Wood County Prevention Coalition
Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004
Agenda Set for Friday's Coalition Meeting
The second Wood County Prevention Coalition meeting of the year is set to take place at the Wood County Educational Service Center, 1867 N Research Dr, Bowling Green, OH 43402 this Friday, April 20th from 8:30-10:00 AM. The featured presenter will be Megan Roberts, PhD, Assistant Professor Health Behavior and Health Promotion, The Ohio State University College of Public Health. This presentation will discus rising use of alternative tobacco products among adolescents both nationally and in Ohio. Recent findings concerning marketing, flavors, and the "gateway hypothesis" will be presented.
Dr. Roberts' research focuses on adolescent and young adult health, health disparities, and tobacco use. As a social scientist, her work considers multiple levels of influence on behavior, including factors at the individual, interpersonal, and community levels. Dr. Roberts is a part of OSU's Center of Excellence in Regulatory Tobacco Science (CERTS), where research findings are used to inform federal tobacco policy.
To view or print this agenda pictured above, please open this newsletter in a browser or email mkarna@wcesc.orgfor a pdf copy.
A detailed flyer of the coalition meeting is presented below.
For questions about the meeting please contact Milan Karna at (419) 354-9010 ext 174 or email mkarna@wcesc.org.
To learn more about the Wood County Prevention Coalition please visit: wcprevention.org
Trump pushes to expand use of medication to treat addiction
Deep within President Donald Trump's plan to combat opioid abuse,overshadowed by his call for the death penalty for some drug traffickers, is a push to expand the use of medication to treat addiction.
It's a rare instance in which Trump isn't trying roll back Obama administration policies, and where fractious Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together.
Trump declared last month that "we're making medically assisted treatment more available and affordable," even as Congress was working to approve $1 billion for a new treatment grant program for opioids as part of the massive spending bill to keep the government running.
Not to offer such treatment for opioid addiction is like "trying to treat an infection without antibiotics," new Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told the National Governors Association earlier this year.
Experts have long argued that medication-assisted treatment should be the standard of care for people addicted to heroin and other opioid drugs. But acceptance lags. Cost is a barrier, as are government regulations. Some of the treatment drugs are opioids themselves and there's no consensus on how long patients should remain in treatment.
In its final year, the Obama administration pushed through Congress $1 billion for opioid crisis grants to states. Of that, $500 million was to be released last year and the other $500 million this year. States had to show that their opioid programs are based on clinical evidence, so medication-assisted treatment got a big boost.
Opinion: Growing ‘Alcoholification’ Ignores The Societal of Costs of Drinking
Did you know that every time you order a beer, wine or cocktail from a bar or restaurant, you pay an additional $2.44 per drink? That is the estimated societal cost associated with problems due to excess consumption of alcohol.
These include losses related to workplace productivity, health care, the criminal justice system, and motor vehicle crashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This, however, does not take into account the non-tangible costs such as ignorance at best or acceptance at worst of the harms alcohol can have on our communities.
Over the past few years, we have seen alcohol creep into businesses not ordinarily associated with bar service. For instance, grocery shoppers in North County will soon have the added experience of shopping with a grocery list in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. This is indicative of a movement by businesses to enhance their customers’ experience by adding more opportunities to drink alcohol — a worrying trend that overlooks the costs of alcohol overconsumption.
Adding more bars, liquor stores, breweries and bar service inside of businesses such as grocery stores, nail salons and bookstores to our neighborhoods may initially seem like a good idea. After all, drinking is often associated with opportunities to socialize with friends, family, co-workers, clients, etc., not to mention the additional benefits of adding jobs and tax revenue to the economy.
But when we normalize the “alcoholification” of our communities — the process in which society becomes more accepting of alcohol from both a spatial (i.e., availability in businesses) and behavioral perspective — we turn a blind eye to inherent risks absorbed by our society.
Wood County Prevention Coalition Community Meeting on April 20th with Dr. Roberts
Lunch & Learn: Addiction in the Workplace May 25th
Wood County Prevention Coalition Community Meeting
Friday, Apr 20, 2018, 08:30 PM
Wood County Educational Services, 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