Youth Leadership Project News:

Kids Against Tobacco (KAT) Group Demonstrates

Effects of Real Life Smoking to Peers 

The Kids Against Tobacco (KAT) group at Mildred C. Lakeway Elementary school has been working for the past three years to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco to humans, the environment, and to pets. The group was formed three years ago by Student Assistance Program Coordinator (SAP) for Lakeway, Arlene Soule. The group is made up of three now sixth grade students: Allie Antonucci, Maren Scott, and Olivia Trahan.

On May 24th, the KAT group held a health fair for grades three, five and six at Lakeway. The students were chosen to participate as an education opportunity to supplement their tobacco prevention curricula that they had been studying with Mrs. Soule during the school year.

The students participated in an activity where they had to match the toxins present in tobacco smoke with the everyday used items containing the toxin, such as acetone which is found in nail polish remover. Posters describing the harms of tobacco smoke and tar were up for the students to view, including "tar jars" showing the amount of tar that builds up in the lungs of a person who smokes one pack of cigarettes a day for one year.

The conclusion of the event included a demonstration by the KAT group using a smoking machine. The smoking machine is a sealed box in which a cigarette is lit and placed inside the box to demonstrate real life smoking. The box collects tar to show how much tar builds up in a smoker's lungs from smoking just one cigarette. To show how smoking also harms pets, the group placed a white stuffed rabbit inside the box and it readily collected tar and nicotine on its "fur." This added item was to show that when humans smoke around animals, it collects on their fur and then it is ingested when they lick themselves. The KAT group did a wonderful job with their informative presentation, amazing students and staff with their demonstration.

The KAT group was awarded a "Youth Leadership Project Youth Grant" from the North Country Health Consortium's Substance Abuse Prevention Program to conduct this comprehensive tobacco prevention projects among their peers and community and has been awarded two additional grants since 2009.

the Kids Against Tobacco (KAT) group demonstrated the effects and dangers of smoking to humans and to pets. The demonstration was put on for grades three, five, and six as a supplementary educational piece to their tobacco prevention curricula they have been studying during the school year.

Close up: This is a close up of the smoking machine in action. The students pump the bulb connected to the "smoker" inside the box to get the real effects of the cigarette, such as the tar collecting on the lungs on the side of the machine.

North Country Health Consortium Substance Abuse Prevention Coalitions help to "Break the Chain of Tobacco Addiction"

Reducing retail access to tobacco by youth reduces use.

"FDA recognizes that retailers who sell tobacco products play a vital role in protecting our kids from becoming the next generation of Americans to die prematurely from tobacco-related disease. By following federal and state tobacco regulations, retailers play an important role in keeping tobacco out of the hands of minors and helping them break the chain of tobacco addiction." (http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/ResourcesforYou/BreakTheChain/default.htm).

New Hampshire conducts tobacco compliance checks to monitor licensed tobacco retailers to be sure they are adhering to laws against selling tobacco to minors. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awards states federal block grant funds for prevention, intervention, and treatment services. A requirement under this funding is the annual SYNAR compliance checks (in accordance with the SYNAR Amendment).

Compliance checks are done in each county as well as at 9 vending machines in the state. The data aggregated and reported out by county. The results are called "Retailer Violation Rate" (RVR). This is the percentage of tobacco retailers checked that sold or indicated they would have sold tobacco to underage buyers. The block grant requirement for the RVR can be no more than 20%.

Statewide, the current RVR rate is 8.6%. In Coos County the RVR rate is 14.1%. The smaller sample size in Coos is a major factor in this percentage as only 18 retailers are checked. Grafton County had a rate of 3.2%. The RVR is reflected for the entire county, not separating out our region (the Northern Grafton County) which may resemble Coos County figures if aggregated for just Northern Grafton County. (Source: Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services (BDAS) 2011 Synar Compliance Check Report, Created by Rob O'Hannon).

The FDA has instituted a "Break the Chain of Tobacco Addiction" media campaign that aims to help retailers stay in compliance with federal laws prohibiting selling tobacco to minors. The campaign offers training and materials to tobacco retailers to utilize to help in this effort.

To extend the reach of the FDA's "Break the Chain of Tobacco Addiction" campaign, the North Country Health Consortium Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition will be making kits with FDA materials (stickers and posters) along with a letter outlining the importance of preventing youth tobacco use. The kit will also highlight tobacco statistics for New Hampshire, including youth usage rates and deaths associated with its use.

Three target communities have been selected based on Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data from 2009 (the most recent data available) that show high past 30 day use of tobacco as well as a markedly high number of youth reporting that it's easy or very easy to get cigarettes in that community. The retailers in the three communities will receive the kit in hopes of raising awareness and ensuring compliance with federal law.

