Welcome to UMatter

Only you can make the decision not to use tobacco, alcohol or drugs. This Web site is designed to give you the facts about tobacco, alcohol and drug use in Columbia. It will also provide you with resources to find factual information about the effects of alcohol and drugs, real stories from teenagers like yourself and answer any questions you might have.

Recent Posts:

Parents Need to Understand the Total Impact of Underage Drinking

Alcohol use by persons under age 21 years is a major public health problem. According to Gary Pearce, Director for Talbot Partnership, “While many parents are most concerned with their teens drinking and driving, there are many other issues associated with underage alcohol consumption that parents need to be aware of as well.”

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), most people know about the dangers of underage drinking and driving, but what you may not know is that the dangers of underage drinking are even greater off the roadways. This means that parents, who talk with their kids about drunk driving, but not about waiting until 21 to drink at all, are missing an important step in keeping their kids safe.

An analysis of deaths related to underage alcohol use finds 68 percent are not traffic-related. The study, by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), found 32 percent of these deaths are traffic-related, 30 percent are homicides, 14 percent are suicides, 9 percent are alcohol poisonings and 15 percent are from other causes.

In addition, youth who drink alcohol are more likely to experience school problems, such as higher absence and poor or failing grades, social problems, such as fighting and lack of participation in youth activities, unwanted, unplanned, and unprotected sexual activity, disruption of normal growth and sexual development, physical and sexual assault, other unintentional injuries, such as burns, falls, and drowning, and memory problems.

Youth who start drinking before age 15 years are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence or abuse later in life than those who begin drinking at or after age 21 years.

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Posted in: Alcohol Abuse on Monday 20 May, 2013 10:12 am

New York City wants to ban cigarette sales to people under 21

New York City took the first step on Monday in outlawing sales of cigarettes to anyone under age 21, in an effort to reduce smoking among the age group in which most smokers take up the habit.

The bill, which was introduced by the City Council and has the backing of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would make New York City, which already has the highest cigarette taxes in the nation, the first big city or state to set the smoking age at 21. Currently, individuals must be 18 to buy cigarettes.

Eight in 10 adult smokers in the city started smoking regularly when they were below the age of 21, and most smokers who are under age 18 obtain cigarettes from individuals who are just a few years older than them, city officials said.

While an increase in cigarette taxes contributed to a 15-point drop among youth smokers from 1999 to 2007, the number of high-school-aged smokers has held steady at about 8.5 percent over the last six years.

Cigarette packs sold in New York City currently carry a state tax of $4.35 and a city tax of $1.50 – making it the most expensive city in the nation to be a smoker.

“Too many adult smokers begin this deadly habit before age 21,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. “By delaying our city’s children and young adults access to lethal tobacco products, we’re decreasing the likelihood they ever start smoking, and thus, creating a healthier city.”

The bill marks the latest effort in the city’s decade-long fight to discourage smoking, which the city’s health commissioner, Thomas Farley, said was the most significant cause of preventable death in the city. In 2003, Bloomberg outlawed smoking in bars and restaurants, and smoking has since been banned in other public places, including parks.

Quinn, who is running to become the city’s next mayor, made clear that she would continue Bloomberg’s aggressive public health agenda – which has led his detractors to dub him the “nanny mayor.”

MOST TOBACCO USE STARTS IN ADOLESCENCE

While most of the city’s anti-smoking initiatives have originated with Bloomberg, the mayor did not join Quinn in making the announcement on Monday, instead sending Farley to say that the mayor looks forward to signing the bill into law.

Every U.S. state prohibits retailers from selling tobacco products to minors and in most states the smoking age is set at 18. Four states – Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah – require that a cigarette purchaser be at least 19 years old.

In New York, Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island have already boosted their legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products to 19.

Nearly all tobacco use starts in childhood and adolescence, according to the 2012 report by the U.S. Surgeon General, which declared smoking a “pediatric epidemic” both in the United States and globally.

According to the report, 99 percent of all first use of tobacco occurs by age 26. The report also found that if youth and young adults manage to avoid smoking or other tobacco products, very few will begin smoking after that age.

