Make a Dinner Date with Your Daughter

A new study released by the University of Minnesota finds that middle-school girls who eat with their families at least five times a week are much less likely to use alcohol, tobacco or marijuana five years later. Even girls who reported they had a less-than-perfect relationship with their parents were half as likely to engage in substance abuse if they had a regular family meal.

For tips and tools on how to engage your kids around the table:

http://casafamilyday.org/familyday/
http://www.kansasfamily.com/GetInvolved-FamilyDay.cfm

For a full article summary please visit:

http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2008/family-meals-have-greater.html

Join Us at the Atchison County Fair!

July 22-25 the Atchison County Dream Team will be at the Atchison County Fair in Effingham, in the big blue building. Stop by our booth for great giveaways from the prevention center including hypercolor pencils and cups! Learn more about what the Dream Team is doing in Atchison and get to know some of our members.

For more information about the fair please visit:

http://www.atchisoncountyfair.com/

KU Strikes Down Beer & Bowling

Provost Richard Lariviere rejected a student proposal that would have allowed those 21-and-over to consume beer at Jaybowl in the Kansas Union. Several factors influenced this decision, including the small minority of Big 12 schools that serve beer in their unions, the many under-21 groups that hold events at Jaybowl, and the ultimate purpose of the university as an educational institution.

The Lawrence-Journal World tells the story of how the university banned union alcohol sales after the 1998 death of KU student Lisa Rosel:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/jul/07/ku_rejects_proposal_beer_sales_union/

Raising Legal Drinking Age Decreases Teen Fatalities

The latest study releast from the Pacific Institue for Research and Evaluation determined that increasing the legal drinking age to 21 has resulted in an 11% decrease in the number of teens involved in alcohol related traffic fatalities over the last two decades. Find out more at:

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2008/07/01/eline/links/20080701elin003.html

Help Break the Tradition

Wednesday, July 9th the first official meeting of Douglas County's Break the Tradition Coalition will be held at DCCCA. Bring a brown bag lunch at 11:30 and enjoy Heidi Garcia's presentation of the latest ATOD (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug) data from the University of Kansas.

WHO Wants Clean Air?

New findings from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that clean indoor air ordinances lead to significant reductions in hospital admissions for heart disease, effectively encourage smokers to quit, and protect non-smokers and children from second-hand smoke. The WHO challenges more countries to adopt smoking bans in workplaces, bars, and restaurants:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080630/hl_nm/smoking_bans_dc_1

The Secret High in Your House

Do your kids go to pharming parties? Text their friends about sharing pilz or trail mix?

If this sounds like a foreign language, it's time to uncover the secret source of a popular high--your medicine cabinet.

Many teens mistakenly believe abusing prescription drugs is safer than using street drugs.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America launched a new site aimed at informing parents about prescription drug abuse, slang around this drug culture, tips on how to talk to teens about prescription drug safety, and encouraging us to carefully monitor and inventory all prescriptions in our homes. Learn more at:

http://www.drugfree.org/notinmyhouse/experts.aspx