Written and directed by Lisa Azuelos, ‘LOL’ is a new coming-of-age comedy based on her 2008 French smash-hit, ‘LOL (Laughing Out Loud)’. The movie was about Lola (Miley Cyrus) and her friends who have to navigate the peer pressures of high school romance and friendship in a world increasingly connected by Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and iTunes, while at the same time dodging their sometimes overbearing and technologically bewildered parents. Through hilarious and heartfelt moments between mother and daughter, LOL is an authentic story that perfectly captures today’s reality.

LOL: The Origin Story

Lisa Azuelos both wrote and directed the first incarnation; ‘LOL (Laughing Out Loud)’, the French film starring Sophie Marceau, after realizing that movies based on teen life in her home country of France were almost entirely missing.

She remembers a film in the ‘80s called ‘La Boum’ (The Boom), which was basically ‘The Breakfast Club’ of her generation, also starring Sophie Marceau. She describes it as a huge generation movie that young people were able to identify with during her time. Much to her dismay, she could not find a movie that the current adolescent generation, such as her own daughter, could relate to in this way. She would often times see her daughter go to the theatre to watch either an American teen movie or a horror film.

Her daughter was turning sixteen years old and she felt that nobody in the movie business was reaching out to this pubescent generation. “Nobody’s describing their lives. Nobody’s doing anything,” she explains as she thinks back to how no movie has been made until ‘LOL (Laughing Out Loud)’ about the generation of today.

So Azuelos set out to change that. She wanted to create the kind of original story for the adolescent set which addressed the many complexities, pitfalls, perils and dilemmas of modern youth in their quest towards independence, self-identity and adulthood.

There was one moment in particular that incited her to write the story. Her daughter was throwing her first party, a birthday party, at their home. She didn’t want her mom to be seen, so Lisa stayed behind closed doors listening to the songs that she listened to when she was sixteen. While dancing and simply enjoying herself, she suddenly was hit with the realization that she was the mother behind that door – the mother of a daughter who, herself, was dancing and enjoying herself to the songs of her own youth.

“It grabbed me by my throat and I began to cry,” Azuelos explains. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, something’s happening here. I’m a mother, she’s a daughter, and things are changing. She’s not a baby anymore. What’s happening here?’ So when I’m [in] those kinds of situations, I write, and that’s it.”

Azuelos drew her principal characters from subjects close to her heart. Using her middle name, Anne, and her daughter’s middle name, Lola, Azuelos scripted a mother-daughter relationship much like her own. “It’s like they want to go away but they want you very near,” she says, as she describes the everyday teenage child. She wanted to “tell the teenagers, the daughters in particular, we know who you are.”

Not only did Azuelos set out to tell the story of these teens, she also wanted to do this movie for all the mothers out there that had the same questions she did. “I was talking to a lot of parents who had teenagers and they were like, ‘What did I do wrong for my child to behave so weird? For my child to say this to me? For my child to want to go out? Not want to study? Want to have fun?  I thought I was a great parent and suddenly I discover she hates me.’”

Azuelos wanted to ensure them that they are not doing anything wrong and there is no need to feel guilty. “It’s just that their child is not a child anymore and that’s the process, the normal process, of saying to your mother, ‘I’m your child but I don’t want you anymore.”’ She then adds, “But the funny thing is, with teenagers, you have to be there as soon as they call you.”

Image Courtesy of   LOL The Movie

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New York, U.S.A. – New, nationally projectable survey results released by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation found that past-month marijuana use – particularly heavy use – has increased significantly among U.S. high school students since 2008.

The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, sponsored by MetLife Foundation, found that 9% of teens (nearly 1.5 million) smoked marijuana heavily at least 20 times. Overall, past-month heavy marijuana use is up 80% among U.S. teens since 2008.

Past-month use is up 42% (up from 19% in 2008 to 27% in 2011, which translates to about 4 million teens), while past-year use is up 26% (up from 31% in 2008 to 39% in 2011, which translates to about 6 million teens). Lifetime use is up 21% (up from 39% in 2008 to 47% in 2011, which translates to nearly 8 million teens).

