From the print edition of Week (typed in with my own hands, because those Luddites don’t have their content on the web):
Pierced teens take more risks
Body piercing is more than a superficial fad. Research conducted at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in upstate New York, found that girls who are pierced are more than twice as likely as nonpierced girls to smoke, have sex, and skip school. They are more than three times as likely to be involved in shoplifting and scrawling graffiti, and to have friends who use drugs and alcohol. “Piercing is one way that teenagers paint a picture of how they choose to present themselves to the world,” says pediatrician Timothy Roberts. He recommends that doctors use this information to spend more time talking with pierced patients about smoking and sexual behavior.
TTLB recommends that high school boys use this information in determining who to ask out tonight.