'Tis (always) the Season to Talk to your Teens

ONDCP Develops New Tool to Help Prevent Opioid Overdoses

One hundred people in the U.S. die from drug overdoses every day. 
Three out of four prescription drug overdoses are caused by opiates. 
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) collaborated with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) to develop this informational card to provide easy-to-understand; lifesaving techniques to help friends and family attend to someone suspected of an opioid overdose.

The ASA Opioid Overdose Resuscitation card lists symptoms to look for when an opioid overdose is suspected. It also details step-by-step instructions for assisting a person suspected of an overdose prior to the arrival of emergency medical personnel.

Help Us Identify the Prevention Programs Offered in Our County

The Risks of Outdoor Secondhand Smoke

Exposure to secondhand smoke is unhealthy, even if you are outdoors. Recent changes in laws, policies and practices have concentrated on indoor exposure. But these alterations have not eliminated exposure to secondhand smoke. This short video (1:54 minutes) discusses an air quality study by Stanford University conducted at park benches, sidewalk cafes and other public places.
In fact, a study released this month, finds exposure to outdoor secondhand tobacco smoke from ONE lit cigarette that is 29.5 feet away.

Prescription Drug Abuse: number one cause of injury death in the US

Prescription drug abuse is a major health epidemic. Fifty Americans die each day from Rx pain killer overdoses. That outnumbers the death rate from heroin and cocaine combined, but only one in ten Americans who have a problem are being treated.

Please join us at the next Sullivan County Anti-Drug Coalition Meeting (November 14, 10 AM to Noon, at the Sullivan County Regional Health Department) to learn more about recovery.


Sign Up for Drug Facts Chat Day

If you work with teens and have access to a bank of computers, you may want to sign up for Drug Facts Chat Day (Tuesday, January 28, 2014). This video from this year's Chat Day will give you more information.
You can sign up at http://teens.drugabuse.gov/ndfw/register.

It's That Time Again!

If you haven't taken advantage of the previous opportunities to clean out your medicine cabinet, there is good news. Next Saturday, October 26, from 10 AM - 2 PM, local law enforcement and the DEA will collect your unused or expired medications. After weighing the number of medications collected, the drugs will be incinerated. This link will take you to a website where you can enter your zip code to find the closest collection site.

In the previous seven collections, 1,771 tons of pill have been collected! This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Unused medicines stored in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, 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, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.





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