Teenagers often think they are invincible. They are in the stage where they perceive themselves as all high and mighty. They think they can always get away with any trouble that they may encounter in their teenage escapades. But nothing could be further from the truth.

One major cause of teenage addiction is young people’s tendency to underestimate the risk of dependence associated with drug, alcohol or tobacco experimentation. These potentially harmful habits may seem to young people the mature thing to do, yet they do not really understand that those habits can post detrimental threats to their health and well-being.

Also adding insult to injury to the teenager’s underestimation of the danger of addiction is the harsh truth that they have not been educated enough about the risks of addiction. Today’s young generation tend to underrate addiction because they have not received proper drug, alcohol and tobacco resistance lessons in school, or heard much of it from the media. If the absence of effective anti-addiction messages continues to grow, teenage drug and alcohol abuse will, consequently, continue to rise.

The risk of addiction is overwhelmingly strong for teenagers who try experimenting with harmful substances for fun. The younger they are when they had their first taste of drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, the higher their chances of addiction become. Teens most likely do not intend to become addicted on their first puff or their first bottle. But frequent use could lead to abuse and before they realize it, they are now unable to get themselves out of the web they have spun themselves into.

With all of these disturbing trends, it is also helpful to note that the media has not been doing anything to help curb the development of teenage addiction. Movies, music videos and TV portray celebrities that teenagers look up to and idolize get themselves into drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Exposure to this could mislead teenagers into thinking that it’s cool. Another thing to worry about is how the parents do not set a good example to their children. The lack of parental guidance greatly contributes to the rising population of teenage addicts.

It is of utmost importance to identify the common causes of how teenagers get hooked. Though undeniably, there are many overlapping causes, it would greatly help that the society tackles each cause once and start the change from there. Big things come from small beginnings – this applies well to addiction as much as it does to the process of stopping it.