Substances & Prevention Tips

Short-Term Health Risks: Excessive alcohol use has immediate effects that increase the risk of many harmful health conditions. These are most often the result of binge drinking and include the following:

•  Injuries, such as motor vehicle crashes, falls drownings, and burns.
• Violence, including homicide, suicide, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence.
• Alcohol poisoning, a medical emergency that results from high blood alcohol levels.
• Risky sexual behaviors, including unprotected sex or sex with multiple partners. These behaviors can result in unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
• Miscarriage and stillbirth or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) among pregnant women.

Long-Term Health Risks: Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including:

• High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems.
• Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, and colon.
• Learning and memory problems, including dementia and poor school performance.
• Mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.
• Social problems, including lost productivity, family problems, and unemployment.
• Alcohol dependence, or addiction.

By not drinking too much, you can reduce the risk of these short and long-term health risks.

Most people who smoke know that smoking is bad for their health and harmful to those around them. In fact, in recent studies, it’s shown that 7 out of 10 smokers want to quit smoking. That is why since 2012 the Centers for Disease Control has been educating the public about the consequences of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke and encouraging smokers to quit through a federally funded, national tobacco education campaign, Tips from Former Smokers®. The campaign features former smokers suffering from the real consequences of smoking. 

The Tips® campaign connects smokers with resources to help them quit, including a quit line number (1-800-QUIT-NOW) which routes callers to their state quit line. The Vermont quit line (802Quits) provides free cessation services, including counseling and medication. These services are effective in improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare costs. 

Here are some helpful tips to help you on the path to success: 

• Focus on your motivators. Motivation waxes and wanes and this is 100 percent normal—what can you do to increase your motivation when you feel defeated or low? 
• Build confidence. Confidence that your attempt will be successful is important. What can you do to increase your confidence levels? Your confidence can increase when you make and achieve a series of small goals, when you visualize your success and when you feel like you have the tools ready for any situation. 
• Stress management is key. Many smokers smoke to manage stress, distress, and negative emotions. Being prepared with other ways to manage these feelings can be difficult and takes a lot of practice. What do your non-smoking friends do to manage stress? 
• It’s never too late to quit. While it’s best to quit smoking as early as possible, quitting smoking at any age will enhance the length and quality of your life. You’ll also save money and avoid the hassle of going outside in the cold to smoke. You can even inspire those around you to quit smoking. 
• Learn from past experiences. Most people who smoke have tried to quit before and sometimes they get discouraged thinking about previous attempts. But these experiences tell us a lot about what to do and what not to do next time! These experiences are steps on the road to future success. Think about what worked for you last time, what didn’t work and what you might do differently this time. 
• You don’t have to quit alone. Telling friends and family that you’re trying to quit and enlisting their support will help ease the process. Friends who also smoke may even join you in trying to quit. 
• Medications are safe and effective and will help you quit and stay quit when used properly. The seven FDA-approved medications include nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, inhaler, and nasal spray as well as varenicline (Chantix) and bupropion (Zyban). Ask your healthcare provider for recommendations. The medications help with withdrawal symptoms, urges and cravings, but do not help with the habit or with managing stress or negative emotions. Be sure to follow the directions and combine medications with other tools for quitting. 

Be a champion in your community for preventing substance misuse. Every community needs that advocate who is willing to stand up, go to meetings, and advocate for change. Contact wroberts.cvndc@gmail.com to find out more.

It’s never too early to start a conversation with your kids about drugs and alcohol. When young people have supportive adults in their lives, they are much less likely to use drugs. Open, honest conversations are the best way to influence their behavior.

Talking about the facts and myths of cannabis is essential. Why Talk? Because talking with your children about substances helps keep them safe. Open and honest conversations with your child about the risks of cannabis makes them less likely to experiment. It may feel awkward, but your kids are actually waiting to hear from you.