Evidence suggests that once youth start smoking, many find it hard to quit. Of all adult cigarette smokers in the United States who smoke daily, 88 percent started smoking by age 18, according to the report.

Currently, about one out of four seniors in high school – youth aged 17 or 18 – smoke on a regular basis. Among those who continue smoking, half will die 13 years earlier than non-smoking peers.

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Posted in: Tobacco Abuse on Friday 17 May, 2013 9:56 am

Be a mean mom (or dad) — protect your child from cyberbullying

If you’re the parent of a teen, you have witnessed this scenario at your own kitchen table, I’m sure. Less talking. More texting. Virtual conversations, whether via smart phones or social media, consume our kids’ existence.

Our children’s social lives are no longer played out at home and at school, where adults are present, but now inhabit dark corners of the Internet. As parents, we want to believe these are harmless digital exchanges with their school friends — but what if they’re not?

Over 88 percent of teenagers say they have seen someone be “mean” and “cruel” to another person on a social network site according to the Pew Research Center. The most common form of cyberbullying is wide distribution of intimate information to the public.

Having private text messages forwarded without consent or having an embarrassing picture posted on Facebook without permission can lead to a tidal wave of emotional and verbal abuse. Now anyone and everyone can provoke a cyber attack without fear of consequences, or so it would seem.

But the consequences are very real. According to the Cyberbulling Research Center, virtual attacks result in teenage depression, low self-esteem — and worse — suicide.

Take the beautiful 15-year-old teenage girl from California, Audrie Pott, who police say was raped while unconscious at a party.

Tragically, Audrie hanged herself eight days after her attackers posted humiliating photos of her on social media. Right before committing suicide, Audrie posted on Facebook, “My life is ruined. … The whole school knows. … My life is over. …” Three 16-year-old boys have been arrested and are being prosecuted in a wrongful death suit, which basically aims to prove that the evil actions of these three teenage boys led to the death of Audrie Pott.

In the wake of Audrie’s case, Canadian police have reopened the case of Rehtaeh Parsons, another teen girl who committed suicide after photos of her alleged sexual assault went viral

And, of course, we cannot forget about the brave rape victim in Stuebenville, Ohio, who is currently seeking justice not just against her convicted rapist but also against the high school football players who filmed the attack and bragged about it by spreading the footage throughout the Web.

Hopefully, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s investigation of both kids and adults involved will culminate in other much-deserved convictions.

But here’s my question: If social media is known as a tremendous problem among our teens, then what are adults going to do to protect them?

Twitter has done a good job providing a “Safety Tips for Parents” page that aims to educate parents on parental blocks.  Other researchers are working on apps and algorithms to detect and report bullying online. But these efforts cannot go far enough.

Think about it. Parents are legally responsible for their children until they reach adulthood.

Therefore, shouldn’t they be expected to know what’s going on with their own kids in cyberspace? While you cannot always read over your kids’ shoulders, you can keep the lines of communication open.

A wise teacher named Erin Kurt asked her students the same questions every year for over 16 years, and from these responses she learned, “The Top 10 Things Kids Want from Parents.” At the top of the list, most kids just want their parents to sit and talk with them privately. When was the last time you sat down face to face with your child and asked them, “What is going on in your life, and are you all right?”

Beyond open discussions, watch for signs of changed behavior. A teenager’s body language, words, changes in eating and sleep habits, and a drastic drop in grades can all be indications that your child is facing bullying. Silence often makes a powerful statement.

If your child is being cyberbullied, get the passwords and usernames of their social media and e-mail accounts.

Block users who are harassing your child. If threats persist, screenshot hateful posts and pictures and reach out to other parents, schools, and eventually law enforcement.

Above all, validate their feelings and respect their struggles, no matter how seemingly harmless.

Take a moment to remember how hard it is to be a kid, and then multiply that by about a thousand. We have no idea what they are really up against in today’s culture.

These tactics might seem extreme, but it is our duty as moms and dads to protect our children — sometimes even from themselves.

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Posted in: Bullying & Cyber Bullying on Tuesday 14 May, 2013 9:56 am