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Statistics:
·         According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, more than 1,050 people were killed in crashes involving a teen driver in 2016 during the 100 Deadliest Days, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
·         In the Tampa Bay area, when compared to other days of the year, the average number of deaths from crashes involving teen drivers. Ages 16–19, increased by 16 percent during those 100 days. 
·         60 percent of teen crashes are caused by distracted driving
·         The biggest distraction? Other people in the car.
·         Crashes involving alcohol kill one in every 100,000 teens during the summer months.
 
What parents can do:
·        Talk to your teens about the importance of not allowing others to distract them in the car and to be a non-distracting passenger. Remind them that cars have passenger limits based on the number of seats, and to never get into an over-loaded car.
·         Set and enforce reasonably early curfews for teens during the summer months. Sleepy driving can be deadly driving.
·         Agree upon a safe word that your teen can text to you at any time that means “Come pick me up.” Give your teen the option of getting a ride home with mom or dad, no questions asked.
·         Remind them, daily, to not text, SnapChat, Instagram, or WhatsApp and drive.
·         Talk to them, continuously, about the dangers of driving impaired.

Vaping is not an issue only for high school students. Gary White, the associate director of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance (HCADA) in Florida, provides vaping and tobacco education to students who have been cited per state statutes. The youngest student he has worked with was only nine. Recently, the organization worked with a 10-year-old boy who had been caught with 12 Juuls in school. (Juul is a popular brand of e-cigarette.) “When he attended our class, we questioned why he had so many Juuls,” says White. “His reply was, ‘A man at my apartment gave them to me. He said he’d pay me a part of the money I made when I sold them.’

Vaping Among Teens

Vaping devices are popular among teens and are now the most commonly used form of nicotine among youth in the United States. Some research shows that many teens do not even realize that vaping cartridges contain nicotine, and assume the pods contain only flavoring. The easy availability of these devices, alluring advertisements, various e-liquid flavors, and the belief that they're safer than cigarettes have helped make them appealing to this age group. In addition, they are easy to hide from teachers and parents because they do not leave behind the stench of tobacco cigarettes, and are often disguised as flash drives.   NIDA- National Institute of Drug Abuse

Vaping Additional Information and Resources

Florida Health Department Data on Vaping

TAMPA, Fla. - Cindy Grant grew up among a large family of lobster fishermen, but after moving to Tampa she suffered an unimaginable tragedy. Now she has dedicated her life to helping others overcome substance abuse.