Drug Use is Life Abuse wants to help parents understand the dangers of substance abuse, and it starts at home.

Preventing drug abuse begins with preventing drug use. Children as young as third grade often feel pressured to try “gateway” drugs, like tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. These drugs often lead to an increased risk of trying more dangerous drugs that lead to substance abuse.

It might be uncomfortable at first but communicate with your child openly and calmly about the seriousness of drugs. Always keep an open line of communication between you and your child so they feel safe and comfortable talking to you about their concerns.

If you suspect your child may be using drugs, it is important you remind them that you are there to help. Have a discussion and listen to what your child has to say. Lashing out may only push them further down the wrong path.

E-cigs, e-hookah, vape pens, vapes, tank systems, and MODs all fall under the same category, and they all pose a dangerous threat to our children.

Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling an aerosol or vapor made from liquid or dry materials that are heated. They can contain flavoring, nicotine or marijuana concentrates. Typically, the device contains a battery, a cartridge containing the e-liquid or dry marijuana and a heating component that can cause a pleasurable high.

Even though most states require you to be 18 years or older to purchase e-cigarettes, our children have easy access to these highly addictive devices, and many of them are tempted to use them. In the 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 39% of students using e-cigarettes used because of a friend or family member, 31% used because of the availability of flavors, and 17.1% used because they believed that it was less harmful than cigarettes.

The hard truth is that none of these reasons are good ones. Talk to your children about peer pressure, educate them on the dangers of nicotine, and remind them that vaping is not safer than a normal cigarette. In fact, some may contain as much nicotine as 20 cigarettes and other harmful chemicals that can cause irreversible damage to the body.
No matter what their reason for using may be, the act is life-threatening and something we must work to stop.

Remember that e-cigarettes come in all shapes and sizes, and they may be difficult to recognize. Check in with your children and make sure their USB drives aren’t vapes in disguise.