Teens

March 31, 2008 -- HELENA - Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath released a report Monday that demonstrates the state continues to make progress against the use of methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine in Montana: A Follow-Up Report on Trends and Progress (PDF) was done in conjunction with the Montana Meth Project. Trends identified in the report are based on data that includes drug task force incident reports, law enforcement statistics, crime lab reports, hospital discharge and admission information, survey results and interviews with participating agencies. McGrath's office released a similar report in early 2007.

McGrath said statistics from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Office of Public Instruction were especially encouraging.    » read more »

Governor Asks Public to Comment on Suggested Ideas

March 27, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today released 20 new draft proposals on teen safe driving that aim to further broaden the state’s overhaul of the licensing, regulation, education of young drivers.

The draft proposals from subcommittees of her Task Force on Teen Safe Driving will be reviewed by the full task force with the goal of recommending action to the Governor. Governor Rell is releasing them so that the public can comment about them prior to the task force voting in May on which ones to recommend. The full list of recommendations is attached.    » read more »

Sustained Anti-Tobacco Initiatives Cut Teen Smoking by More Than Half Over Six Years; Bronx Has Lowest Prevalence of Teen Smoking in the Five Boroughs

January 2, 2008 -- New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz released new data today from the 2007 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey showing that cigarette smoking among New York City teens declined by 20% between 2005 and 2007.    » read more »

December 19, 2007 -- New data showing a significant increase in the Montana teen birth rate for 2006 has drawn the attention of officials with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS).

The state birth rate increased 9 percent last year marking the biggest single year increase since 1990, Colleen Lindsay, supervisor for the Women’s and Men’s Health Section for DPHHS, said Wednesday. The previous high was a 3.4 percent increase in 2004. The 2007 figures won’t be available until next year.    » read more »

- New Programming to Roll Out in 2008 Includes Three New Series; Returning Season of Hit Original Degrassi; Documentary Special Degrassi in Kenya; and Two Teen Acquisitions Saved by the Bell and That 70's Show
- Network Celebrates New 24-Hour Status with Special 12-Hour New Year's Eve Countdown: 24 Reasons to Love The N in 2008

December 11, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today made the following statement in response to President Bush’s speech discussing the results of the Monitoring of the Future Survey, commissioned by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), showing a drop in teen drug abuse except in the cases of prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin. Harkin’s health and education appropriations subcommittee funds NIDA.    » read more »

A New Service Learning Program To Combat Teen Pregnancy And Increase Civic Engagement

December 6, 2007 -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Department of Youth and Community Development Commissioner Jeanne B. Mullgrav today announced the launch of Teen ACTION (Achieving Change Together In Our Neighborhoods), a new Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) initiative aimed at reducing rates of teen pregnancy and other high-risk behavior among the City's low-income young adults.    » read more »

Lily Allen, Athlete and Supergrass artwork to appear on chip & PIN cards

LONDON, 30 October 2007 -- Selected EMI artists are coming together and offering young fans an alternative way to get their hands on their album covers – through chip and PIN cards.

In an exclusive and first of its kind deal with NatWest and EMI Music UK & Ireland, label artists including Lily Allen, Athlete, The Thrills and Supergrass are allowing their album artwork to be used on chip and PIN cards for teenagers.    » read more »

BIDEN Legislation will Restrict Teen Access to Cough and Cold Meds Containing Dextromethorphan (DXM)

October 31, 2007 -- Washington, DC — U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs and the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, introduced the Dextromethorphan Abuse Reduction Act of 2007, legislation that will curb the alarming rise in medicine abuse, including the misuse of cough and cold medicines containing Dextromethorphan (DXM).    » read more »

20 September 2007 -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released alarming statistics that show the suicide rate for American children and teenagers was up between 2003 to 2004. That is the most recent period of death records compiled in the United States. The CDC says the rate among young girls that year was especially high.

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young Americans ages 10 to 24.    » read more »

Public service announcement to air statewide urging parents to speak up and discourage underage drinking

Sept. 14, 2007 -- Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison today joined representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, the Century Council, liquor retailers and local law enforcement in Olathe to unveil a new public service announcement and campaign discouraging underage drinking.    » read more »

Public service announcements to air statewide urging parents to speak up and discourage underage drinking

September 13, 2007 -- INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter; Jim Purucker, Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Indiana; Jim Calvert, Olinger Distributing; Dave Heath, Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission; Chief Michael Spears, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department; Brad Rider, United Package Liquors; and Erik Strickland of The Century Council, a national not-for-profit organization funded by Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Brown-Forman; Constellation Brands, Inc.; DI    » read more »

Eighteen communities across the state to receive funds to develop plans to reduce underage and binge drinking

September 14, 2007 -- CHICAGO – Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today announced a five-year, $10 million grant from the federal government to bolster the state’s alcohol prevention efforts. The funds will be distributed by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), to 18 organizations across the state for programs created to reduce risky use of alcohol, underage and childhood drinking, binge drinking, and deaths from alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes.    » read more »

Legislation prohibits marketing of flavored alcoholic beverages to minors

September 14, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD – Representatives from Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich’s administration joined today with the legislative sponsors of Senate Bill 1625 and alcohol prevention advocates to announce how the new law will protect Illinois minors. The Governor signed SB 1625 into law today to prevent the advertisement or promotion of flavored alcoholic beverages, or ‘alcopops’, to children.    » read more »

09/13/2007 -- Helping to make roadways safer for all Californians, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed SB 33 by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) which bans teenage drivers from using all electronic devices – such as cell phones, pagers and laptops – while behind the wheel.

“The simple fact is that teenage drivers are more easily distracted. They are young, inexperienced and have a slower reaction time. We want to eliminate any extra distractions so they can focus on paying attention to the road and being good drivers,” said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.    » read more »