Category: For Parents

UPDATE: Monitoring the Future: 2019 Survey of Teen Substance Use

We were able to take the information from the results of the 2019 Monitoring the Future Survey and compile it into charts that are easier to read and digest for parents/guardians and community members.

The results from the national survey allow us to see trends that may be impacting youth and young adults in Stokes County.

Monitoring the Future is an annual survey of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders conducted by researchers at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. Since 1975, the survey has measured how teens report their drug, alcohol, and cigarette use and related attitudes in 12th graders nationwide; 8th and 10th graders were added to the survey in 1991.

42,531 Students from 396 public and private schools participated in the 2019 survey.  

N.C. Gets an F for Tobacco Prevention Efforts, says Advocacy Group

By Richard Craver Winston-Salem Journal Jan 29, 2020

North Carolina has once again flunked its tobacco-prevention evaluation, as graded by the American Lung Association.

The nonprofit group, in its annual State of Tobacco Control report, gave North Carolina a failing grade in all five categories it reviews: funding for state tobacco prevention programs, strength of smokefree workplace laws, level of state tobacco taxes, coverage and access to services to quit tobacco and minimum age of sale for tobacco products.

The report grades states and the federal government on policies proven to prevent and reduce tobacco use. Its common denominator is that “elected officials should do more to save lives and ensure all residents benefit from reductions in tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.”

“With the youth vaping epidemic still rising, we may have lost an opportunity to make the current generation of kids the first tobacco-free generation.” said June Deen, the group’s director of advocacy.

The group said a significant portion of North Carolina’s F grades comes from “the federal government’s failure to enact policies called for in the report, such as increased tobacco taxes and stronger federal oversight of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.”

North Carolina’s excise tax on vapor products is 5 cents per fluid milliliter of consumable product — a rate supported by tobacco manufacturers when the law took effect in February 2015. However, the group stressed “the need for North Carolina to act to protect youth from all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, is more urgent than ever.” The report borrows from other anti-tobacco advocacy reports. North Carolina went from 42nd to 44th in terms of how much money it puts annually toward those programs, such as quit lines and public health marketing initiatives, according to the 21st annual “Broken promises to our children” report released in December.

“An investment in prevention is especially important given the skyrocketing number of youth who are vaping,” the American Lung Association said. The group said Congress needs to follow through on passing legislation to eliminate all flavored tobacco products.Otherwise, the group said, it is critical that states take that step through their legislature.

However, North Carolina’s heritage as a tobacco-growing state has made it challenging to ramp up funding for prevention initiatives.

Tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., agreed in 1998 to settle lawsuits that 46 state attorneys general brought over smoking-related health-care costs by paying those states at least $246 billion over 20 years. Some Master Settlement Agreement payments remain in place beyond 2018. Economists say most states have become dependent on the settlement money and tobacco excise taxes to fill general-fund gaps.

Monitoring the Future: 2019 Survey of Teen Substance Use

Vaping of Marijuana on the Rise Among Teens

Findings from the 2019 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey demonstrate the appeal of vaping to teens, as seen in the increased prevalence of marijuana use as well as nicotine vaping. Results from the 45th annual MTF survey, a nationally representative sample of eighth, 10th and 12th graders in hundreds of U.S. schools, were announced today by the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, along with the University of Michigan scientist who leads the research team. The self-report survey is given annually to students who respond to questions about their drug use and attitudes.

Past year vaping of marijuana, which has more than doubled in the past two years, was reported at 20.8% among 12th graders, with 10th graders not far behind at 19.4% and eighth graders at 7.0%. Past month marijuana vaping among 12th graders nearly doubled in a single year to 14% from 7.5%–the second largest one-year jump ever tracked for any substance in the history of the survey. (The largest was from 2017-2018 with past month nicotine vaping among 12th graders).  For the first time, the survey measured daily marijuana vaping, which was reported at 3.5%  among 12th graders, 3.0% among 10th graders, and 0.8% among eighth graders. The MTF investigators documented more detailed findings on teen vaping of marijuana in a research letter released today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. High rates of nicotine vaping reported in the MTF survey were released in September.

Marijuana continues to be the most commonly used illicit drug by adolescents. After remaining mostly stable for many years, daily use of marijuana went up significantly since 2018 among eighth and 10th graders–now at 1.3% and 4.8% respectively. However, overall past year marijuana use rates remain steady among teens (35.7% among 12th graders; 28.8% among 10th graders; and 11.8% among eighth graders).

Operation Parent Webinar: Alcohol, Drugs and You – A Conversation with authors Marc and Lianna Treitler

Operation Parent Webinar Re-Broadcast: since this is a re-broadcast of a previous webinar participants will not be able to ask questions.

Register here.

Tuesday March 10th 8:00pm-9:30pm

Join Operation Parent for a conversation with authors Marc and Lianna Treitler as they discuss addiction, genetic predisposition and what your child needs to know if there is an addiction in your family.

"If you are one of the billions of people with a genetic predisposition, even one drink, or using drugs one time can lead to a lifetime of addiction. Author Marc Treitler is an alcoholic. Sober for nearly a decade, he will deal with the disease and the challenge of maintaining his sobriety for the rest of his life."

Together, Marc and his teenage daughter Lianna, wrote two books for families and their teens to explain the disease and how it will affect their future.

Operation Parent Webinar: Teen Sexting

Teen Sexting - What's The Issue?

There are so many important topics to discuss with our children when they are given a smartphone, maybe one of the most difficult is on the topic of sexting.

A study by JAMA Pediatrics released in 2019 revealed at least 1 in 4 teens are receiving sexually explicit texts and emails and at least 1 in 7 are sending sexts.  Although most teens are not sexting, they are, however, more likely to receive a sext.

Tuesday February 11th 2:00pm-3:00pm

Register here for the free webinar provided by Operation Parent. 

Join Mary Beth Uberti, Director of Program Development at Operation Parent, as we discuss why teens sext, legal issues, emotional implications of sexting and conversations to have with your teen about sexting.