Get in the Know

The 5 Biggies Parents Should Know About Risky Teen Behaviors!

Click here to read an article from U.S. News and World Report on what every parent should know about risky teen behaviors.

Underage Drinking - Why?

PREVENTION at WORK

We Are Using Various Methods and Activities to Reduce and/or Deter Risky Behaviors

READY or NOT, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrise, no minutes, no hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end. It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So WHAT WILL MATTER? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave. What will matter is not your success but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example. What will matter is not your competence but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories but the memories of those who loved you. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

CHOOSE TO LIVE A LIFE THAT MATTERS!

by Michael Josephson

Tobacco Prevention

GEORGIA AND TOBACCO AN UNHEALTHY ALLIANCE

At 37 cents per pack of cigarettes, Georgia’s tax is well below the national average of $1.34. Georgia’s high lung cancer incidence and mortality rates, along with the fact that currently 1 in every 5 of Georgia’s high school students smoke and 1 in 4 uses tobacco products, is evidence that the State of Georgia can no longer afford cheap tobacco. A tax increase of $1.00 on cigarettes and adequately funding tobacco use prevention programs to prevent kids from picking up the habit of smoking and helping smokers quit is an obvious winning combination for our state. Additionally, an increase on tobacco taxes has the potential to generate much needed revenue to our state during these very difficult economic times, preventing further lay-offs or furloughs. Please take a moment to send a message to Governor Sonny Perdue and your state senator and representative by going to the link below and ask them to raise our cigarette tax by $1.00 per pack.

https://secure3.convio.net/acscan/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4975 .

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability (DBHDD), Office of Prevention Services and Programs (OPSP) is launching a statewide education campaign to promote awareness that selling and purchasing cigarettes or tobacco related objects to individuals under the age of 18 years is against the law O.C.G.A. (16-12-171).

Where does Georgia rank nationwide?

How much do cheap cigarettes cost Georgians every year?

The American Lung Association’s annual State of Tobacco Control Annual Report Card was issued and once again, Georgia has a failing grade in almost every category in the 2009 report. The dismal grades are attributed to failure to increase Georgia’s cigarette tax, the fifth-lowest in the country; inadequate appropriations of MSA (Master Settlement Agreement) funding for tobacco use prevention programs; and lack of coverage for smoking cessation treatments and services for state workers and Medicaid recipients. The complete report, including federal and state grades, is available at http://www.stateoftobaccocontrol.org/ .

Questions? Questions? Questions?

Did you know... It is UNLAWFUL to sell tobacco and alcohol to minors in the State of Georgia?

For more information call 1-877-CHECK-ID

Where does Georgia rank nationwide?

How much do cheap cigarettes cost Georgians every year?

Almost 1 in 5 of Georgia’s high school students are smokers

What can be done to change this trend?

How can you help?

GEORGIA AND TOBACCO CLICK HERE

Questions? Questions? Questions?

... It is UNLAWFUL to sell tobacco and alcohol to minors in the State of Georgia?

For more information call 1-877-CHECK-ID

Where does Georgia rank nationwide?

How much do cheap cigarettes cost Georgians every year?

Almost 1 in 5 of Georgia’s high school students are smokers

What can be done to change this trend?

How can you help?

GEORGIA AND TOBACCO CLICK HERE

DID YOU KNOW?

"Methamphetamine is crippling our state. We spend millions each year on Meth-related incarcerations alone,

and yet the number of addicts in Georgia continues to grow rapidly."

"NOT EVEN ONCE"

Georgia Meth Project