The debut episode of MTV's Skins attracted over 3.3 million viewers but the next week, half of that number tuned in. The show depicts the lives of a group of teens who smoke, drink, and have sex.

Major advertisers pulled their commercials during the show, and producers were reportedly told to tone down the explicit content.

Some say the glorification is cause for concern.

"If they see it on TV they think that it's okay and they can do it," said Gail Moss, Horry County School's Director of Student Health Services.

"Peer pressure and parties and drinking and boys putting constant pressure on them, it's scary, it's real scary," added mother of three Leigh Westraad.

Skins joins MTV's lineup of shows centered around teen behavior including the hit show 16 and Pregnant, which shows what happens to teenagers who get pregnant.

Outside of the media - schools also offer information about sexual activity.

Since 1989, Horry County schools have taught comprehensive health education - if parents agree to it.

It's abstinence based and covers birth control methods within marriage, but school curriculum can only go so far.

"When you get to a certain point in the lesson and the law states about it, you just have to cut it off, not talk about it. They have to go find that information out themselves. We encourage them to go talk to their parents, but you don't know if they're going to do that or not," said Moss.

Moss would like to see the law expanded, "Liberty to teach some of the things that need to be taught to some of our students that we can't teach, as far as teen pregnancy, because I feel like there's a lot of teen pregnancy out there, and a lot that needs to be taught to these students.

Just a few months ago, South Carolina was awarded $20 million in federal grant money to combat the state teen pregnancy epidemic. There's no word yet on if state law regarding sex education will change.

"To me you need to teach emotional, all the emotions that go with it. You can be torn apart emotionally by sex, and public schools, no school, is going to teach that," said Westraad.

She's been talking to her now teenage daughter about sex since she was 12 and promotes abstinence, "I don't see why we leave it to the schools to teach our children this information. I think we need to be doing more as parents at home, connecting with them, and saying I love you, and there's somebody out there for you that's special."

There are no easy answers on the right approach to teaching teens about sex and its consequences, but most would agree whatever decision they do make needs to be an informed one.