There are so many issues affecting youths and teens that are detrimental to their quality of life. These issues consist of teen pregnancies, tobacco use, suicide, and so on.

The following are facts and statistics published in the 2008 Alabama Kids Count Data Book which relate to several of the issues that involve youths and teens.

• The graduation rate (estimated percent of public high school students who graduate with 1 of 4 "qualifying diplomas") for the year 2007 was reported as 64.9%.
   
• 10.2% births in Alabama in 2006 were to unmarried teens(# live births to unmarried females age 10-19 expressed as % to live births to women of all ages)
   
• Preventable Teen Death Rate for 2006 was 74.1% (This is the number of deaths from suicide, homicide, and accidents to person age 15-19 per 100,000 persons in that age group)
   
• The number of teens (age 16-19) in 2000 reported as not attending school or not working was 10.7%.
   
• The violent crime arrest rate reported in 2007 which is determined by the number of arrests of persons less than 18 years old for violent offenses per 100,000 persons age 10-17 was 156.4%.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) are contracted by 1 in 4 teens each year as reported by the American Social Health Association. The Alabama Department of Public Health reports that the age group most affected by chlamydia and gonorrhea is 15-19 year olds. In Alabama for the year 2006, there were 1283 males in this age group affected by chlamydia and 7039 females. In 2006 for this age group, there were 876 males reported as having gonorrhea and 2112 females.

Tobacco is another problem facing youths and teens. The 2008 Youth Tobacco Survey conducted at 43 public schools pooled data from 1,384 students who completed the survey. In 2008, approximately 22.1% of students said they smoked cigarettes or cigars. The ADPH urges teens who want to quit smoking to call the Alabama Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Alcohol is the oldest and most widely used drug in the world. Nearly half of all Americans over the age of 12 are consumers of alcohol. There are an estimated 10-15 million alcoholics or problem drinkers in the United States. This estimate of problem drinkers includes 4.5 million adolescents as reported by the American Council for Drug Education.

REAL provides comprehensive abstinence-until-marriage education to area youth in partnership with Montgomery Public Schools. The education is provided by Gift of Life facilitators trained to teach Making a Difference to 7th graders and Reducing the Risk to 9th graders, the abstinence/relationship curricula used by REAL.

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