April 2010
Racine County Youth Coalition Newsletter


Vision

Racine County is a place where youth assets are increasing and all youth are healthy, involved and successful members of the community.

Mission

The Racine County Youth Coalition engages agencies, business partners, communities, families and schools, to promote and foster positive change in community practices, public policy, and youth programming in order to build assets and reduce risk behaviors including substance abuse among all Racine County young people.

          
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SurveyThe 2010 Search Institute Survey
 
The Racine County Youth Coalition would like to thank Focus on Community, the Racine Community Foundation, the S.C. Johnson Fund, and the United Way of Racine County for providing financial assistance to conduct the Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors Survey in Racine County.

This survey survey will be administered in the spring of 2010 and provides a unique understanding of the lives of young people living in Racine County.
inhalants Inhalants are now the Drug of Choice
 
A report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was released March 15 showing that inhalants are being used almost as much as alcohol amongst the adolescent population.

In fact, more 12-year-olds -- 7 percent of those surveyed -- said they have tried inhaling substances like gasoline and paint solvents for their intoxicating effects than have tried marijuana, cocaine, and hallucinogens combined.

Perceived risk of inhalant use has declined even as use rates have remained constant over the last few years, experts said. Inhalant use carries serious health risks, including brain damage and cardiac arrest.

For more information, click here.
QuitPossible New Way to Quit Smoking 
 
A new antismoking vaccine is currently in development at Nabi Pharmaceuticals. NicVax creates antibodies that prevent the nicotine molecules from entering the brain.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has closed a deal to license and market the NicVAx antismoking vaccine, the Associated Press reported March 9.

GlaxoSmithKline also will work on developing the next generation version of the vaccine.

For more information, click here.
senateBan on Cigarette Trafficking
 
Both the U.S Senate and House of Representatives have approved a version of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act.

Backers of the legislation said that the intent of the ban was to prevent tax evasion and deliveries of cigarettes to underage youth.

If it becomes law, the measure would spell the end of mail-order cigarette operations by the Seneca Nation and other Native American tribes that have shipped tax-free cigarettes by mail. Seventy percent of the cigarettes sold by the Seneca tribe of upstate New York are sent via mail, for example.

To learn more, click here.
camelCamel No. 9 Attracting a Younger Crowd
 
Camel No. 9 Cigarettes, which were the subject of much controversy when R.J. Reynolds released the new marketing plan for the cigarette brand few years ago, are having an impact on
Americorps
teenage girls between the ages of 12 and 16.

Researchers found that twice as many girls (22 percent) cited the Camel ads as their favorite after the female-focused ads ran in publications like Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Glamour as had done so in surveys conducted before the ads ran. Experts said that brand awareness can lead to smoking in teens.

Brand preferences among boys were unchanged during the same time period.

R.J. Reynolds said the ads are published in magazines where 85 percent of readers are adults, and that the marketing campaign was aimed at adults.

For more information, click here.

Partners2Partners2: bringing students together to discuss marijuana issues in Burlington
The Teen Presentation Team of Partners2 has been busy bringing valuable information and holding an open dialogue with other teens and pre-teens in the Burlington area.  With presentations at Karcher Middle School and St. Mary's Grade School, the presentation team spoke with over 200 students about marijuana issues facing Burlington students.

The presentation team help students read through information on marijuana and then process the information as students shared what they had read with other students.  Presenters also focused on questions brought up by the students as they gained more information.  Teachers from both schools were very impressed and congratulated the presenters on their mastery of the information and their abilities to engage their near-peers about the risks of marijuana use.

Partners2 would like to thank Runzheimer International, Lavelle Industries, and the Burlington Rotary Club for funding to make the presentations possible.