Professor Bobby Smyth

And it's curiosity that might drive them to a little bit of initial experimentation.

So I guess the task for us as parents and adults is to try and ensure when your son or daughter is presented with those choices that they're as well informed as they can be about the risks.

And they're also fairly clear or very clear indeed about our view as parents that we think any decision to use any of those substances as a teenager is a bad idea.

I honestly think, yeah, when it comes to nicotine vaping and so on, end of primary school kids are being exposed to these products.

There'll definitely be some kids in the class who are doing a bit of vaping or will have vaped, so it'll be part of their conversation.

So I think it's important for us as parents to try and get ahead of these conversations rather than be coming in a year or two after our sons and daughters have heard about them from their mates or social media.

Yeah.

I suppose we've had brain scan research now for the last 20 years to make it pretty clear that young people who start drinking at a young age, that's in mid-teens, that leads to some degree of brain change, I suppose.

And the worry is that that

might be a permanent feature.

We've known for decades that young people who start drinking in early teens are more at risk of developing alcohol dependence and indeed drug problems as they head into adulthood.

That perhaps that might be some of those brain changes caused by the alcohol leave that person vulnerable to developing problems down the line.

Yeah, that's even beyond the brain bit.

I suppose what we're hoping our sons and daughters develop over their adolescent years is the skills to manage

you know, stressful situations, you're having a crappy day and we all need to learn how to deal with frustration and disappointment, I suppose.

And we don't want sons and daughters turning to drink as a way of coping with those challenging times.

The worry is if they do, that becomes their coping strategy that they take with them into adulthood.

Yep.

I suppose it's pretty clear that for all substances with under-18s, whether it's nicotine, vapes, whether it's alcohol or indeed drugs, the advice is to be clear that under-18s should not be using any of these substances.

And your son or daughter should be clear that that's your view on things.