For more information on the FDA's Break the Chain of Tobacco Addiction campaign, to look for training information, or to order/download materials, please visit: http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/ResourcesforYou/BreakTheChain/default.htm .

Drugs.com: A Great Online Drug Information Center

 http://www.drugs.com/  

Mission Statement

"to empower patients with the knowledge to better manage their own healthcare and to improve consumer safety by assisting in the reduction of medication errors."

Drugs.com is the largest, most widely visited, independent medicine information website available on the Internet. Our aim is to be the Internet's most trusted resource for drug and related health information. We will achieve this aim by presenting independent, objective, comprehensive and up-to-date information in a clear and concise format for both consumers and healthcare professionals.

The Drugs.com Database

The Drugs.com Drug Information Database is powered by four independent leading medical-information suppliers: Wolters Kluwer Health, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists', Cerner Multum and Thomson Reuters Micromedex. Individual drug (or drug-class) information content compiled by these sources is delivered complete and unaltered by Drugs.com.

Drugs.com publishes Harvard Health Topics A to Z and Harvard Health Decision Guides (used in our Symptom Checker). Harvard Health Publications is the publishing division of the Harvard Medical School of Harvard University and draws on the expertise of the 9,000 faculty physicians to provide authoritative and trustworthy consumer health information.

Drugs.com Medical Dictionary is powered by Stedmans. Since 1911, Stedman's Medical Dictionary has been the medical profession's most trusted source for medical definitions. A complete medical terms dictionary, Stedman's Electronic Medical Dictionary contains over 107,000 medical terms taken directly from Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 28th Edition.

The Drugs.com Illustrated Health Encyclopedia is supplied by A.D.A.M., Inc., publishers of original content health articles. Most of A.D.A.M.'s health articles are initially developed by physicians, then reviewed by the A.D.A.M. Content Review Board, which consists of physicians who are specialists in their fields.

The Drugs.com Veterinary Product Database is an online version of the Compendium of Veterinary Products published by North American Compendiums. North American Compendiums is in the business of building, managing, maintaining and marketing data and databases in the animal health, crop chemical and human health industries in the USA and Canada.

The "Latest News" and "FDA Drug Alerts" sections are sourced from standard industry press releases, newspapers, online news sites and medical journals and the FDA.

Drugs.com is NOT affiliated with any pharmaceutical companies. The only funding we receive from pharmaceutical companies is by way of advertisements that appear on the Drugs.com website. This advertising in no way affects the content of the drug information we supply.

For more information about Drugs.com, please visit:

http://www.drugs.com/support/about.html  

Posted April 14th- Adopted from:

http://www.drugs.com/fda-consumer/how-to-dispose-of-unused-medicines-180.html

Despite the safety reasons for flushing drugs, some people are questioning the practice because of concerns about trace levels of drug residues found in surface water, such as rivers and lakes, and in some community drinking water supplies. However, the main way drug residues enter water systems is by people taking medications and then naturally passing them through their bodies, says Raanan Bloom, Ph.D., an environmental assessment expert in FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Most drugs are not completely absorbed or metabolized by the body, and enter the environment after passing through waste water treatment plants."

A company that wants FDA to approve its drug must submit an application package to the agency. FDA requires, as part of the application package, an assessment of how the drug's use would affect the environment. Some drug applications are excluded from the assessment requirement, says Bloom, based on previous agency actions.

"For those drugs for which environmental assessments have been required, there has been no indication of environmental effects due to flushing," says Bloom. In addition, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, scientists to date have found no evidence of adverse human health effects from pharmaceutical residues in the environment.

Nonetheless, FDA does not want to add drug residues into water systems unnecessarily, says Hunter. The agency reviewed its drug labels to identify products with disposal directions recommending flushing or disposal down the sink. This continuously revised listing can be found at FDA's Web page on Disposal of Unused Medicines.

Another environmental concern lies with inhalers used by people who have asthma or other breathing problems, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Traditionally, many inhalers have contained chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's), a propellant that damages the protective ozone layer. The CFC inhalers are being phased out and replaced with more environmentally friendly inhalers.

Depending on the type of product and where you live, inhalers and aerosol products may be thrown into household trash or recyclables, or may be considered hazardous waste and require special handling. Read the handling instructions on the label, as some inhalers should not be punctured or thrown into a fire or incinerator. To ensure safe disposal, contact your local trash and recycling facility.

This article appears on FDA's Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.

How can I dispose of medications?:

Article Subtitle

Pictured here is one of nine graphic warning labels designed, tested, and identified by the FDA to serve as a warning to potential consumers of tobacco products that will cover 50% of the tobacco packaging.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today unveiled the nine graphic health warnings required to appear on every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States and in every cigarette advertisement. This bold measure will help prevent children from smoking, encourage adults who do to quit, and ensure every American understands the dangers of smoking.

