New Documentary “Fentanyl Factor” Community Launch Event

Safe Communities Coalition of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties invite the community, media, and key stakeholders to attend the upcoming launch of their newest documentary, “Fentanyl Factor”. FREE EVENT – includes light refreshments, community film launch, & panel discussion. Wednesday, January 29, 2020, from 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM, at Raritan Valley Community College (in the Event Center – Conference Center A & B) RSVP: akovacs@njprevent.com OR www.tinyurl.com/FF-FilmLaunch (Facebook event link) Event will feature cutting edge drug trend information by Co-CEO Lesley Gabel, CPS. Her work in substance use prevention has been revered on a national platform, and she has traveled throughout the …

Prescription opioid use among seniors

Nationwide and locally, marked attention is given to the “opiate challenge,” which is a serious public health problem, an epidemic. With regard to seniors, concerns focus on (1) high rates of narcotic analgesic use, (2) cautious approaches to pain management, and (3) storage and disposal of these drugs (e.g. preventing medications from being taken by other people). Costs associated with opioid misuse and addiction are high at the personal, community and national levels. Read full article here!

JUUL has entered the school system

(CNN)Juul spent hundreds and thousands of dollars to fund youth programming, efforts that a company employee said “seem to duplicate those of big tobacco,” according to internal emails, memos and contracts released as part of a congressional investigation into the company. Democratic members of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy presented the documents Thursday as part of an investigation into Juul’s role in “the youth vaping epidemic.”   Read full article here.

International Overdose Awareness Day – Mercer County

Please join us for International Overdose Awareness Day observation on 8/27/2019 from 6pm to 8pm. The address for Woolsey Park is 221 Washington Crossing Pennington Road in Titusville.  It should be a powerful evening!

Medicare Going In ‘Right Direction’ On Opioid Epidemic

Prescriptions for two drugs used to treat opioid addiction increased significantly from 2016 to 2018 for people on Medicare, according to a federal report out Wednesday. About 174,000 Medicare beneficiaries received such a medication — either buprenorphine or naltrexone — to help them with recovery in 2018, according to the Office of Inspector General in the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, prescriptions for naloxone, the drug that can reverse an opioid overdose, spiked since 2016, rising 501% ― and that is likely an underestimate because it doesn’t include doses of the nasal spray Medicare members might have received through …

8 WISCONSIN TEENS HOSPITALIZED WITH SEVERE LUNG DAMAGE DUE TO VAPING, DOCTORS SUSPECT

Eight teens were hospitalized in July with seriously damaged lungs in Wisconsin, the state Department of Health Services reported Thursday. “We suspect that these injuries were caused by vaping,” said Dr. Michael Gutzeit, chief medical officer at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin where the teens were admitted, at a press conference.  Their symptoms, including cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue, worsened over days or weeks before the patients arrived at Children’s Hospital. Some reported fever, anorexia, chest pain, nausea and diarrhea. Scans and X-rays showed inflammation or swelling throughout both lungs, said Gutzeit. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Keep up with the Coalition

Safe home storage of Alcohol and Medicine Safe Medicine Use, Storage, and Disposal https://njprevent.com/whatsinyourvape/Marijuana (Cannabis)Frequently asked questions njprevent.com/cannabis-frequently-asked-questionsDocumentariesNJ Dept. Education approved resources Share this Post

Netflix to cut back on smoking after ‘Stranger Things’ criticism

(CNN)Netflix has promised to curb depictions of smoking in new programs following a report that pointed a finger at its hit series “Stranger Things,” whose first two seasons featured tobacco in every episode. “Going forward, all new projects that we commission with ratings of TV-14 or below for series or PG-13 or below for films, will be smoking and e-cigarette free — except for reasons of historical or factual accuracy,” said a statement shared with CNN by a Netflix spokesperson. Read full article here!

One in Five Americans Gets Hurt By Someone Else’s Drinking Every Year

The negative effects of secondhand smoke are well-documented—the CDC estimates that tens of thousands of nonsmokers die every year in the U.S. due to exposure to someone else’s cigarette habit. But a new study out Monday suggests that the secondhand effects of alcohol consumption are another source of serious harm, with one in five Americans hurt by another person’s drinking annually.   Click here to read full article!

The Importance of Prevention in Addressing the Opioid Crisis

As our communities, healthcare systems, and government agencies join in the effort to reverse the epidemic of opioid overdoses and solve the opioid crisis, it is not enough to focus all our resources on treating people who are already addicted to opioids. Keeping people who do not have an opioid use disorder from becoming addicted is an equally important task. Addressing overprescribing of pain medications through improved pain management and prescription monitoring has been one important prevention approach; and as illicit opioids like heroin and imported fentanyl become more prevalent, reducing the supply of those substances through law enforcement efforts …