This marks an upward trend in teen marijuana use over the past three years. The last time marijuana use was this widespread among teens was in 1998 when past month use of marijuana was at 27%.

“These findings are deeply disturbing as the increases we’re seeing in heavy, regular marijuana use among high school students can spell real trouble for these teens later on,” said Steve Pasierb, President and CEO of The Partnership at Drugfree.org.

“Heavy use of marijuana – particularly beginning in adolescence – brings the risk of serious problems and our data show it is linked to involvement with alcohol and other drugs as well. Kids who begin using drugs or alcohol as teenagers are more likely to struggle with substance use disorders when compared to those who start using after the teenage years.”

Teen Marijuana Use Has Become a Normalized Behaviour

Teens now report seeing more of their peers smoking marijuana and only 26% agree with the statement, “in my school, most teens don’t smoke marijuana” (down from 37% in 2008). Also, 71% of teens say they have friends who use marijuana regularly (up from 64 percent in 2008).

Social disapproval of marijuana among teens remained the same, with 61% of teens saying they disapprove of their peers using marijuana. (About 41% say they ‘strongly disapprove’). The PATS data also found an erosion of anti-marijuana attitudes among teens, with only about half of teens (51%) saying they see “great risk” in using marijuana, down significantly from 61% in 2005.

“We have also seen a considerable decline over the past five years in the proportion of teens seeing great risk associated with marijuana use,” says Professor Lloyd Johnston, the principal investigator of the nationwide Monitoring the Future study conducted at the University of Michigan. “We believe that this decline in perceived risk has played an important role in the increases in teen use of marijuana, as it has done in the past. The fact that perceived risk is still falling portends a further increase in use.”

As teen drug use takes a turn for the worse, a heavier burden is placed on the shoulders of parents to play a more active role in protecting their kids from the health risks posed by drug and alcohol abuse.

The removal of critical pieces of our national prevention infrastructure across the country – The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, which was highly focused on educating youth about the dangers of teen marijuana use, and the elimination of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program – left a gaping hole where drug and alcohol education resources should be.

“The latest findings showing an increase in marijuana use among teens is unsettling and should serve as a wake-up call to everyone in a position to prevent unhealthy behavior,” said Dennis White, President and CEO of MetLife Foundation. “While it may be difficult to clearly understand just how dangerous marijuana use can be for teens, it is imperative that we all pay attention to the warning signs and intervene anyway we can. Early intervention is critical to helping prevent teens from drug abuse and addiction.”

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Teenage rhinoplasty is by far the most common plastic surgery procedure performed on young patients around the world. Some people argue that teenagers are too young for such procedures. Nevertheless, there are many health-related reasons for teenage rhinoplasty, and even a purely cosmetic approach can do wonders for self-esteem.

So long as there is a good support system, and the teenage patient is psychologically stable and mature, with a solid understanding of the risks and benefits, then teenage rhinoplasty can be very rewarding.

Dr. Ashkan Ghavami states, “Teenage rhinoplasty is actually one of my favorite procedures. I love seeing the smile on a young person’s face from something I was able to provide for them, as they go on to live the rest of their lives and conquer their dreams!”

Dr. Ghavami has been offering rhinoplasty in Beverly Hills for many years, including ethnic rhinoplasty (as both primary and revision rhinoplasty). While he doesn’t believe that teenage rhinoplasty should serve as a replacement for the development of lifelong skills for building self esteem, he recognizes that young people can face criticism and abuse or bullying for their appearance.

Damage to a young person’s self-esteem can haunt them for the rest of their lives. Dr. Ghavami emphasizes the importance of identifying the motivations of a prospective patient before rushing to judgment or formulating the plan. In many cases, the decision about whether or not to proceed with teenage rhinoplasty can sometimes be made in collaboration with a therapist, if any doubts exist on the maturity level.

