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Informed Families Catalyst

National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week 2020

Posted by Informed Families on March 23, 2020 at 8:00 AM

According to the 2019 Monitoring the Future Survey:

  • Marijuana continues to be the most commonly used illicit drug by adolescents.
  • One in four 12th graders say they vaped nicotine in the past month, along with 1 in 5 10th graders, and nearly 1 in 10 eighth graders.
  • Many teens say they vape for the flavor, to experiment, for social reasons, or to feel good.
  • From 2018-2019, the number of 12th graders saying they vape because they are "hooked" more than doubled to 8.1%, up from 3.6%.

Parents and educators can join others across the country to help students make informed decisions by sharing fact-based information about drugs and alcohol.

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Topics: drug, alcohol, teens, nida, drug prevention, drugs, drug use, alcohol use, vaping

President's Message - January 2020

Posted by Peggy B. Sapp, President & CEO on January 2, 2020 at 9:00 AM

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

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Topics: President's Message, drug trends, underage drinking, binge drinking, publix, drug free, drug prevention, nicotine, tobacco, drug use, opioids, alcohol use, mental health, vaping

What Parents Need to Know About Teen Vaping

Posted by Informed Families on September 28, 2019 at 9:00 AM

Until recently, most parents were not as concerned about their teenager vaping as they would be if their child experimented with other drugs.

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Topics: marijuana, prevention, teens, nicotine, e-cigarettes, juul, vaping

About Us

We teach people how to say no to drugs and how to make healthy choices. To reduce the demand for drugs, Informed Families has focused its efforts on educating and mobilizing the community, parents and young people in order to change attitudes. In this way we counteract the pressures in society that condone and promote drug and alcohol use and abuse. The organization educates thousands of families annually about how to stay drug and alcohol free through networking and a variety of programs and services .

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