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In this Issue... In this Issue... ALPINE THREADS No Tobacco Products Sold to Minors in Alpine County! On September 26, 2019, the Alpine County Tobacco Control Program conducted its annual local survey of retailers and their compliance with California’s Tobacco 21 law. This law is meant to protect young people under the age of 21 from accessing tobacco and vaping products in retail environments. The survey involves having a trained youth investigator attempt to purchase a tobacco product at each retail location in the county, while under the supervision of two adult chaperones. The stores are also checked for the required signs including the 1-800-5 ASK-4-ID sign posted near the register and the “No Tobacco & E-Cigs Under 21” decal on their window. Besides displaying the proper signage, all California tobacco retailers are required to train their employees to ask for identification for any person who appears to be under the age of 27, and to refuse sale to any person under the age of 21. Both of the currently open tobacco retailers in Alpine County, the Markleeville General Store and Lake Alpine Resort, can be congratulated for their compliance with the law that protects the health of our youth. Each clerk followed the proper procedures by asking for identification and refusing to sell to the youth investigator. Both clerks were courteous and conscientious while upholding the Tobacco 21 law. With the current epidemic of teen vaping, it is more important than ever that retailers do their part to protect youth from tobacco products. As of 2018, the Centers for Disease Control reports 20.8% of high schoolers vape and the numbers continue to grow. With flavors like cotton candy and cinnamon breakfast cereal, vaping e-liquids are enticing to young people and can lead to a lifelong addiction to nicotine. Law-abiding tobacco retailers are pivotal in the fight against youth tobacco use. Community and Family Life in the California Alps Winter 2020 Community and Family Life in the California Alps Winter 2020 Alpine Watershed Group....... 2 California Health & Wellness 3 Nicotine Addiction often Starts out Sweet 4 We Count: 2020 Census Message 5 Live Violence 5 Suicide Prevention Network 5 Tips for Parents: Underage Drinking in California............. 6 Screen Time might be physically changing Kids’ Brains 7 Healthy Eating, in a SNAP!.... 8 Masthead photo courtesy of Alpine County photographer Todd Branscombe. ---PAGE BREAK--- [ 2 ] Alpine County Threads I Winter 2020 What Do Weeds Have to Do with a Healthy Watershed? By Kimra McAfee, Alpine Watershed Group Executive Director There’s something simple we can all do for the environment every time we walk, bike, or drive through Alpine County: Be on the lookout for invasive weeds. The plants I am talking about aren’t native to our local environment, and they tend to spread very aggressively. In doing so, they displace native and desirable plants. They can form monocultures, taking over an entire area, which decreases wildlife habitat. Some stands of invasives increase fire hazards. Some invasive species aren’t good at holding the soil—the eroding soil makes the stream or lake less healthy. The best way to keep issues with invasives as small as possible is to find the species early in its expansion, and keep it from spreading. At our November watershed group meeting, El Dorado and Alpine County Deputy Agricultural Commissioner LeeAnne Mila introduced us to a variety of these scary weeds. Some of the species, like spotted knapweed, Canada thistle, and perennial pepperweed (tall whitetop), are already in Alpine County. Others, like purple loosestrife, haven’t made it here yet, and it would be really good if we could keep it that way. These weedy species can be quite pretty. But when you learn the details—tens to hundreds of thousands of seeds per plant, and some can also regrow from shoots and roots—it’s rather amazing that we have so many native plant landscapes. The aggressiveness of the invaders is mind-boggling. Many of us aren’t good at identifying plants. That’s okay. LeeAnne emphasized that we should all follow our guts. If something doesn’t look right in the landscape, take multiple pictures (including one with a coin or something else in the photo for scale), make sure you note the location if your camera doesn’t do so, and report the weed to the Department of Agriculture at (530) 621-5520 or [EMAIL REDACTED]. Early detection saves finite resources when it comes to controlling weeds. For a flyer on six of the baddies already in Alpine County, please visit www. alpinewatershedgroup.org > Latest News. You can stop by our office to pick up a brochure with more details on noxious weeds in the Carson River Watershed (50 Diamond Valley Road, the green building next to Community Development). Or dive deep at www.cal-ipc.org > Plants. Seeds can stick to your shoes or dog, become lodged between your tire treads, or be brought in with gravel or hay. So besides being a weed watcher, please think about how you might be helping weeds spread. Thank you for helping us keep the plant and animal diversity in Alpine County by watching out for weeds and their seeds! [ Perennial Pepperweed ] [ Spotted Knapweed ] ---PAGE BREAK--- Alpine County Threads I Winter 2020 [ 3 ] ---PAGE BREAK--- [ 4 ] Alpine County Threads I Winter 2020 On September 22, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of flavored cigarettes in the United States under the authority of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.[1] This decision was based on evidence that flavored products make it easier to start smoking by masking the unpleasant flavor of tobacco, and flavors make cigarettes very appealing to young people.