Teenage girls should stick to teenage boys

We all know what it's like when you're a hormone charged teenager. You fancy this girl in your class but she's going out with this bloke with the car and the job who's five years older than you are. Now, at long last, some research has been published that proves what a big mistake she is making.

A study by the US National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University shows that teenage girls who associate with older boys are more likely to smoke, drink and use drugs.

'We found a tight connection between teen sexual behavior and dating and teen risk of smoking, drinking and using illegal drugs,' said CASA chairman Joseph Califano, a former U.S. secretary of health, education and welfare.

The survey, which CASA conducts every year, found that girls who date boys two or more years older are much more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol. Adolescents who spent 25 or more hours a week with a romantic interest were 2.5 times more likely to drink than teens who spent 10 hours or less with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

The study found that 58 percent of girls who had boyfriends two years or more older drank alcohol, compared to 25 percent of the girls who dated boys their own age or not at all. Fifty percent of the girls who went for older boys or men smoked marijuana, compared to 8 percent of the other girls, and 65 percent of these girls who preferred to date someone older than themselves smoked, compared to 14 percent girls who stuck to younger boys.

So now you know. Print this page out and pass it to sexy Susie in maths. You'll be doing her a favour that could stop her ruining her life and she's bound to want to thank you for it.