The North Country Health Consortium's Community Substance Abuse Prevention Program developed two Parent - Student Prevention Activity Booklets in 2009. A tobacco booklet was designed for 4th grade students in the North Country and an alcohol booklet was created for 5th grade students. The booklets were created as tools for parents to talk and interact with their children about the dangers of using alcohol and tobacco. Production of the booklets was funded by a grant to North Country Health Consortium from the Drug Free Communities Support Program, making it possible to provide these booklets to North Country students free of charge to take home and share with their parents.

It's hard for parents to know when to start talking to their children about alcohol and tobacco. They may not believe that what they have to say makes a difference, but studies have shown that when parents talk

openly with their children about the risks of using these substances and indicate their disapproval, young people are less likely ever start using any substance. Parents' knowledge and attitudes have a huge impact on their children's behavior. Before a child begins experimenting with alcohol and tobacco is the time for parents to talk to their children.   

Ideas For 2012:

The Alcohol Parent-Student Activity Booklets could serve as a resource and/or activity for students during the month of April as it is National Alcohol Awareness Month.

Alcohol Parent-Student Activity Booklet.

The Tobacco Parent-Student Activity Booklets could serve as a resource and/or activity for Kick Butts Day on March 21st, 2012.  

Tobacco Parent-Student Activity Booklet.

To order copies of either Parent-Student Activity Booklet, please contact Diana Gibbs at (603) 259-3700, or by email at dgibbs@nchcnh.org.

One person dies every 19 minutes from prescription drug abuse in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). An estimated 27,000 unintentional drug overdose deaths occurred in 2007, UPI reports.

The rise in unintentional drug overdose deaths has been driven by an increase in use of opioids, the CDC notes in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. For every unintentional overdose death linked to opioids, nine people are admitted for substance abuse treatment, 35 people go to the emergency room, 161 report drug abuse or dependence, and 461 report non-medical uses of opioids.

The rate of opioid misuse and overdose deaths are highest among non-Hispanic whites, men ages 20-64, and poor and rural populations.

The CDC says the two main groups at risk for prescription drug overdose are the nine million people who report long-term medical use of opioids, and the roughly 5 million who have used opioids without a prescription or medical need in the past month.

To view the entire CDC Mobidity and Mortality Weekly Report, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6101a3.htm?s_cid=mm6101a3_w   

New Product Release from Johns Hopkins Regarding Use of Digital Media to Target Youth The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has released new CAMY products related to alcohol industry shifts into social media as forms of marketing. A 4-part YouTube video series has been developed that charts the marketing push into digital markets such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. A new CAMY brochure was also released providing a data snapshot of underage youth exposure to alcohol marketing in magazines, social media and on radio and television. The full YouTube videos can be found here for viewing or download:

Video 1 of 4: Alcohol Marketing in the Digital Age:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De-9sKjMuHU&feature=related   

All are welcome to attend! For more information regarding the Coos County Coalition or the Littleton ATOD Task Force, please contact Diana Gibbs at 259-3700 or at dgibbs@nchcnh.org.