Family connectedness, particularly at meal times – excellent protective factor: The scientists are catching up – Research confirms what all community minded and family valuing people know. Family togetherness is a key to not only better health and well-being, but also building resilience into the emerging adult – resilience that can make it easier for them to avoid the substance use trap. (https://worldresiliencyday.org) 

“Eating dinner together at least 3 or 4 times per week has positive effects on child development and has been linked to children’s lower rates of overweight and obesity, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, depression, and eating disorders; higher self-esteem; and better academic performance. Eating family meals also has nutritional benefits. Families who eat dinner together eat more fruits and vegetables and fewer fried foods and sugary drinks. Family meals also help adults and children learn to like a variety of foods.” (Source: JAMA Paediatrics)

Marijuana edible-related poison control calls among children 0-12 increased 3,311% from 2016 to 2022 

According to data from America’s Poison Centers, from 2016 to 2022, marijuana edible-related poison control calls among children aged 0-12 years old increased 3,311%:

• 2016: 187 calls 
• 2017: 343 calls 
• 2018: 816 calls 
• 2019: 1,364 calls 
• 2020: 3,132 calls 
• 2021: 4,354 calls 
• 2022: 6,379 calls

This trend is exacerbated by kid-friendly edible packaging and product design. Products are often sold in colorful packaging and are made to look like and taste like candies, cookies, and other snacks. Many toddlers eat these THC products not knowing that they are in fact marijuana. Additionally, many users fail to properly store marijuana products, leaving them accessible to kids.

(Source SAM – Drug Report March 2024)

Heavy drinking is an important risk factor for depression and suicide…Reducing alcohol consumption (both total consumption as well as binge drinking) is arguably the most important modifiable way to promote cognitive and neurological health and prevent or reduce brain harms.

For Full Report 

Australian Children presenting with 'significant symptoms of withdrawal' as vaping rates rise among under 25’s Australia"Vaping I would say is definitely more addictive [than smoking] because of the ease of access"…"You can vape anywhere, so you can be lying in bed at night, and you can fall asleep with it in your mouth like a pacifier for a baby." (Source: ABC News March 2024)

Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes – Harm Reduction or?

Although e-cigarette use might cause youth to transition to combustible tobacco products, it might also increase adult cessation of combustible tobacco cigarettes. The net public health effect, harm or benefit, of e-cigarettes depends on three factors: their effect on youth initiation of combustible tobacco products, their effect on adult cessation of combustible tobacco products, and their intrinsic toxicity. If e-cigarette use by adult smokers leads to long-term abstinence from combustible tobacco cigarettes, the benefit to public health could be considerable. Without that health benefit for adult smokers, e-cigarette use could cause considerable harm to public health in the short and long term due both to the inherent harms of exposure to e-cigarette toxicants and to the harms related to subsequent combustible tobacco use by those who begin using e-cigarettes in their youth. Source: N.I.H National Library of Medicine

This guide can help you have a meaningful, non-threatening conversation with your teen about vaping. You won’t find a set of scripted questions – we don’t want to put words in your mouth. Instead, we’ll share: Conversation starters based on your teen’s vaping behaviour and insights from our research about what your teen might be thinking and feeling, and what you can say to help. These insights are based on our recent survey interviews and in-depth conversations with teens across Australia. 

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