CADCA Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Newsroom
Check your kids.
The best way to find out what is going on with your child is to, well, find out what's going on with him. Just talking to your child is only half the job. You can keep the lines of communication open by knowing how to listen and when to talk.
Create a safe environment for your child to share the truth. Assure your child that he can always be honest with you – without fear of ridicule or blame.
Listen to your child vent. Sometimes she just needs to complain and get things off her chest.
Be aware that your child could be hiding his true feelings out of fear, embarrassment, or something else, and you should be careful to not just take what the child says at face value.
Listen between the words. Pay attention to body language, facial expressions, difficulty finding the right words to use, etc.
Source: The Partnership at drugfree.org
Fans Don't Let Fans Drive Drunk
If you are hosting a Super Bowl party:
Make sure all of your guests designate their sober drivers before kick-off or help arrange ride-sharing with sober drivers.
Find unique ways to recognize the designated drivers at your party
Give them a great spot to watch the game.
Whatever non-alcoholic beverage they are drinking, make sure their glass is always full.
Let them have the first pass at the buffet table.
Make sure their cars are easy to access when it is time to start driving people home.
Serve plenty of food.
Offer a variety of non-alcoholic choices like soft drinks, juice, and water.
Serve one drink at a time and serve measured drinks.
Only serve alcohol to guests over 21 years of age.
Determine ahead of time when you'll stop serving alcohol, such as one hour before the party ends or at the end of the third quarter (just like NFL stadiums) and begin serving coffee and dessert.
Add the numbers of local cab companies into your phone so they are just one touch away.
Take appropriate steps to prevent anyone from drinking and driving.
Be prepared for guests to spend the night if an alternative way home is not available.
Remember, you can be held liable and prosecuted if someone you served ends up in a drunk-driving crash.
If you are attending a Super Bowl party or watching at a sports bar or restaurant, please follow these guidelines to make sure you enjoy the Super Bowl XLVI responsibly:
Designate your sober driver before the party begins.
Avoid drinking too much alcohol too fast. Pace yourself - eat enough food, take breaks, and alternate with non-alcoholic drinks.
If you don't have a designated driver, ask a sober friend for a ride home; call a cab, friend, or family member to come and get you; or just stay where you are and sleep it off until you are sober. (Don't sleep in your car with keys in the ignition. You can be prosecuted for drunk driving even if you are simply following this advice and trying to stay warm with the engine running.)
Always buckle up - it's the best defense against other drunk driving.
There will be many reasons to be merry this holiday season. And making sure that your loved ones enjoy themselves responsibly is one of the most reliable ways to guarantee their safety. That is why Community Alliance for Teen Safety would like everyone to embrace the spirit of driving sober this season.
“The message is simple, drinking alcohol and driving do not mix. If you plan to consume alcohol, you should plan not to get behind the wheel of a vehicle or ride a motorcycle,” said Sue Center, director of CATS.
Unfortunately, millions of drivers on America’s highways continue to make deadly decisions by driving a vehicle or riding a motorcycle while intoxicated, which jeopardizes their safety and the safety of others on our roads. “We know that the holiday season can be one of the deadliest and most dangerous times on America’s roadways due to drunk driving,” said Centner. “Taking a risk on having your 2011 end in an arrest or death is just not worth it.” During December 2009, there were 753 people killed in crashes that involved drivers or motorcycle riders with blood alcohol concentrations of .08 grams per deciliter or higher.
Here are some tips for a safe holiday season: Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin; Before drinking, designate a sober driver and leave your car keys at home; If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation; If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact your local law enforcement; And remember, Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving. If you know someone who is about to drive or ride with a driver who is impaired, take the driver’s keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.
Thanksgiving can be a dangerous time for motorists, especially unbelted ones – day and night. Make sure the only belt unbuckled is at your Thanksgiving dinner table and not in your vehicle, whether you’re traveling during the day or at night.
•During the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday travel season, 303 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle crashes nationwide. Of those, 52 percent were unrestrained, based on known restraint use. •During the Thanksgiving holiday travel season in 2009, 115 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes occurring during daytime hours nationwide. Of those, 49 percent were unrestrained, based on known restraint use. •During the Thanksgiving holiday travel season in 2009, 187 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle crashes occurring during nighttime hours (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) nationwide. Of those, 54 percent were unrestrained, based on known restraint use. •In 2009 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 12,713 lives. An additional 3,688 lives could have been saved if seat belts had been worn at the time of the crashes. •Almost one in five Americans still fail to buckle up regularly. •Employing safe driving practices, day and night, is the key to keeping drivers, their passengers, and other motorists on our nation's highways safe. A seat belt can mean the difference between life and death.
For additional information, please visit www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov.
