1)
$7
MILLION AWARDED TO EXPAND TREATMENT SERVICES IN 15 COMMUNITIES
The Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) announced yesterday it has awarded over
$7 million to expand or enhance substance abuse treatment capacity in
15 communities across the country. The program is designed to provide
funding for substance abuse treatment service needs in communities that
are suffering increased drug abuse or new instances of drug abuse problems.
HHS Secretary Tommy
G. Thompson said one of the primary goals of the grants is to allow
communities to target substance abuse in its early stages.
To find out more
about each specific city's grant, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/news/newsreleases/021002nr_tce.htm.
2)
REPORT: FEWER RETAILERS SELLING CIGARETTES TO YOUTH
Tobacco sales to
children under age 18 have dropped significantly, according to a new
study from SAMHSA. The national retailer violation rate dropped to 16.3
percent in 2001 from 40.1 percent in 1996.
Officials say major
progress has been made to prevent another generation of smokers, but
retailers must remain committed to helping youth stay away from cigarettes.
The findings are
based on reports submitted by states in response to federal law established
in 1992 restricting access to tobacco by youth under age 18. The law,
known as the Synar Amendment, requires states and U.S. territories to
enact and enforce youth tobacco access laws; conduct annual random,
unannounced inspections of tobacco outlets; achieve negotiated annual
retailer violation targets; and attain a final goal of 20 percent or
below for retailer non-compliance.
SAMHSA Administrator
Charles G. Curie says the states that met the Synar goals have a strategy
that combines aggressive enforcement efforts, political support from
the state government and a climate of active social norms that discourage
youth smoking.
3)
GROUP SEEKS TO RAISE TOBACCO AWARENESS IN 2002 CAMPAIGN
The Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids has launched an online campaign to urge governors,
U.S. Senators and Representatives, and candidates for those offices,
to make tobacco abuse prevention a priority.
While tobacco companies
are lobbying politicians with millions of dollars, the Campaign asks
politicians to support, or pledge to support funds for tobacco prevention
programs, regulating tobacco products, increasing tobacco taxes and
supporting the federal tobacco lawsuit.
While the site does
not endorse any particular candidates, organizers say they hope to counterbalance
the influential campaign war chests of tobacco conglomerates. Visit
www.kidsbeforeprofits.org
to find out more information.
4)
CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR HONORS CADCA MEMBER
Connecticut's Governor
John G. Rowland (R) declared today "The Courage to Speak Day,"
in recognition of the drug-prevention organization's work throughout
the State.
The proclamation was formally presented by Dr. Thomas Kirk, Connecticut's
Commissioner of Addiction Services and Mental Health yesterday.
The Courage to Speak
Foundation was founded in 1997 by Ginger and Larry Katz following the
drug overdose death of their son Ian, a 20-year-old college student.
To find out more
about the Courage to Speak, visit www.couragetospeak.org.
5)
U.S.
DEPT. OF ED. MEETING ON ALCOHOL, DRUG ABUSE IN SEATTLE
The U.S. Department
of Education will hold its annual National Meeting on Alcohol and Other
Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention in Higher Education from November
21-24 in Seattle, WA. Professionals from the substance abuse prevention,
education and advocacy fields, along with community coalitions and government
officials are invited to attend the conference. The conference will
also feature discussions on violence prevention in higher education.
The conference will
be held at the WestCoast Grand Hotel and features 100 sessions, including
plenary workships, posters, roundtable discussions, town meetings and
showcases. The National Forum for Senior Administrators, cosponsored
with the Network of Colleges and Universities, takes place all day on
Friday, November 22.
For more information
on the National Meeting, visit http://www2.edc.org/hec/calendar/view.asp?623.
6)
AMA
PRESENTS PREVENTION TOPICS AT BIANNUAL CONFLUENCE
The American Medical
Association (AMA) will present two topics on substance abuse prevention
among youth at its biannual Alliance Confluence, October 6-8 in Chicago
at the Drake Hotel. Reducing Underage Drinking Through Coalitions will
participate in a session to outline strategies to change the community
alcohol environment and reduce childhood alcohol use. Hope Taft, Ohio's
First Lady, and the AMA's Richard Yoast, who will be presenting the
session, both seek to use awareness and action to combat increases in
youth drinking.
Jeffrey Wigand of
Smoke-Free Kids, Inc. will present a session on how to discourage young
people from taking up smoking by appealing to their common sense and
better judgment.
A similar confluence
will be held February 2-4, 2003 in Chicago. For more information on
that session, visit http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2610.html.
7)
NIDA
TO SHARE TREATMENT FINDINGS WITH SAMHSA IN RESEARCH PACT
The National Institute
on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and SAMHSA have announced a unique intra-agency
agreement to expedite the application of findings from treatment research
into clinical application. The $1.5 million agreement between NIDA and
SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) will help ensure
that findings from NIDA's treatment research will be quickly and readily
available to practitioners around the country.
Under the agreement,
NIDA will provide funding to support CSAT's Addiction Technology Transfer
Centers (ATTC), a network comprised of 14 independent regional centers
and a national office charged with increasing the knowledge and skills
of addiction treatment practitioners. The CTN is designed to conduct
community-based clinical trials of promising therapies for drug addiction
and ensure the timely dissemination of effective treatments to community
providers and their patients.
8)
MADD TO LAUNCH INTERACTIVE WEB SITE AND MULTIMEDIA SHOW
MADD will unveil
a celebrity-packed multimedia school assembly show on three large video
screens in the Greater Miami area at Palmetto Senior High School in
front of hundreds of students as part of an effort to reach more youth.
In conjunction with the show, MADD will also launch www.inreallife.org,
a youth-oriented, interactive Web site that reinforces the presentation's
messages through games and other information, and includes opportunities
for students to win prizes.
Using computer instant messaging lingo as a mechanism for communicating
with youth, IRL's message is that real life is about standing up for
what is right, rather than what is popular. This 38-minute show features
poignant stories of real young people, celebrity interviews, clips from
major motion pictures and current music videos.
For more information, visit http://www.madd.org/news/0,1056,5015,00.html.
9)
HIT
US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT CONTEST WINNER #12; VIEW PHOTO AT WWW.CADCA.ORG
This week's winner
of CADCA's "Hit Us With Your Best Shot" photo contest is Youth
& Shelter Services of Ames, IA. The photo was submitted by Kellie
Soderlund.
The winning picture's
caption reads: "In an effort to educate the community and draw
attention to tobacco litter, members of the Story County Teen Task Force
and youth involved with Youth and Shelter Services, Inc. ventured out
in to the community to pick up tobacco litter.
As the youth walked around the city of Ames they chanted, 'Teens Against
Tobacco' and informed community members about what they were doing.
Fifteen youth were able to pick up 10 garbage bags full of cigarette
butts, cigarette boxes, and chewing tobacco cans in just under 2 hours."
Check out the photo now by visiting our website at www.cadca.org.
Why not enter your
photo in CADCA's "Hit Us with Your Best Shot" Photo Contest?
Submit your photo today and be eligible to win a Sony Digital Camera
and $250 cash!! Send your photos to photocontest@cadca.org.
You must be a current CADCA member with all dues paid in full to be
eligible.
