Drug Bust!

• More than 3.1 million teens ages 12 to 17 report abusing prescription drugs.
• 70% of children who abuse prescription drugs get them from family or friends.
• Prescription drugs are the #1 drug choice among 12-13 year olds.
• Florida has the highest rate of prescription painkiller sales in the country.
• InformedFamilies.org

VIIIth city for HIV

• Orlando ranked 8^th on the Centers for Disease Control list of Top 10 U.S. cities with the highest rates of HIV infections.
• Florida ranked 2^nd among states with the highest new incidences per year of AIDS (nearly 4,400).
• Young people aged 13-29 accounted for 39% of all new HIV infections (in 2009).
• CDC.gov

Spotty Marketing Campaigns

• A congressional report exposed the tanning industry for misleading teens. Four out of five salons surveyed falsely claimed that indoor tanning is beneficial to a young person’s health.
• Every year, nearly 2.3 million American teenagers visit tanning salons.
• Just 4 visits to a tanning booth can increase a person’s risk for melanoma by 11 percent.
• SkinCancer.org

Fat Facts

• 1 in 3 children and youth (ages 2-9) in the U.S. are overweight or obese.
• 92% of elementary schools do not have daily physical education classes year-round.
• The dramatic influx of children suffering with type 2 diabetes (no longer referred to as adult-onset) is linked to the rise of childhood obesity.
• HealtherGeneration.org

Summer Safety 

• Deaths from drowning among children less than age 5 in Florida are more than DOUBLE the national average. More than two-thirds of these deaths occur in swimming pools. (doh.state.fl.us)
• On average, 38 children die in hot cars each year. Unfortunately, even the best of parents or caregivers can overlook a sleeping baby in a car, leading to injury or death. (kidsandcars.org)
• Food poisoning is more prevalent in summer months as foodborne bacteria grow fastest at temperatures from 90 to 110 °F. (fsis.usda.gov)