Rx Take Back
Lt. John Twiss and Sgt Eric Kester of the Derry Police Department participated in the 3rd National DEA Prescription Drug Take Back on Saturday, October 29th. Derry netted 89 pounds of unwanted, unused, or expired prescription medication.
National Drive Safely Work Week, 10/3 to 10/7
Chances are someone you know or a friend or family member of someone you know has been involved in a traffic crash as a result of distracted driving. In fact, a recent survey by Consumer Reports indicated 10 percent of the 1000 respondents reported someone they knew was involved in a distracted driving crash. Furthermore, in 2009, nearly 5,500 people were killed and almost half a million were injured in crashes related to distracted driving, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
As automobile controls become more and more sophisticated, mobile phones are morphing into personal computers and people are expected to be reachable at any given moment. This is making driving more dangerous and today, more than ever, safe driving requires our full focus. When we’re not the driver, we are a passenger, a pedestrian, or perhaps a cyclist. Regardless of which of these hats we’re wearing, there are things we can do to ensure the best chances for always arriving at our destination safely.
During Drive Safely Work Week, we’ll not only look at ways we can reduce our own distractions while behind the wheel, we’ll learn strategies and responsibilities of being a good passenger and an alert pedestrian or cyclist.
Mental Illness Awareness Week is an opportunity to learn more about serious mental illnesses such as major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Mental illnesses are medical illnesses. One in four adults experiences a mental health problem in any given year. One in 17 lives with serious, chronic illness.
When mental health care isn’t available in a community, the results often are lost jobs and careers, broken families, more homelessness, more welfare and much more expensive costs for hospital emergency rooms, nursing homes, schools, police and even courts, jails and prisons.
3rd National Take Back Initiative, October 29, 10AM to 2PM
Prescription drugs are being misused and abused at alarming rates throughout the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice’s, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at sites nationwide on Saturday, October 29th 2011 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, all over the United States. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.
Collection sites can be found by going to the link found at www.DEA.gov. This site will be continuously updated with new take-back locations. You can help make this event a success by sharing information about the program with your membership, partner organizations, and others who are concerned about prescription drug abuse. In addition, anyone interested in helping to have a take back event in their community are encouraged to contact their local police or sheriff’s office, or by calling the appropriate DEA Field Office.
We Moved!
CATS moved its office to 11 Peabody Road in Derry.
Community Alcohol Personality Survey
CATS youth members conducted the Community Alcohol Personality (CAP) Survey prepared by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in support of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program. Youth members, with the supervision of CATS Youth Coordinator Kaitlyn Clarke, visited 19 retail establishments in Derry to survey signage, placement and advertising of alcoholic beverages. The survey also captured the youth’s observations about their community and school environments related to alcohol awareness, usage and policy.
Youth members had planned the activity during their meetings in June and conducted the survey on June 23rd and 24th. Participating youth members were: Korryn Lemay, Kathleen Felch, Krysta Lewis, Julia Pilla, and Alyssa Miller.
The CATS Youth members were interested in knowing more about the role of alcohol in their community, how many stores sell alcohol along with other commonly sought after items such as milk or soda and how the advertising, placement and availability may impact youth. The survey also helped the youth members discuss the policies in their schools, what they perceive as community norms, and their community profile.
Report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University finds adolescent substance abuse at record levels. Go to website and access report.
The summer season marks the time for families to enjoy some of America’s traditional summer pastimes – barbecues, pool parties and backyard gatherings. However, family festivities could be interrupted by a trip to the emergency room if you don’t follow simple steps to safeguard your family and friends against summer hazards. “Kids and their friends are home more during summer so you want to make sure that your home is prepared for the increase in activity and guests,” says Meri-K Appy, president of the Home Safety Council. “By being alert and prepared to summertime threats, families are reducing their chances of injuries for their loved ones.” The Home Safety Council recommends following these guidelines to keep your family safe in the summer: Read more.
Buckle Up New Hampshire!
The Buckle Up NH (BUNH) Coalition is a committed group of highway safety professionals from public and private sectors who work to promote increased seat belt use and child occupancy protection through education. During Buckle Up New Hampshire Week, May 15th through May 22nd, the Coalition will promote the importance of everyone being restrained every time they are in a motor vehicle! Designed to encourage increased seat belt and child safety seat use, BUNH week activities include: a kick-off event at the Steeplegate Mall in Concord on Saturday May 14; Coalition members appearing on NH radio talk shows; electronic road sign messaging; child passenger safety seat checks; presentation of the “Room to Live” seat belt educational program in local high schools and community groups and showing of the program on cable access stations; and use of the Coalition's logo in automotive sale ads throughout the state! Another seat belt related educational program is the Buckle Up in Your Truck Campaign being conducted in Rochester, Lee, Littleton, and Lisbon which emphasizes the need for increased seat belt use by pick-up trucks occupants who have the lowest overall seat belt usage rate.