The following are tips for keeping the conversation going. Nothing makes teens shut down faster than an angry, judgmental or lecturing parent. For a productive conversation now, and an open door for future conversations, do your best to keep it natural and positive.

• Get yourself centered before approaching your child. If you’re upset, try doing some yoga, going for a walk or just taking a few deep breaths before engaging with them. 
• Instead of having “the talk,” look for opportunities to work your concerns into everyday conversations. Find settings that offer privacy but don’t feel too constricting or distracting, like talking while walking the dog or going for a drive. 
• Look for ways to praise what your teen is doing right. Express concern—rather than judgment—where needed. For example, instead of saying you’re “disappointed,” let them know you’re “worried.” Praise the good in them, playing to their sense of self-respect. 
• Ask questions that encourage your child to elaborate and show you’re hearing by repeating back what they said. Don’t cut the conversation short—make sure they’ve expressed everything they need to. 
• Instead of horror stories, stick to discussing real-life consequences and the good reasons to avoid drugs and alcohol. Try brainstorming ideas for situations with them, like turning down drugs, or how to contact you in a risky situation. 
• It’s good to have a goal when going into a talk with your teen. But if you don’t get there on the first (or second or even third) try, don’t sweat it. Getting through to your teen can take time, and it’s often better to come back to it later than to force a confrontation. 
• Start early, before they’re hearing about substances from peers. Keep an open dialogue about cannabis, alcohol, tobacco, media influences, emotions, and other issues. Explain your rules and expectations. Return to these conversations often as your child grows. 
• Consistently showing interest in your child’s daily life helps you build trust and openness. That way you don’t suddenly surprise them with “the talk” about drugs. Check in with your teen every day, then set aside family time once a week for longer conversations. 
• As your teen ages, it becomes more important to offer detailed and proven facts about cannabis and any other issues. If your teen is looking forward to college or a career, talk about how drugs and alcohol could get in the way of achieving their goals. 
• Be a champion in your community for preventing substance misuse. Every community needs that advocate who is willing to stand up, go to meetings, and advocate for change. Contact info.cvndc@gmail.com to find out more. 

Prescription opioid pain medications are a growing problem—both in Vermont and nationwide. In 2017 alone, around 769,000 teens (12–17) said they misused opioids and over 72,000 people died from opioid misuse in the U.S. That’s one death every 11 minutes. Here are some important things to remember when you have an opioid prescription:

Don’t consume alcohol while using opioids

• Even a small amount of alcohol can increase your risk of overdose. 
• Opioids and alcohol are both depressants that slow your breathing, which can prevent oxygen from reaching organs like your lungs, heart, and brain. 
• Mixing with alcohol can cause the rapid release and absorption of dangerous and potentially fatal amounts of opioids into your system. 

Stop using as soon as your pain is manageable

• Addiction can happen in as few as 5 consecutive days of use. 
• Prescriptions for over 7 days are rarely needed, as opioids are not meant for long-term pain and taking more than you need builds up a tolerance in your body. 
• The Centers for Disease Control advises that prescription opioids should only be taken for 3 days or less for acute pain, such as pain from surgery. 

Never share your prescription

• A dose that is safe for you does not mean it is safe for others. 
• Prescription doses are based on a variety of personal factors, such as history of substance use, tolerance, and other health information. 
• 53% of people who misused prescription pain relievers got them from a friend or relative. 

Store opioids in a secure place and safely get rid of unused medication

• Nearly 70% of prescription opioids kept in homes with children are not stored safely. 
• People who misuse prescription medications often receive pills from a friend’s or relative’s medicine cabinet. 
• Keep opioids out of reach in a locked or well-hidden place. 
• Get rid of your unused pills quickly and safely by mailing them in using a free prepaid mail-back envelope or by dropping them off a safe disposal site. 

Be a champion in your community for preventing substance abuse. Every community needs that advocate who is willing to stand up, go to meetings, and advocate for change. Contact info.cvndc@gmail.com to find out more.