[2] This law was a very important step in preventing and reducing smoking among young people, but it did not go far enough in banning flavors from all tobacco products. While the use of flavors in cigarettes was banned, flavors in other similarly addictive and attractive tobacco products like cigars, smokeless tobacco (including dip, snuff, and snus), hookah tobacco (also called shisha), and vaping e-liquids are still allowed. Just like cigarettes, these tobacco products all contain nicotine, which makes it very difficult to quit. Nicotine is especially harmful to the developing adolescent brain, making the fact that flavors attract youth and young adults to these products exceptionally concerning. Exposure to nicotine has a long-lasting impact, impairing the parts of the brain that are involved with impulse control and weighing the consequences of an action.[3] Nicotine exposure during adolescence also may predispose one to addictions.[2] Vaping exposes the user and bystanders to toxic chemicals and unknown long term health effects. The 2009 ban on the sale of flavored cigarettes made all cigarette flavors illegal except for one very important flavor– menthol, commonly used in mint flavoring to make things taste cool and fresh. Users of menthol tobacco products perceive it as less harmful because the menthol masks the harshness.[4] Because menthol makes smoking feel less harsh, new smokers are more likely to start smoking cigarettes. Menthol not only makes it easier to start smoking, but also makes it harder to quit.[5] Menthol and other flavored tobacco products are very attractive to young people and new smokers because they taste good. Some flavors used in tobacco contain the same chemicals as popular treats like Jolly Rancher, Life Savers, and Kool-Aid drink mix.[6] Even though the overall rate of cigarette smoking in the U.S. has decreased in recent years, the use of menthol cigarettes, vaping and hookah among young people and new smokers has increased.[7, 8] Studies show that most teens that use or try tobacco choose a flavored product, and young people are much more likely than adults to use a flavored tobacco product.[9, 10] Although many of these products are not sold in Alpine County, our young people have easy access to these things across the border in Nevada where the tobacco purchase age remains 18. It is important to remember that even though using flavored tobacco products may taste good now; these products are addictive and can lead to cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other smoking-related diseases. Educating the younger generation of Alpine County on the dangers of these products is the first step in preventing them from starting a lifelong tobacco addiction. For more information please contact Nora Esders at the Alpine County Tobacco Control Program at [EMAIL REDACTED] or (530) 694-2235 ext. 242. Citations 1. Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, Division A--Family Smoking Prevention And Tobacco Control Act. Public Law, 2009. 111: p. 31. 2. Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff General Questions and Answers on the Ban of Cigarettes that Contain Certain Characterizing Flavors U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, and Center for Tobacco Products, Editors. September 22, 2009 3. Goriounova, N.A. and H.D. Mansvelder, Short-and long-term consequences of nicotine exposure during adolescence for prefrontal cortex neuronal network function. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine, 2012. 2(12): p. a012120. 4. Kreslake, J.M., et al., Tobacco industry control of menthol in cigarettes and targeting of adolescents and young adults. American Journal of Public Health, 2008. 98(9): p. 1685. 5. Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC), Menthol cigarettes and the public health: Review of the scientific evidence and recommendations., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration, Editor. 2011: Rockville, MD. 6. Brown, J.E., et al., Candy flavorings in tobacco. New England Journal of Medicine, 2014. 370(23): p. 2250-2252. 7. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, The National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report: Use of Menthol Cigarettes. 2009: Rockville, MD. 8. Arrazola, R.A., et al., Tobacco use among middle and high school students —United States, 2011-2014. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2015. 64(14): p. 381-5. 9. Ambrose, B.K., et al., Flavored Tobacco Product Use Among US Youth Aged 12-17 Years, 2013-2014. JAMA, 2015: p. 1-3. 10. King, B.A., S.R. Dube, and M.A. Tynan, Flavored cigar smoking among US adults: findings from the 2009–2010 National Adult Tobacco Survey. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2013. 15(2): p. 608-614. ---PAGE BREAK--- Alpine County Threads I Winter 2020 [ 5 ] The Census 2020 is coming in April. Filling out the Census form for your address is easy. You can even do it on your smartphone or at the Library on April 1st! The Census happens every 10 years, and it is the only official population count in the U.S. Your answers on the Census help decide how much money your community will receive for the next 10 years. It also decides your allotted representation in California and Washington, D.C. Remember, when it comes to the Census, everyone counts. Count ALL children living at your address. Don’t forget to include babies (born on or before April 1, 2020), nieces, nephews, grandchildren, foster children, and people not related to you (like a friend and his/her child) if they are living with you on April 1, 2020. Mission statement: Live Violence Free is committed to promoting a violence free community through education and advocacy to address domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and basic needs. Services: Advocacy, peer counseling/support, legal program, accompaniment, therapy, basic needs (food and clothing) and parenting services. Location: 100 Foothill Rd, Suite A, Markleeville, CA 96120 Office hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm Phone number: [PHONE REDACTED] 24-hour crisis line: [PHONE REDACTED] We Count: 2020 Census Message by First 5 Association of California ---PAGE BREAK--- [ 6 ] Alpine County Threads I Winter 2020 Please contact Alpine County Behavioral Health Services for additional Prevention information. Misty Dee- AOD Program Specialist (530) 694-1816 ---PAGE BREAK--- Alpine County Threads I Winter 