Seat belts do reduce the risk of death and serious injury when motor vehicle crashes occur. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), www.nhtsa.org, seat belts save more than 13,000 lives each year. NHTSA also states seat belt use for 16 to 24 year olds is lower than for any other age group, continues to be lower for males than females, and is lower for drivers operating a vehicle alone than it is for drivers with passengers. It is estimated that more than 5,000 lives could be saved every year if every one buckled up.
According to Howard Hedegard, Chairman of the Buckle Up NH Coalition, in the past 40 years new vehicle engineering standards have been created and safety equipment has been installed designed specifically to protect occupants. These features have saved over 300,000 lives. However, only one safety feature has saved more than half of those lives -- the seat belt! The seat belt holds the occupant in the vehicle's protective cage and allows the body to decelerate; thus enabling the vehicle, and not the occupant, to absorb the majority of the energy during a crash. Although advancements in vehicle safety design continue, the most certain way to minimize the risk of death or injury is for occupants to always wear the seat belt!
The medical evidence supporting the use of seat belts is extensive. The Brain Injury Association of America (www.biausa.org) states that 1.4 million people suffer a traumatic brain injury each year in the United States. Of those, 20 percent were the result of motor vehicle crashes. According to the Center for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov), motor vehicles crashes are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 35. Safe Kids USA (www.safekids.org) states that every year some 975 children under the age of 14 die in motor vehicle crashes. They also note child safety seats and safety belts, when installed and used properly, can prevent injuries and save lives. Children restrained in child safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained.
Too many people choose not to use seat belts because they consider them uncomfortable or because they will wrinkle their clothes. Many people believe that they will never be in a crash. Unfortunately, many of those people are, in fact, in crashes; and because of the lack of seat belt use, experience unnecessary death or life-changing injury. The Buckle Up NH Coalition hopes their educational efforts will help to change this risky behavior.
For more information, please visit us on the web at www.buckleupnh.org! The Buckle Up NH Coalition and the activities of Buckle UP NH week are funded and supported by the NH Highway Safety Agency. For further information, please contact Howard Hedegard at 603-653-8360.
April is Alcohol Awareness Month
Drinking too much alcohol can lead to health problems, including alcohol poisoning, hangovers, and an increased risk of heart disease. This April, during Alcohol Awareness Month, Community Alliance for Teen Safety encourages you to take this time to educate yourself and your loved ones about the dangers of alcohol abuse. To spread the word and prevent alcohol abuse, CATS is joining other organizations across the country to honor Alcohol Awareness Month to prevent alcohol abuse in our community. If you are drinking too much, you can improve your health by cutting back or quitting. Keep track of how much you drink, avoid places where overdrinking occurs, and find new ways to deal with stress. If you are concerned about someone else’s drinking, offer to help. Learn more.
Warning Signs of Alcohol Abuse
If you answer "yes" to any of the following questions, you may have a problem with alcohol:
Do you drink alone when you feel angry or sad?
Does your drinking ever make you late for work?
Does your drinking worry your family?
Do you ever drink after telling yourself you won't?
Do you ever forget what you did while drinking?
Do you get headaches or have a hangover after drinking?
Strategies to Cut Back or Quit Drinking
There are many strategies you can try to cut back or quit drinking. To get started:
Keep track of your drinking and set a drinking limit.
Try to avoid places where heavy drinking occurs.
Ask for help from a doctor, family, or friends.
If you keep alcohol in your home, keep only a limited supply.
Keeping Kids Safe Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary, US Department of Education, Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools
“Off label” use of prescription drugs is rapidly becoming an epidemic among young people in America. And this has real consequences for their health and academic performance: the CDC found that students engaging in off label prescription drug use were over three times more likely to get D’s and F’s than they were to get A’s. Adults have to take a lot of the blame here. Too often we leave prescription drugs where any young person can get them, even when we no longer need them. The smarter thing to do is to put them somewhere safe when we are using them, and then to dispose of them when we no longer need them.
This spring, the Drug Enforcement Administration and its national and community partners will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. On Saturday, April 30th, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, DEA and its partners will hold their second National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day at sites nationwide. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Last September, Americans turned in over 242,000 pounds—121 tons—of prescription drugs at nearly 4,100 sites operated by more than 3,000 of the DEA’s state and local law enforcement partners. The agency hopes to collect even more this spring. I’ve got news for everyone--those child proof caps don’t work on anybody above the age of, say, two. Let’s get serious about putting prescription drugs out of the reach of young people.
Community Alliance for Teen Safety - 11 Peabody Road, Suite 1 - Derry, NH 03038 - (603) 434-5251
