Hello, everybody. Today's February monthly webinar is going to be on teens, high school drugs and sports. And you know what's common? The new trends are. Let me go ahead. And I'm still trying to set up here slideshow. Go for that. To share my screen. There we go. And then I can. This is going to be to slide show play from start. So first off, I want to go over a fairly newer, recent trend I've been researching and from communicating with, you know, their parents, their staff, from what, um, what new trends we're kind of seeing with teens and regarding substance use. It is called, some of you may be familiar of it. It's called zin. Zin, which is a nicotine pouch. There's also other common ones I think on and fellow are the more so, most common nicotine pouches that we're seeing, at least with teens gravitating towards. But the most popular one is zin. And it's believed, especially in this past couple of years, that Zinn is targeting youth to use their product. And there is growing evidence to prove that the sales of these nicotine pouches is all on envelope have more than quadrupled, quadrupled since 2019. These pouches contain nicotine, but they don't have tobacco. But they do come in flavors. So just like the babes in the pods, how they come those pretty flavors, we're finding it's the same thing with these nicotine pouches. They come in those, like, fruity flavors. And I think they also come in a actual tobacco flavor, even there's no tobacco in them. But, you know, the flavors seem to be a trend that teens are definitely gravitating towards. And one of the reasons why they enjoy or they tend to crave, you know, using these products is because the flavors, quote, unquote, they taste good and they're addicting. But so these, these are small. So these nicotine pouches are soft, small pouches, and they're tucked in between your cheek and your gums. And they're very discreet. So it's very, very hard to maybe notice if your teen is using one. Like I said, they're very small, and they can be very, very easily hidden in your mouth, but they appeal with the texture. And then they're very similar, too candy gummy that youth are familiar with, with their flavors. So I just wanted to share that with you guys, something to look out for. You know, I had an example of what a thin nicotine pouch, what the outside of it may look like, and then what the pouches look like maybe something to look out for in child's book bag bedroom. But we are finding that this is becoming a growing problem trend with our teens is these nicotine pouches, unfortunately, and there's not enough research out there for the long term effects to these pouches and how it's affecting our children's brains. So just wanted to get that out there to you guys. So we are going to go into high school teens sports and common drug use. So quick overview here. In general, participation in physical activities and sports can bring positivity to health and wellness. Students who participate in extracurricular activities tend to experience greater success academically and physically, and physical activity is shown to increase brain activity and improve product negativity. However, recent studies show in a rise in drug use and abuse among high school athletes. Research suggests that student athletes have a greater social status and tend to experience pressure to maintain good grades and athletic success. Self reported drug use by teens in general, some popular ones. Alcohol seems to be the number one reported side by side with marijuana. Then you have a hookup, which is a water pipe, cigars, amphetamines. So stimulant type drugs like Adderall, snus, which is a tobacco product, opioids and synthetic cannabis seem to be the. And this was national dater, self reported by teens as of 2023. No. 2022 2023. But I thought this information down at the bottom here is super important. So athletes also report using a specific drug to cope with pain. They call it doping, it's called in sports circles, and it's a big concern. Basically, pain meds are prescribed as a result to athlete injury and are continued to be used to maintain competitive success. So teens are using their pain meds beyond why they were prescribed to them to begin with. They're also known as the use of band athletic performance enhancing drugs as a way of cheating so that they're using it to try to, you know, have to be better at in their sport, basically to be better, stronger, faster. Whatever the reason is with their sport, is why they feel like they need to continue, you know, using these pain meds. Even though they may be injured or injured, or maybe they're not injured anymore, they're still continuing to use them. So this was a study done in 2022 with prescription stimulant misuse among student athletes. And this was high school athletes in contact sports were likely to misuse prescription stimulants throughout their twenties. So a recent study shows that 12th graders who are also athletes, are more likely than non athletes to misuse prescription stimulants in young adulthood. High school seniors who play contact sports are about 50% more likely to misuse prescription stimulants in the next decade after graduation compared to those who do not participate in these type of sports. In contrast, high school seniors who play non contact sports are less likely to misuse prescription opioids over the next decade, although they are