This comprehensive and accessible book documents the physical and emotional effects of substance abuse in girls and women, explores the role of the advertising and entertainment industries in popularizing various substances of abuse, and discusses the way America responds to this enormous health problem.

Covering a broad range of substances—nicotine, alcohol, prescription and illicit drugs—the book addresses the unique reasons that girls and women smoke and abuse alcohol and drugs. It provides the most current information about the use of prescription and club drugs, key warning signs of addiction, and options for prevention and treatment. The book includes historical anecdotes and testimonies from recovering women.

Incorporating more than a decade of extensive research, Women under the Influence will help women, health care professionals, educators, and policy makers understand the scope of substance abuse in girls and women, the urgency of responding to the problem, the key points of intervention, and potential roads to recovery.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University was founded in 1992 by Joseph A. Califano, Jr., who served as President Lyndon Johnson's chief assistant for domestic affairs and as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Jimmy Carter. CASA is a research and policy organization dedicated to combating substance abuse, bringing together the professional disciplines necessary to study and combat abuse of all substances—alcohol, tobacco, and illegal, prescription, and performance-enhancing drugs—in all sectors of society.