It is important for the young patient to have support from his or her family. It is also essential for young people to have realistic expectations about results, to understand the risks involved, and to not make an impulsive decision. Dr. Ghavami adds, “I often see teenage patients that are more well-informed and knowledgeable about the risks and benefits than their parents, thanks perhaps to the Internet.”

From a medical perspective, rhinoplasty can actually heal much easier if it is done at a younger age. A teenager’s skin is stronger and more elastic than an adult’s, and will accept the alterations to the nose more readily. The average age for which Dr. Ghavami performs teenage rhinoplasty is between 16 and 17.

It is often advantageous to return after a summer in high school and start senior year or the first year of college with the rhinoplasty out of the way, so the nose is no longer a concern. “Many of these patients are young and beautiful, but the nose is just way out of proportion and it detracts from the rest of their features,” says Dr. Ghavami. When the nose is in balance, the rest of facial beauty can shine.

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Unless you have a really good fake ID, chances are you won’t be able to buy or consume alcohol until you are 21 years of age. So high schoolers are resorting to other ways of getting a high; prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Many teenagers do not believe that prescription drugs are “bad” for you, on grounds that ‘some people are prescribed this — so why can’t I use it?’

According to Teens.drugabuse.gov, prescription drug abuse is defined as, “someone taking a medication that was prescribed for someone else or takes their own prescription in a manner or dosage other than what was described.”

Amongst teenagers, three types of prescription drugs are at the top of the list for abusers; opiods, central nervous system depressants and stimulants. The most commonly abused opiods amongst teenagers is Oxycontin and Vicodin, followed by central nervous system depressants Xanax and Valium and lastly, stimulants such as Concerta and Adderrall.

If teenagers are unable to get there hands on these pills, there are plenty of over-the-counter medications that can give them a high with no age limit for purchase. And even if a teenager is unable to make it to the convenience store, there are household products right under their roof that they can take to get a “high.”

Glue-sniffing has been known for quite some time as well as inhaling fumes from house cleaning products, spray paint and hair spray. An intake of an abnormally high amount of cough syrup can also give someone the equivalent effects of PCP.

PCP was developed in the 1950s and was originally intended as an intravenous surgical anesthetic. Just like PCP, cough syrup in an excessive amount has the same dissociative effects and can be fatal. The effecting drug in both PCP and cough syrup is commonly known as NMDA and it essentially disrupts the brain from functioning normally.

Both drugs causes increased heart rate and blood pressure, fever and rapid, shallow breathing. If cough syrup or PCP is taken in higher doses the physical signs include nausea, blurred vision, dizziness, hallucinations and a potentially fatal high heart rate and temperature.

Unfortunately, it has been discovered that teenagers are experimenting with a new “drug,” unlike its predecessors: bath salt. It is one of the hottest new alternative drugs and it is taken in three different forms. It can be snorted, liquidated for injection or smoked. The high of bath salts is comparable to that of meth-amphetamines.

For children ages 12-17, 7.7 percent reported a non-medical use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs in 2011. And the problem is that these drugs are continuing to be readily available to teenagers despite being just as dangerous as illegal drugs. Few adolescents know the serious side effects of these “prescription” or over-the-counter drugs.

Opiods are found to be highly addictive and cause drowsiness, constipation and a physical dependence through repeated use. CNS, or central nervous system depressants, slows down the brain’s activity and ability to function when taken in abuse-dosages. Excessive amounts of CNS cause confusion and slowed breathing while long-term abuse can result in seizures.

Lastly, stimulants increase the level of chemicals in neurotransmitters, which affect the brain. Too much of a stimulant can result in panic or anxiety attacks, tremors, irregular heartbeats and even heart attacks.

If you or a loved one is suffering from a substance abuse problem with prescription medication please reach out to www.prescription-drug-abuse.gov for more information.

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Heavy drinking is a big issue among adolescents around the world. There are many factors that affect alcohol consumption: cultural, economic, familiar, education and social environment are those most frequently analyzed by experts.