more likely to misuse stimulants than non athletes. So this study suggests that student athletes playing non contact sports may have better self control or a dislike towards physical harm that may happen with contact sports. But athletes playing non contact sports may have better academic outcomes and may view sports as a more as a resume builder for a reason why they play. But young individuals commonly misuse stimulants because they believe that it boosts their academic performance, so stimulants appear to this subgroup. Athletes non contact sports some key findings from this study about 31% of high school seniors reported misusing prescription drugs, at least at the ages of 17 and 18, and 12th graders who reported past year prescription stimulant misuse at 11% increased to about 18% by ages 21 to 22 and some other stats relative to the study. So academic pressure and lack of sleep can cause high school teens to start using drugs to boost their performance. Adderall and Ritalin are often chosen by teens to try to study for exams or staying up late to finish homework. These types of drugs are often prescribed to treat adhd, but can cause harmful health effects if not used properly and they can become very addictive. In a 2021 survey, about 1.8% of high school seniors reported misusing Adderall over about a year time span. About 2.3% of high school seniors reported misusing any type of amphetamine over a year time span. So I'm going back to alcohol use being the top most commonly used drug among teens. In general, high school students use alcohol more than any other illicit drug use. Some of those reasons can be due to peer pressure and academic pressure. According to some 2021 stats, about 25.8% of 12th graders had tried alcohol. 29% of high schoolers drank in the last month, 14% binge drink, meaning they had about four or more alcoholic drinks in a row, 17% rode in a car with somebody who had been drinking and 5% drove after drinking. So definitely seeing more of an increase with these risks with drunk driving among our teens. Unfortunately, it seems to be happening more commonly now. Some warning signs that you can look out for. So you know, how can you know if your child is using alcohol, especially if they are an athlete. If your teen is feeling the pressure to perform better in their sport or with their academics in the classroom, they may be more at risk to turn to alcohol to cope. Some warning signs include changes in mood or eating habits problems at school such as poor grades or not attending class, rebelling against family rules, withdrawing from family, friends or extracurricular activities. Different friend groups than usual finding alcohol in your teens room or belongings like empty beer bottles, cans hidden in their closet, maybe underneath a bunch of stuff under their bed and the pillowcases. Focusing they may have. You may be able to tell they're having more more difficulties focusing, maybe at home or maybe in the classroom because their grades might be dropping and also bloodshot eyes or sore speech. So how can you help if you suspect, what can parents do? So some tips include spend time with your teen, find out what's happening, and listen without judgment. We definitely don't want to come on as seeming too harsh and judging our teens because that might push them back to feeling more comfortable, to opening it up and talking to you and expressing what is really going on with them. Teens don't normally like judgment, as of many adults don't like to be judged either. Talk about time management tools and healthy ways to relieve stress. Help your teen get enough sleep maybe it comes to taking their cell phone away, cutting out their phone at a certain time at night when they need to be sleeping. Provide healthy meals and snacks. Make sure your child's eating, you know, breakfast or late snack or a morning snack, lunch dinner. Reach out to a counselor, therapist or other support to help your teen. Reach out to me. I'm also available. It is not uncommon for parents to be shocked when they find when they find their teen drinking. The important thing to remember is that you can affect change and get your child the help they need. While your teen may not fully understand the risks involved with underage drinking, you know there's more you can do as a parent to guide your child in a healthier direction. And at the bottom here, I bolded this because I say this all the time. You are your child's biggest advocate. Nobody else is going to advocate for your child more than you are going to be able to do. You are your child's biggest advocate. Your child, you know, relies on you to be, to stand up for them, to support them. You are your child's biggest advocate. I love that statement. I say it all the time. All right, kind of a quick webinar today. These are some references I use for some of the studies. Does anybody have any questions? This is recorded again, so it'll be posted on tcps, social media and webpage. Again, my name is Madison Elliott. I work for Talbot County Public Schools. I have student services. You can call the board office to get a hold of me. You can send me an email. Madison Dot Elliott, albitschools.org. Feel free to reach out if you have concerns you want to chat if no one has any questions. Thank you, everybody, for coming in and listening to me again, and I hope everybody has a great and safe weekend.