Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Prevention
To have a healthy mind and body, it’s important to avoid substances that can hurt you. Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs are addictive substances that cause many illnesses and can even kill you. How do these dangerous substances work in the body, and what can you do to help keep yourself, your family and your friends safe and healthy? To learn more about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco, use the direct links on The Times’ Launch Point Web site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/
Here are the best sites for getting your schoolwork done or for just having fun.
Level 1
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information: For Kids Only: There are many ways to say “no” to alcohol, tobacco and drugs. This site, which comes in both English and Spanish versions, teaches you about drugs and how they affect the brain as well as advice on what to do in different situations.
https://www.health.org/kidsarea/
Captain Kid Kad Travels to Smokey Island: Smoking Find out facts about cigarettes and the effects of smoking such as how it gives you bad breath and turns your teeth and nails yellow. Learn what to do if someone smokes around you.
https://www.bu.edu/cohis/kids/kidkad/smokey.htm
SGR 4 Kids Magazine: 350 students urged New Mexico state legislators to pass a law prohibiting selling tobacco to kids under 18--and the law passed a month later! Learn the facts about smoking and find out ways you can help make your world smoke-free.
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr4kids/sgrmenu.htm
Level 2
Mind Over Matter: Take a trip inside the brain with Sara Bellum and see how chemicals affect the neurotransmitters in the brain. Find out the facts about marijuana, opiates, inhalants, hallucinogens, nicotine, stimulants and steroids.
https://www.nida.nih.gov/MOM/MOMIndex.html
CDCS Tips for Kids: This site tells why Boyz II Men are smoke-free and offers facts, posters, booklets artwork, magazines and quizzes that explain why it’s important not to smoke.
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/tipskids.htm
American Cancer Society: Great American Smokeout GASP: This site contains many anti-smoking resources, ranging from games where you battle the tobacco lobby to online quizzes, recent news, a brief history of smoking in the U.S., a question/answer section and sound clips of celebrities speaking against smoking.
https://www.cancer.org/smokeout/
Level 3
Project Know: Marijuana and other drugs can cause the brain to want more drugs even though a person may want to stop using them. Find out how drugs affect the brain, try some online quizzes to test your knowledge about drugs, and hear what teens have to say about being cool without drugs.
https://www.projectknow.com/
Get it Straight: The Facts About Drugs
Join the Prevention Posse as they learn about the physical, emotional, financial and legal consequences of using drugs. Try some research activities where you talk to people in your community about drug-related issues. https://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/straight/cover.htm
NCADI: A Guide for Teens: What can you do if a friend has an alcohol or drug problem? This helpful guide provides information to help you understand your friend’s situation and suggests ways of how you can help your friend get help.
https://www.health.org/pubs/guidteen.htm
Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Brandon Clay, Karen Young, Lynn Ly and Anna Manring.
EXPLORER’S QUEST
The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.
Is smokeless tobacco safer than cigarettes?
CLUE: See SGR 4 Kids Magazine
The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.
Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 80 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.
Answer to last week’s Quest: A chemical formula shows the number of each type of atom or element in the molecule.
