study. The…

March 17, 2025

Why the Demise of Youth Smoking Is an Overlooked Public Health Triumph

Amid the moral panic over youth vaping and a widespread belief that it’s a “gateway” to cigarettes, youth smoking in…

October 30, 2024

Can the Theory of Youth Vaping as “Gateway” to Smoking Be Put to Bed?

The notion that nicotine vaping leads people to smoking—known as the “gateway” theory—is a common refrain among those who seek…

August 20, 2024

Teen Cannabis Use Has Fallen Amid Legalization, CDC Data Show

Newly published results of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey show a decline in the proportion of…

August 8, 2024

College Students Have a Window to Demand Marijuana Decriminalization

Walking across my college quad on a weekend evening, you might recognize the familiar fragrance of marijuana wafting through the…

July 17, 2024

Over 321,000 Children Lost Parents to Overdose in a Decade

A new study from the National Institutes of Health quantifies the vast number of children in the United States who…

May 10, 2024