Countries usually have a minimum age limit for selling, purchasing, and consuming alcohol. In most European countries it is 18 years or less, whereas in the United States it is 21. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reports nine countries which have a complete ban on alcohol: Afghanistan, Brunei Darussalam, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Sudan.

NIAAA also reveals some interesting relationships between teenagers and alcohol. The world’s highest alcohol consumption levels are found in the developed world, including Eastern Europe, while parts of Africa and Asia show the lowest average consumption. In all countries, teenage males are more likely to drink alcohol than females. Religion is cited as the key reason behind low alcohol consumption and high rates of abstinence in Muslim countries.

College campuses are known to be places that encourage adolescents to drink. They are expected to act responsibly, but in many cases this is a naïve assumption because parents’ education, media and social network exposure, and other influences college may bring are not taken into account. Adolescents are also unaware of the negative effects drinking can have on themselves and those around them.

Education

Parents play a fundamental role and are key to the education of teenagers as responsible drinkers. There are two extremes: youngsters who have too much freedom who start to drink with their friends with no understanding of how their bodies will react to alcohol; and teenagers who were strictly prohibited from drinking alcohol by their parents until they reach legal age, who then drink heavily of what was denied them before.

The ideal scenario would be a parent who can teach his or her children how to drink responsibly when they are around 16 years of age. For instance, parents can allow a small glass of wine or a beer to their son or daughter at dinner time once a week. This way the teenager will realize how his or her body copes with alcohol, so he or she can be wise enough to know when to stop in the future.

But this is not the case. If you observe how adolescents drink on a night out, you will notice their immaturity. They break common sense of safe drinking; first by drinking large quantities very quickly — second, by combining spirits, beer, and wine which results in the worst hangover, and third by forgetting to drink enough water to keep from dehydrating.

College and University Influence

Many students leave their homes and move to others cities to be closer to the college campuses. Without the supervision of their parents, students get a lot of freedom that can get out of hand. They celebrate their weekends with parties at private homes, residence halls, clubs, and pubs.

Scholars drink for many reasons: novelty, fun, peer pressure, experimentation, escapism from stress, and the need to ‘fit in’. Many college students drink to make social interactions more comfortable, so drinking competitions are very popular around the campus. The paradox is that the losers are rewarded with more drinks, making the day after the real punishment.

Media and Social Network Exposure

Alcoholic beverages are advertised on television and radio, in print and on the Internet so the temptation for teenagers to drink is everywhere. Social networks may be the worst culprits. Adolescents use Facebook or Twitter to upload alcohol-related images, providing a socially accepted way of sharing their drinking experiences among themselves.

They derive personal satisfaction by their peers’ comments and even gain respect, measured in pints and hours. Social networks create an indirect niche for alcoholic drinks by promoting logos and links to brands. Therefore, the use of social networks construct social norms around alcohol, for instance by the uploading of alcohol-related pictures and jokes.

Movies depicting college parties or even ‘The Simpsons’ with the characterisation of drinkers like Homer and Barney can incite teenagers to imitate what they see. Celebrity alcohol use is also a key feature of the entertainment media’s access to young people.

Effects on the Drinkers and Society

The harmful use of alcohol increases the risk of death, disease, and injury. Alcohol dependence in drinkers leads to health problems such as cirrhosis of the liver, and cancer. Drunk-driving and domestic violence are other linked behavior of problem drinkers. According to the report Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2011, alcohol’s harmful effects result in approximately 2.5 million deaths each year.

The impact of alcohol also causes harm to the well-being and health of others. Diseases and injuries from alcohol have negative social effects and increases medical costs, which are force-fed to governments and families. The drinkers’ habits affect important roles and responsibilities of everyday life: work, family, friendship, and public character.

Binge drinking is associated with major health problems like alcohol poisoning, sexual malfunction, unintended pregnancies, and high blood pressure. When an adolescent gets intoxicated, it interferes with his or her productivity, resulting in missed classes, and absences or lateness at work because they must take time out to recover from their drinker’s mistakes.

