CaféPrevention.com Introduces Latest Postcard to Reduce OTC and Prescription Drug Abuse in Teens

Springfield, MO (PRWEB) March 28, 2008 -- CaféPrevention.com aims to combat OTC and prescription drug abuse in teens by introducing to parents and adults a drug prevention postcard entitled "Hard to Believe, Isn't It?". Research indicates that the latest drugs being abused by teens are likely to be found right in the homes of your community. This is a shocking concept, and many parents and adults within neighboring towns may unknowingly be helping kids get high. Café Prevention aims to help inform parents and adults about this growing problem with the introduction of its newest drug prevention postcard.

CafePrevention.com works to provide community coalitions, schools, youth organizations, and youth ministries with drug prevention resources. One of Café Prevention's top priorities is preventing substance abuse among youth through eye-catching prevention strategies including drug prevention games, pamphlets, posters, and most recently their latest postcard where each has been developed to encourage kids to reach their highest potential.

New reports tell us that 1 in 5 teens currently report abusing prescription drugs to get high. For the first time, there are as many new abusers, aged 12 and older, of prescription drugs as there are marijuana users according to SAMSHA. Additionally, 1 out of 10 teens report using cough medicine to get high. Community Partnership (http://www.cafeprevention.com) realizes that abuse of prescription and OTC drugs is an emerging threat to our young people and requires community action.

The good news is that research also shows that kids who learn about drug risks from parents and adults are half as likely to use as teens that don't have that conversation. As a result, Café Prevention is launching its newest postcard to help communities marshal a response before the situation escalates even further.

Their latest addition, "Hard to Believe, Isn't It?" has been developed to target parents and adults. With this simple yet effectively written postcard, adults are given essential information needed to start those all-important conversations. Furthermore, these postcards can be mailed or handed out in a variety of settings including physicians' offices, libraries, workplaces, PTA's, faith congregations, schools, and health fairs. The list of places that can benefit from these drug prevention postcards really is endless.

CaféPrevention.com understands that the abuse of prescription and OTC drugs simply isn't on many parents' and community members' radar screens. However, it needs to be, and they have stepped up to make this a problem of the past by creating its newest postcard. In a 2007 survey, 62% of teens stated that prescription drugs are easy to get from parents, 47% stated they are easy to get from friends or relatives, and in 2006, 39% stated they were easy to get online or over the phone. Recently, there has been a dangerous shift towards pharming - the trading of prescription medications which are then ingested by the handful and oftentimes then mixed with alcohol - among teens.

There are troubling signs that teens view prescription and OTC abuse as much safer than illegal drugs. However, this is not the case. Rather, teens' use of prescription drugs and OTC drugs to get high is a problem with far more serious consequences than most realize - teens that abuse have a higher risk of engaging in sexual activity, contracting STD's, failing in school, addiction, overdose, and even death.

"We have taken statistical evidence regarding drug use among teens and coupled this with our desire to provide high-quality, cost-effective, and eye-catching drug prevention resources aimed at strengthen and empower today's teens. We have made these materials, along with our latest postcard "Hard to Believe, Isn't It?", readily available to community coalitions, youth organizations, and youth ministries," states Melissa Haddow, Executive Director of CaféPrevention.com

Designed to deliver critical information in an engaging, easy-to-follow format, the latest postcard, in addition to the extensive resources available at CaféPrevention.com, forms the basis of educational campaigns in communities around the country. These resources alert adults to new substance abuse issues and teaches them how to open the lines of communication. By showing adults how to educate children about substance abuse, as well as providing valuable strategies, this new drug abuse prevention postcard has been designed to get prescription drug abuse 'on the radar screen' of parents and adults. It is Café Prevention's goal that this latest postcard will help mobilize communities around prescription and OTC drug abuse by teens.

CaféPrevention.com is a community's source for high quality prevention materials designed to improve the health and well-being of our youth. For more information or to order eye-catching drug and alcohol prevention materials, please visit http://www.cafeprevention.com or call Melissa Haddow at 417-888-2020.

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