allahabad all parents wants to inculcate best of values in their wards but looking at the rising trend of substance abuse amongst the younger generation one has to retrospect over what is wrong with their upbringing from inhaling whiteners spirit petrol and other such substances to smoking or drinking beer alcohol and gutka mixed in cold drinks youngsters in the city are fast getting hooked to narcotic substances one way or the other a random visit to any liquor shop of the city shows that most of the buyers are school children barely 17 years of age with the onset of winter the new year celebration round the corner they can be seen flocking the liquor shops peer pressure boredom and frustration academic pressures parental pressures genetic factors lack of emotional support etc could be termed as some of the causes for which they fall in the trap of substance abuse says a satyanarayan head of the department of sociology allahabad university teenagers at the risk of getting addicted include those who have a family history of substance abuse or those who are depressed and feel they dont fit into the mainstream be it family classroom or work place he added i am surprised and wonder how parents dont know about the addiction of their wards to substance or liquor which seems to have become a fashion and a status symbol among the young said owner of one of the model shop in civil lines new year and cold conditions have led to a steep rise in the sale of alcohol and many among the buyers are teenagers commenting on the trend dr kamlesh tiwari psychologist at rashtriya manovigan shala said parents should keep a close watch on their wards and carry out surprise inspection of their school bag or keep an eye on their friend circle parents should look out for sudden personality changes in the child such as any abrupt change in work or school attendance quality of work his or her grades in school discipline unusual flareups or fits of temper withdrawal from responsibility loss of interest in what were once favorite hobbies change of friends and reluctance to have friends lack of concentration panic nervousness aggression secretiveness deterioration of physical appearance and grooming etc added the expert allahabad was never the hub of such evils but because of changing social scenario there has been a spurt in such cases be it opening of paan shops in the proximity of convent schools which supply not only cigarettes but other addictive stuff too or rising number of youngsters falling prey to the menace due to peer pressure the city is witnessing all this said a senior citizen it is common to see school kids standing at paan shops and smoking in my opinion it is the traditional values that are on a rapid decline and parents are largely to blame for providing too many luxuries to children including expensive mobile phones and bikes said the elderly a common