Today’s National Prevention Week theme is Preventing Youth Tobacco Use (E-Cigarettes and Vaping). Learn more about E-cigarette’s and vaping and how to start the conversation using our resource below!

Tip of the Week: Nicotine is addictive – 3 out of 4 teens who start using in high school will continue to use as adults

Vaping nicotine rewires the brain, which can impact your concentration, learning and impulse control. It reduces athletic ability to focus completely, slowing your reaction time. Nicotine also interferes with lung function – narrowing blood vessels and making your heart work harder than it should.

Tip: Athletes who sleep at least 8 hours per night are 68% less likely to sustain an injury compared to those who get less sleep.

Lack of sleep impacts reaction times and performance and causes fatigue. Aim to sleep at least 8 hours per night to maximize muscle growth, repair and recovery. This will also help improve cognitive skills and concentration. All of these factors together can contribute to a lower rate of athletic injuries.

Tip of the Week: Regularly drinking alcohol before your teen brain is fully developed can impact impulse-control and the memory and learning areas of the brain.

Brain development is still occurring between the ages of 12-26 and scientific research has shown that binge-drinking or regularly drinking alcohol as a teen can result in irreversible brain change.

5 Tips for Monitoring Your Teen to Help Prevent Underage Drinking

• Limit Access
  If you have alcohol in your home, keep track of it and lock it up
• Network
  Get to know the parents of your pre/teen’s friends
• Enforce Rules
  Enforce your rules consistently and tell your pre/teen what behavior you expect from them while they are out
• Check in Often
  Ask your pre/teen where they will be and check in with other parents
• Be Up and Be Ready
  Wait up and look for signs of use

To view more resources on youth alcohol prevention visit our website here

It’s never too early to discuss how underage drinking can impact their developing brains.

How alcohol affects your kids’ brains (VIDEOS)

Tip of the Week: Nicotine in one vaping pod is equivalent to the nicotine in one pack of cigarettes

Vaping marijuana or nicotine can cause respiratory problems and decrease aerobic capacity- it reduces athletic ability by interfering with lung function. It also causes shortness of breath 3 times more often than nonsmokers- nicotine narrows blood vessels and makes your heart work harder than it should.

You can play a significant role in protecting your child from the dangers of vaping and nicotine dependence. Maintain an open line of communication with your kid, and use the tips and suggestions in the American Lung Association’s Vaping Conversation Guide as a framework for having a productive conversation. The guide contains tips for:

• Before You Talk
• While You’re Talking
• After You Talk

Click here to access the guide.