The warnings represent the most significant changes to cigarette labels in more than 25 years and will affect everything from packaging to advertisements and are required to be placed on all cigarette packs, cartons and ads no later than September 2012.

"President Obama is committed to protecting our nation's children and the American people from the dangers of tobacco use. These labels are frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking and they will help encourage smokers to quit, and prevent children from smoking," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "President Obama wants to make tobacco-related death and disease part of the nation's past, and not our future."

Tobacco use is the leading cause of premature and preventable death in the United States, responsible for 443,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and costs our economy nearly $200 billion every year in medical costs and lost productivity.

These warnings, which were proposed in November 2010, were required under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act which was passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law by president Obama on June 22, 2009.

The FDA selected nine images from the originally proposed 36 after reviewing the relevant scientific literature, analyzing the results from an 18,000 person study and considering more than 1,700 comments from a variety of groups, including the tobacco industry, retailers, health professionals, public health and other advocacy groups, academics, state and local public health agencies, medical organizations and individual consumers.

Each warning is accompanied by a smoking cessation phone number, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, which will allow it to be seen at the time it is most relevant to smokers, increasing the likelihood that smokers who want to quit will be successful.

When implemented in September 2012, all cigarettes manufactured for sale or distribution in the United States will need to include the new graphic health warnings on their packages. The introduction of these warnings is expected to have a significant public health impact by decreasing the number of smokers, resulting in lives saved, increased life expectancy, and improved health status.

"The Tobacco Control Act requires FDA to provide current and potential smokers with clear and truthful information about the risks of smoking - these warnings do that," said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D.

The FDA action is part of a broad Obama Administration strategy previously announced by HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Howard K. Koh, M.D., M.P.H. "Ending the Tobacco Epidemic: A Tobacco Control Strategic Action Plan" outlines specific, evidence-based actions that will help create a society free of tobacco-related death and disease.

For more information on graphic warning labels and hi-resolution images visit www.fda.gov/cigarettewarnings

For more information on New Hampshire's Tobacco Helpline, please visit: 

http://www.trytostopnh.org/  

Study Finds that Active Teens are More Likely to Steer Clear of Substance Use, however Athletes on Teams more likely to Drink 

Adopted from World.edu- Posted on June 2nd, 2011 

Teens who exercise and play team sports are less likely to be smokers or use marijuana and other drugs than their peers, but they do drink more alcohol, a study said.

While the findings, published in "Addiction," don't prove cause and effect, they could have important implications for preventing drug and alcohol abuse in young adults, the study's authors said.

"If we can encourage an enjoyment in general exercise, we may be able to see a lowering of participation in drug use," said Yvonne Terry-McElrath, at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and one of the authors.

"It's at least a starting point."

She warned, though, that the links found in the study "were not staggeringly huge" and added that encouraging exercise was certainly "not a cure for anything."

Terry-McElrath and her colleagues used data from a study sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that followed high school seniors through young adulthood with regular surveys that asked about recent use of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs, as well as participation in athletics and exercise.

The report included data on close to 12,000 students, about half of whom filled out follow-up surveys until they were 25 or 26 years old.

At the first survey, students had drunk alcohol between one and five times, on average, in the previous month, and smoked marijuana between zero and two times. The average senior smoked cigarettes not at all or less than one per day. About 9 percent of students had used other illicit drugs in the previous month.

Students who participated in team sports or general exercise were less likely to use cigarettes, marijuana and other illicit drugs as final year students. And those who increased their physical activity over the next few years also reported smoking and using drugs less often as time went on.

About 38 percent of teens who didn't exercise reported smoking cigarettes at some point in the past month, and 23 percent had smoked marijuana. That compared to 25 percent to 29 percent of frequent exercisers and athletes who had smoked cigarettes and 15 to 17 percent who smoked marijuana.

Being involved in team sports meant teens were more likely to drink frequently - but that didn't extend to people who exercised without being part of a team.

About 45 percent of non-exercisers said they had drunk alcohol in the previous month, which rose to 57 percent in those who regularly played a team sport.

The authors also noted that the high school final year students who reported drinking more at the first survey were also heavier drinkers throughout young adulthood.

It's not the first time a study has linked participation in team sports to drinking, although it's not necessarily the case that playing sports causes a teen to drink more. Terry-McElrath said there are still many theories as to why these athletes tend to drink more than others.

Drinking may be an important social activity on some teams, and there may be more peer pressure to drink in post-game environments. In addition, Terry-McElrath noted that sports are closely tied to the alcohol industry - just consider all the beer advertisements on during the Super Bowl, she added.

She, and others, said that athletes might avoid other drugs since they could have a negative impact on competition, whether by impairing performance or turning up on a drug test.

Please find the original article at:

http://world.edu/content/young-athletes-drugs-alcohol/