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The Love is Louder movement, a project of The Jed Foundation and MTV created with actress Brittany Snow, launched a new site this week at www.loveislouder.com which features a #loveislouder blog, videos, artwork, and songs created by people around the world who have joined the movement.

Additionally, the campaign announced 2012 plans to help communities and campuses support the emotional health of teenagers and college-age students, as well as address issues like bullying, negative self-image, discrimination, isolation and depression.

“Through Love is Louder, The Jed Foundation is harnessing technology, the media and grassroots efforts to expand the current dialogue on bullying to include not only the negative voices and pressures that cause pain, but the feelings themselves and how to deal with those emotions,” says John MacPhee, Executive Director of The Jed Foundation.

The Love is Louder movement works online, through the media and in communities to strengthen emotional health by building resiliency, creating connectedness, promoting acceptance and empowering others to support their peers.  Hundreds of thousands of people have joined the movement online since its launch in 2010 and the new www.loveislouder.com expands that online presence to include:

• A #loveislouder blog that explores common emotional issues like feeling mistreated, misunderstood or alone, and provides positive perspectives, coping strategies and resources for learning more and getting help if needed.
• Galleries of the thousands of photos, videos, pieces of artwork and songs that have been created by people around the world for the movement.
• New video features including a public service announcement starring Brittany Snow, Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp and others, and submissions from the Your Love is Louder Video Festival held in conjunction with the site launch.
• Information and tools that help campuses and communities plan events and start discussions that can increase connectedness, build coping skills, empower peers to support each other and encourage people to get help if needed.
• Connections to resources for learning more about and getting help for emotional health issues like depression, eating disorders and self-injury.

Other plans for 2012 announced include outreach to help educators and the media better understand and talk about the connection between bullying and emotional distress, research around tools to build connectedness and encourage help-seeking in community and campus settings, speaking events with Brittany Snow and other spokespersons, and the development and testing of technology to enhance resiliency and coping skills.

The Jed Foundation (www.loveislouder.com) is a national nonprofit organization working to reduce the prevalence of emotional distress and the rate of suicide among college and university students.

Over the last 10 years, the organization has launched innovative programs for students, campuses and parents, including the Peabody Award-winning Half of Us campaign with mtvU (www.halfofus.com) that uses the stories of students and high-profile artists to decrease stigma around mental health issues and increase help-seeking behaviors;

ULifeline (www.ulifeline.org), a comprehensive online resource center on emotional health with an anonymous screening tool and campus-specific information for getting help; and a model and portfolio of tools that help colleges and universities create healthier and safer campus communities.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/joinloveislouder

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There are songs that mark our childhood and stick with us in our memories forever. Don’t you think so? Well the Underage Festival is exactly the place to achieve those memories when one is young, a teenager.

The Festival will take place this upcoming Friday, August 5th in Victoria Park, London. It will begin at 11am until 8 pm.
Something really interesting about this festival is that it is exclusive for teenagers. No one without fitting in the range of age from 13 to under 17’s can attend it.

The Underage Festival brings up a great atmosphere hosting 10,000 teenagers all around Victoria Park. A great repertoire of artists, friendly atmosphere and no parents or guardians allowed, makes this a special event.

The main purpose of this festival is to have a great and safe time. Therefore to be able to reach this kind of safeness; the festival works directly with the local Police, and Tower Hamlets. Several departments are involved as well such as the Health & Safety, Child Protection, Environmental Health, Events and Licensing.