2020 [ 7 ] Alpine County Public Health is now on Facebook & Twitter Like us and follow us for up to date information and tips about healthy living and emergency preparedness in beautiful Alpine County! Screen Time might be physically changing Kids’ Brains A study published in JAMA Pediatrics warns that kids’ literacy and language skills suffer with screen use, and MRI scans of their brains appear to back up the findings. The study: Forty-seven 3- to 5-year-olds took a test to measure their cognitive abilities, and their parents were asked to answer a detailed survey about screen time habits. Questions included: How frequently do they use that screen? What type of content are they viewing? And is there an adult sitting with the child talking about what they’re watching? The answers were scored against a set of screen time guidelines put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The kids also had their brains scanned in an MRI machine. Brain changes: The scans revealed that kids who spent more time in front of screens had what the authors call lower “white matter integrity.” White matter can be roughly thought of as the brain’s internal communications network—its long nerve fibers are sheathed in fatty insulation that allows electrical signals to move from one area of the brain to another without interruption. The integrity of that structure—how well organized the nerve fibers are, and how well developed the myelin sheath is—is associated with cognitive function, and it develops as kids learn language. Lead author John Hutton of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital told MIT Technology Review there’s a clear link between higher screen use and lower white matter integrity in the children his team studied. That structural change appears to be reflected in the results of the cognitive test the kids took as well, which showed high screen time associated with lower levels of language and literacy skills. “The effect size is substantial, as these findings also rigorously controlled for multiple comparisons across the brain,” Hutton says. The big caveats: It’s a small and preliminary study. “It’s absolutely not clear that screen time causes differences in brain development and there are many factors that could explain the association found here,” Signe Lauren Bray, a researcher at the University of Calgary who was not involved in the study, said via email. Bray has done fMRI studies on kids brains, and pointed to other work that suggested kids who spent more time in front of screen tended to display more of ADHD. But that study also suggested that the could be the very reason why kids were spending time in front of screens in the first place. Socioeconomics could also play a role, she said, and screen time effects could disappear if those factors were taken into account. Just tell me how much screen time is okay for my kid already. Unfortunately, that’s not so easy. “It’s hard to say what the ‘safe’ age or amount of screen time is,” Hutton says. “My motto is ‘Screen-free until three’—this at least gets kids to preschool with a solid anchor in the real world, where their basic sense of connection with caregivers and early language skills have solidified.” It’s a small study, but also big. “While relatively small for a behavioral study, this is actually a fairly large MRI study, especially involving young children, [and] the first to explore associations between screen time and brain structure,” Hutton says. Next steps include more tests on kids and efforts to figure out how parents’ screen use might influence their children. The take-home message: “Caution is warranted,” Hutton says. “Children are not small grown-ups, and their needs change with development.” Source: MIT Technology Review, Humans and Technology, vol. 4 Author: Tanya Basu ---PAGE BREAK--- Healthy Eating, in a SNAP! Beef and Potato Stew ~ Serves 6 ~ 75 B Diamond Valley Rd. Markleeville, CA 96120 Phone: (530) 694-2146 Addressing the needs of the Alpine County Community ALPINE THREADS Standard Rate U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 3 Markleeville, CA 96120 POSTAL CUSTOMER [ 8 ] Alpine County Threads I Winter 2020 For more recipes, borrow SNAP-Ed cookbooks from the Library and the Woodfords Indian Education Center. Ingredients l 2 tablespoons Oil l 1 Onion chopped l 1 pound Beef stew meat cut into 1-inch pieces l 3 Cloves garlic minced l ½ teaspoon ground coriander seed l ½ chili pepper finely chopped l 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock l 2 small red potatoes chopped l 1 Green bell pepper chopped l ½ teaspoon Salt l Black pepper to taste l ¼ cup Cilantro chopped Directions 1. In a large pot, heat oil. Add onion and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. 2. Add beef, garlic, cumin, coriander, and chile. Stir and cook over high heat for 3 minutes. 3. Add stock, potatoes, carrots, and bell pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently until beef is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. If needed, add a small amount of water to keep stew moist. 4. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving. Alpine Threads Editorial Board First 5 Alpine 100 Foothill Rd. PH: [PHONE REDACTED] www.first5alpine.com Alpine County Health and Human Services 75 B Diamond Valley Rd. PH: [PHONE REDACTED] FAX: [PHONE REDACTED] The Learning Center and Local Child Care Planning Council 100 Foothill Rd. PH: [PHONE REDACTED] Disclaimer: This wellness-focused publication is not intended to provide timely news and/or personal, political or discriminatory statements. Alpine ThreadsEditorial Board reviews all content. Website Links l www.alpinecountyca.gov/calendar l www.first5alpine.com l www.alpinecounty.com l www.alpinewatershedgroup.org l www.alpinebiomasscommittee. wordpress.com l www.spnawareness.org/ ATTENTION LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS & AGENCIES If you’d like to share your website link send it to Gina at [EMAIL REDACTED] and we’ll add it to our column. Alpine Threads is brought to you by Alpine County Tobacco Control, a Prop 99 funded program.