Congratulations to the FIVE WINNERS of the Informed Families Virtual Scavenger Hunt focused on the dangers of underage and binge drinking. They will each receive a $25 Amazon gift card for answering all of the game questions correctly. All winners were randomly selected.

1. Noelle Taylor – Collier County

2. Arbens Darius – Hillsborough County

3. Gio Vanegas – Miami-Dade County

4. Lelani Delgado – Orange County

5. Heather Newby – Seminole County

Informed Families would also like to congratulate Janine Mojica from Lake Nona High School in Orange County on winning a $50 Amazon gift card for having the most student participation in the Virtual Scavenger Hunt.

Thank you to everyone who joined in the game. We hope it was informative and fun. Stay tuned for future contests and games!

The correct answer to each question was posted on the Informed Families website at 9 PM the day after the question was sent out. Here are all the questions and answers in case you missed any or weren't able to join in the fun. 

We’ve all seen the headlines:

“Underage drinking, drugs leads to nearly 1,000 arrests on Gulf Coast beaches”

“Sheriff's Office cracks down on underage drinking in Destin”

“Police being extra vigilant on drunk driving during spring break

"Spring Break 2019 sees drunk students descend on beach to guzzle booze, twerk and pass out in outrageous parties”

If you are the parent of a college-age student preparing to head off to a spring break destination soon, you are likely concerned about whether or not they will engage in underage or binge-drinking and wind up in lots of trouble.

While the Media Was Focused on Opioids Look What Happened

While the media has been focused on the opioid crisis, the number of alcohol-related deaths more than doubled from 35,914 in 1999 to 72,558 in 2017. Women have been impacted the most.

According Dr. George F. Koob, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Director, “alcohol is a growing women’s health issue. The rapid increase in deaths involving alcohol among women is troubling and parallels the increases in alcohol consumption among women over the past few decades.”

Trends like Mommy wine culture, which normalizes the idea of drinking alcohol as a way to cope with stress, and sipping while shopping have become commonplace. We should always keep in mind that our kids are watching our behaviors. Do we want them to turn to alcohol as a way to escape from everyday stress or as the only way to relax and unwind?

They are bombarded with images promoting alcohol in that way already. A new report from the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs says alcohol ads are leading teens to drink. A study in the Preventive Medicine journal found that social media could be sending out positive messaging about alcohol use as well.

Sign the Safe Homes Smart Parents pledge, and let’s work together to stem the tide of alcohol-related deaths by discouraging underage and binge drinking.  

Peggy

A New Year and A New Start    

Welcome, 2020! Cheers to the start of a new year and a new decade.

We are encouraged by the recent findings from the annual Monitoring the Future survey.  In the past year, the use of illicit drugs (other than marijuana) among 12th graders remains low. The misuse of prescription medicines and the use of alcohol and tobacco cigarettes continues to decline as well. However the number of youth vaping marijuana and nicotine is rising.

In the 1980s, we were fighting to keep our kids safe from cocaine, big tobacco and underage drinking. Today we are battling against opioids, vaping and binge drinking. The drug trends may change, but education and simple, clear communication remain key in keeping our youth healthy and drug free.

Informed Families has been fortunate to have such terrific partners help us spread our prevention messages. We are once again partnering with Publix to promote our Lock Your Meds campaign and messaging in all of their pharmacies this month. We are also working with the Florida Blue Foundation to increase awareness of the opioid epidemic and promote good mental health over the next three years.  

Informed Families will continue to deliver on our mission to educate, enable and empower students, parents and communities to work together to keep children healthy in 2020. We are off to a great start!

Peggy

According to the Florida Department of Education, there are approximately 200,000 high school seniors in our state. Most of those students will be graduating in the coming weeks. We want all of them to make it safely to the day after graduation…

Graduation is a time for celebration, but it can also be a dangerous time for students. The start of summer already has teens thinking about less responsibility and more fun; adding a milestone such as graduation to the mix gives many students an excuse to party more than they normally would. Unfortunately, in the process, these graduates might endanger their health and risk the safety of others. This can lead to tragedy for students right after one of the most significant achievements of their young lives.