There are few days left for the festival to begin, so don’t hesitate and buy your ticket by just £31.50.
There will be seven stages featuring diverse artists.  Below you can grasp a look to some of the bands that will be performing in the corresponding stages:

Underage Festival Stage
•Baio DJ Set (Vampire Weekend), Bombay Bicycle Club, CocknBullKid, Crystal Fighters, Devlin, Fugative, Janelle Monae, Pulled Apart By Horses, Miles Kane

Last.FM Stage
•Ghost Eyes, Labrinth, Loick Essien, Roll Deep, Spark, The Chapman Family, The Midnight Beast, Yasmin

Artrocker & Youth Music Stage
•Dutch Uncles, Encore, Frankie & the Heartstrings, Is Tropical, Rizzle Kicks, Romance, RD, The Knocks, Tribes, Violet

Topman CTLR Stage
•Alex Winston, Viva Brother, Dog Is Dead, Florrie, Giggs, Johnny Flynn, Spring Offensive, Wolf Gang, Yaaks

Roundhouse Rising Stage
•Cynikal, Dave Gamble, DJ Edge, Ghosts You Echo, Hella Better Dancer, Lovelle ,Maverick Sabre, Mz Bratt, O.Children, Out Like a Lion, The Voyeurist, Your Girl Likes Us, Younghearts, Zaidi

Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage
•Acoda, Autumn In Disguise, Blitz Kids, Floods, Hill Valley High, Make The Relate, My Passion, Page 44, The Hype Theory, The Ocean Between Us

The Music Space Stage
•Andre Spence & Intesi-T, Ben Bezinna, Capitals, Ellie Dibben, Foxx on Fire, Mammoth Sound, Mixed Opinions, Ms Dynamite, The Skellies

Image Courtesy of http://www.underagefestivals.com

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The typical teenager sits back watching a new episode of 90210 or Skins while observing and riveting all of the drama, scandals, sex and drugs. They observe everything that is happening like a sponge, then go out late on a school night. They watch TV, surf the web, talk to their peers, then the experimenting begins.

It seems clear that obesity is no longer  the No.1  public health problem .

A new study reveals that 90 percent of Americans who are addicted to tobacco, marijuana, alcohol or prescription drugs started using before they were 18 years of age. According to the researchers at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, their study found that one-quarter of Americans using any addictive substance before age 18 are addicted, compared with one in 25 Americans who started using an addictive substance when they were 21 or older.

Nearly half of all U.S. high school students now smoke, drink or use other drugs.

CASA reported that 75 percent (10 million) of all U.S. high school students have used addictive substances such as tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or cocaine, and that 20 percent of these students meet the medical criteria for addiction. Currently, 46 percent (6.1 million) of all U.S. high school students use addictive substances and one-third of them meet the medical criteria for addiction.

Nearly three-quarters (72.5 percent) of U.S. high school students have consumed alcohol, 46.3 percent have smoked cigarettes, almost 37 percent have used marijuana, about 15 percent have misused prescription drugs, and over 65 percent have used more than one addictive substance.

With access to television, the internet, and commercialism, U.S. teenagers are exposed to a lot of media and social pressures.  It opens their eyes more to what is out there on the streets at a young age. This causes teens to want to experiment and see what is “out there.”

The fact that an adolescent’s brain is underdeveloped increases the chances that they will take risks, including using addictive substances that obstruct brain development, impair judgment and increase the risk of addiction. In teenagers, there is an unexpectedly high level of activity in the part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex.

The prefrontal cortex is a region known to be involved in multi-tasking and decision making. This suggests that their brains have to work harder to process any type of information. This also indicates that the brains of teenagers are working less efficiently than adults’ brains. When you mix that with drugs and alcohol, your teen will not function properly.

So who is to blame?

Could it be acceptance of substance use by parents, schools and communities? The widespread advertising of products such as alcohol and cigarettes? Or media depictions of substance use as harmless, glamorous, fun and relaxing?

It seems the answer is all of the above.

The most important thing is not who to point the finger at, but  how to prevent and decrease this issue, which includes educating the public that teen substance use is a public health problem and that addiction is a medical problem. Also,  effective public health strategies should be used to prevent or delay the start of substance use. The mass media should be encouraged to back off making tobacco and alcohol such an enticing product. Teens with substance use disorders should be given appropriate medical treatment; and,  most importantly,  teens’ parents  should discuss drugs and alcohol with them and be a positive role model because their future is our future too.

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