World News and Trends: Teen girls pass boys in stupid behavior
Could the age old idea that boys were involved in more risky behavior no longer be true?
Reversing decades-long trends, teen girls are smoking marijuana and cigarettes and drinking alcohol at rates higher than teen boys, according to the White House's director of National Drug Control Policy, John Walters.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health notes that 1.5 million 12- to 17-year-old girls started drinking alcohol in 2004 compared to 1.28 million boys. The 2004 figures, based on a survey of 70,000 families, are the most recent available.
In the same age range, 730,000 girls started smoking cigarettes compared to 565,000 boys. Regarding drug usage, 675,000 girls started using marijuana compared to 577,000 boys and 14.4 percent of girls and 12.5 percent of boys misused prescription drugs.
A well-known ad campaign years ago told women, "You've come a long way, baby!" in encouraging them to smoke a particular cigarette brand. Sure enough, rates from cancers caused by smoking soon rose to rival cancer rates in men. It seems ever-younger girls are getting the message that they can do whatever they want without suffering the consequences. Sadly, real life doesn't work that way. (Source: Associated Press.)
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Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
