Drug and substance abuse among teenagers, is substantial. According to a national survey, amongst youth age 12 to 17, about 1.1 million meet the diagnostic criteria for dependence on drugs in the United States. Different substances/drugs lend themselves to different groups of symptoms. The most glaring symptom in all cases is a change, sometimes a radical one, in behavior.

10 Things:

1.If you wish to identify a potential drug abuser in your home, the first area that you should look for is sudden personality change that includes abrupt changes in work or school attendance, quality of work, work output, grades, discipline etc.

2.Unusual flare-ups or outbreaks of temper, sudden jitteriness, nervousness, or aggression are a major denotation of drug addiction or abuse.

3.Persistent drug abuse may also lead to withdrawal from responsibility & loss of interest in what were once favorite hobbies and pursuits. This may come packaged with an unusual laziness.

4.Changes in friends and reluctance to have friends visit or talk about them and/or association with known substance abusers should also be taken seriously.

5.Some drugs may lead to redness in eyes which the abuser tends to hide away by wearing sunglasses. So wearing sunglasses at inappropriate times is a potential giveaway.

6.Continual wearing of long-sleeved garments particularly in hot weather or reluctance to wear short-sleeved attire may be an attempt to conceal the rashes on the skin, which are common side effects of drug abuse, or needle marks on lower arm, leg or bottom of feet.

7.Now drugs don't come free! If you find your kids borrowing money from friends, co-workers or from you unusually frequently, you should better be argus-eyed because this may get your near and dear ones in some serious trouble.

8.An unusual increased secretiveness or secretive behavior regarding actions and possessions is a certain indication that something fishy is going on.

9.Some physical signs of substance abuse include slurred speech, memory impairment, and lack of concentration & impairment of attention along with slowed or staggering walk due to poor physical coordination. This may also lead to tremors or shakes of hands, feet or head and an irregular heartbeat.

10.If you have a doggy nose, try smelling his/her breath & clothes! There may be a smell of substance/drug on breath, body or clothes of the abuser.

Sometimes, in lack of conclusive evidence, it becomes difficult to arrive at a ratiocination of substance abuse diagnosis. There are a number of practical and empirical methods to determine drug abuse, among them being urine, blood or hair follicle testing & subsequent detection by GC/MS/ELISA.