Wood County Prevention Coalition
Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004
Be sure to take part of Family Day on September 26th
Did you know that the more often children and teens eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs? That is why Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children was launched in 2001 by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
Family Day is a national movement to encourage parents to frequently eat dinner with their kids and be involved in their children’s lives. Family Day will be celebrated nationwide this year on Monday, September 26th.
According to CASA, Columbia University’s report The Importance of Family Dinners VIII, those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than 3 per week) are more than twice as likely to try drugs – including alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription.
The report also found that teens who have frequent family dinners (5-7 per week) are more likely to get better grades in school and to say they have an excellent relationship with their parents. Family Day began as a grassroots initiative and has grown to become a nationwide celebration. “America’s drug problem is not going to be solved in courtrooms or legislative hearing rooms by judges and politicians. It will be solved in living rooms and dining rooms and across kitchen tables – by parents and families,” stated Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA Founder.
Family Day promotes regular family activities to encourage parent-child communication. It reminds us of the value of parental engagement, and encourages parents to make family dinners a regular priority in their busy lives.
How can YOU join the fun?
Take the Family Day Pledge, promising to have dinner with your family on September 26, 2016 and more frequently throughout the year. You can take the pledge here: http://casafamilyday.org/familyday/get-active/
The reality is substance abuse can strike any family regardless of ethnicity, affluence, age or gender—you’ve heard it before—our best defense is a strong offense. While there is no silver bullet, the relationships led by parental engagement fostered at the dinner table can be a simple, effective tool to help prevent substance abuse in our children and youth. Imagine, something so natural being so effective: parent involvement is the most potent weapon in preventing substance abuse among youth!
Alcohol policies contribute to suicide prevention, review shows
Restrictive alcohol policies, such as those limiting liquor store density or imposing taxes on alcohol, have been shown to have a "protective effect" in reducing suicides, according to a newly published review led by Boston University School of Public Health researchers.
The review, published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, examined associations between alcohol policies and suicides, as well as alcohol levels among suicide decedents, in 17 studies conducted between 1999 and 2014. While past research in the U.S. and other countries has established a link between alcohol consumption and suicide rates, research into the relationship between alcohol policies and suicide has been limited.
The review found that overall, higher alcohol taxation was associated with lower rates of suicide. Similarly, studies gauging the effects of policies limiting liquor outlet density found an association between lower availability of alcohol and lower suicide rates, as well as lower odds of alcohol involvement (BAC levels) in suicide deaths. Other policies, such as "zero tolerance" laws for underage drinkers who drive while intoxicated, also were associated with a decline in suicides among young adults.
"Consistent with the conclusion that alcohol policies are among the most important population-level interventions that influence drinking levels and alcohol-related harms, our review found that such policies are important determinants in reducing suicide deaths," said Ziming Xuan, the study's lead author and BU School of Public Health (BUSPH) assistant professor of community health sciences. "These findings highlight the importance of population-based alcohol policies in suicide prevention."
Among the research cited by the authors was a 2014 study that used data from 14 U.S. states, from 2003 to 2011, to find that greater liquor store densities were associated with higher proportions of alcohol-related suicides among men. Another study, from 2003, used youth suicide data from 1976 to 1999 and found that increases in the excise tax on beer were associated with reduced numbers of male suicides (though not affecting female suicides).
Studies in other countries produced results similar to those in the U.S. A 2013 study of the impact of alcohol restrictions implemented in Russia in 2006 found a 9-percent reduction in male suicides.
Tobacco 21 urges cities to increase smoking age
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
Trying to regulate tobacco products has become a game of Whack-a-mole. As soon as standards are established for one product, the innovative tobacco industry comes up with another one.
“We regulate one product and another one pops up,” said Tom Geist, regional director for the Tobacco 21 program.
So instead of spending all their efforts chasing new products, Tobacco 21 organizers are trying to convince municipalities and states to bump up the legal age for tobacco products to 21 years old. In Ohio, five communities have increased the legal age: Cleveland, New Albany, Bexley, Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington. Two states – California and Hawaii – have increased the age statewide.
As of last Friday, there were 190 cities in 14 states that have adopted ordinances making 21 the legal age for tobacco. Geist has set his sights on adding Bowling Green, Toledo, Athens, Dayton and Columbus to the list.
Geist spoke to members of the Wood County Prevention Coalition Friday at the Wood County Educational Service Center, explaining the reasons for Tobacco 21.
First, tobacco is deadly. According to widely accepted numbers from national health institutions, tobacco is responsible for one in five deaths in the U.S.
“It is the worst failure of American public health in the last 100 years,” he said.
Smoking kills between 500,000 and 600,000 a year in the U.S. That’s more people each year than all of the Americans killed in World War II. Put in a more graphic manner, it’s like three packed 747 airplanes crashing and burning daily, Geist said.
Several health issues have been linked to smoking, some of which greatly diminish the quality of life. “It’s not just death, it’s the road there,” Geist said. “One that’s entirely avoidable.”
Smoking also causes several neonatal problems, and doubles the infant mortality rate for babies when their mothers’ smoke during pregnancy.
Second, by making tobacco illegal before age 21, several young people may be stopped from smoking as youth – and as adults, Geist said. The average age of smoking “initiation” is 14 to 15.
“If you can keep kids from smoking until they are 21, it’s very unlikely they will start smoking,” he said. “Teenagers are not the best at decision making. Teenage brains are wired to take risks, set themselves apart.”
Wood County Prevention Coalition Meeting on November 4th
Penta K 2016 5k Trail Run/Walk
Wood County Prevention Coalition Meeting
Friday, Nov 4, 2016, 08:30 AM
Wood County Educational Service Center 1867 N Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
About Us
Our Vision: Helping youth be drug-free, productive and responsible citizens.
Our Mission: We are a coalition of compassionate community members working together to coordinate high quality programs for the prevention of youth substance abuse in Wood County.
Email: mkarna@wcesc.org
Website: wcprevention.org
Location: 1867 Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
Phone: (419)-354-9010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPCoalition
Twitter: @woodpccoalition