Communi-Key
Cumberland & North Smithfield Prevention Coalitions
September, 2019
And just like that, Summer '19 has slipped through our fingers! The temperatures and the school calender are telling us it's time to get "back to business". We hope you all had a safe, relaxing summer break! During the summer months, we use this time to regroup, plan, educate ourselves and outreach to community members, for the upcoming school year. And this summer, was jammed packed with all of the above! Although the first few weeks of school are an adjustment for teachers and students alike, we hope everyone is getting acclimated to their "new normal"!
"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows" ~Sydney J. Harris
NEW RHODE ISLAND FREE QUIT RESOURCE!! Collaboration between Tobacco Free Rhode Island and Truth Initiative
Tobacco Free RI is excited to be launching the This Is Quitting youth e-cigarette quit program here in Rhode Island. The program is now live and free to use. Youth can text "Hope4RI" to 88709 and begin receiving instant quit support for their addiction to e-cigarettes.
For more information on this FREE support, click HERE!
Parents: My teen vapes....NOW WHAT?!
For parents of vapers, a new feature gives quick access to actionable tips they can use to help their child quit. The EX Program recently released a simple registration process for parents to access live chat support from tobacco treatment experts and supportive text messages.
- Through live chat, parents can connect with a tobacco treatment expert to answer questions about e-cigarettes and personal challenges with helping their child to quit.
- Through text messaging, parents can receive up to 3 weeks of daily text messages about nicotine addiction, ways to start a conversation with their child about quitting, and on-demand support for stress.
With the EX Program, employers provide employees with resources to help their child quit vaping. To receive support, employees who are parents now simply register at BecomeAnEX.org, choose their primary reason for joining as “to help my child quit vaping,” and select their employer/sponsor.
“We take this issue very seriously due to the negative health effects vaping can have on youth and young adults,” said Megan Jacobs, managing director of product, Innovations, at Truth Initiative.
“Many parents have questions about the risks around vaping and how to help their child quit. Our program helps them be better informed dangers of vaping, benefits of quitting, and what to expect along the way,” continued Jacobs. “With our new registration process, it’s easier for parents to sign up and receive support to help their child stop.”
Since January 2019, more than 3,500 parents have subscribed to text messages. To date, 93% of parents found the program helpful.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month—a time to share resources and stories in an effort to shed light on this highly taboo and stigmatized topic. We use this month to reach out to those affected by suicide, raise awareness and connect individuals with suicidal ideation to treatment services. It is also important to ensure that individuals, friends and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention.
Suicidal thoughts, much like mental health conditions, can affect anyone regardless of age, gender or background. In fact, suicide is often the result of an untreated mental health condition. Suicidal thoughts, although common, should not be considered normal and often indicate more serious issues.
Each year, more than 41,000 individuals die by suicide, leaving behind their friends and family members to navigate the tragedy of loss. In many cases, friends and families affected by a suicide loss (often called “suicide loss survivors”) are left in the dark. Too often the feelings of shame and stigma prevent them from talking openly.
- If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call 911 immediately.
- If you are in crisis or are experiencing difficult or suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273 TALK (8255)
- If you’re uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can also text NAMI to 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.
Vaping Marijuana: What Parents need to know!
"A school-based survey shows nearly 1 in 11 U.S. students have used marijuana in electronic cigarettes, heightening health concerns about the new popularity of vaping among teens."
E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, but many of the battery-powered devices can vaporize other substances, including marijuana. Results published Monday mean 2.1 million middle and high school students have used them to get high.
Vaping is generally considered less dangerous than smoking, because burning tobacco or marijuana generates chemicals that are harmful to lungs. But there is little research on e-cigarettes’ long-term effects, including whether they help smokers quit.
The rise in teenagers using e-cigarettes has alarmed health officials who worry kids will get addicted to nicotine, a stimulant, and be more likely to try cigarettes. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration gave the five largest e-cigarette makers 60 days to produce plans to stop underage use of their products.
Nearly 9 percent of students surveyed in 2016 said they used an e-cigarette device with marijuana, according to a 9/17/18 report in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. That included one-third of those who ever used e-cigarettes.
The number is worrying “because cannabis use among youth can adversely affect learning and memory and may impair later academic achievement and education,” said lead researcher Katrina Trivers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Students who said they lived with a tobacco user were more likely than others to report vaping marijuana.
It’s unclear whether marijuana vaping is increasing among teens or holding steady. The devices have grown into a multi-billion industry, but they are relatively new.
In states where marijuana is legal, shoppers can buy cartridges of liquid containing THC, the chemical in marijuana that gets people high, that work with a number of devices. Juul, by far the most popular e-cigarette device, does not offer marijuana pods, but users can re-fill cartridges with cannabis oil.
It was the first time a question about marijuana vaping was asked on this particular survey, which uses a nationally representative sample of students in public and private schools. More than 20,000 students took the survey in 2016.
A different survey from the University of Michigan in December found similar results when it asked for the first time about marijuana vaping. In that study, 8 percent of 10th graders said they vaped marijuana in the past year.
“The health risks of vaping reside not only in the vaping devices, but in the social environment that comes with it,” said University of Michigan researcher Richard Miech. Kids who vape are more likely to become known as drug users and make friends with drug users, he said, adding that “hanging out with drug users is a substantial risk factor for future drug use.”
We urge parents to "Talk Early. Talk Often. And LISTEN"!
Stay Connected!
Stay on top of all the latest news, trends and events by "Liking" & "Following us! Our Facebook page is, Blackstone Valley Prevention Coalition! Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bvprevention/
And last, but not least, we are on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BVPrevention. Be sure to "Like" and "Share" us with your friends and family!
Have questions? Any suggestions? Please email Pam Shayer, at pshayer@lincolnri.org.
We want to hear from you!
Interested in becoming a member of the Cumberland, Lincoln or North Smithfield Prevention Coalition?
Interested in finding out or becoming a member of the Blackstone Valley Prevention Coalition? Please join us for our monthly meeting!
(For Lincoln Residents) Tuesday, October 15th at 6:30pm, Lincoln Police Department
(For Cumberland Residents) Tuesday, October 15th at 5:00pm, Cumberland Public Library
(For North Smithfield Residents) Thursday, October 24th at 2:00pm, NS High School
Please join us & learn how YOU can be a part of prevention for the community!
Please watch our Facebook page, Blackstone Valley Prevention Coalition, for more exciting news!