Keeping our neighborhoods clean as we commemorate Memorial Day and Continue to Celebrate AAPI Heritage MonthBy: Vince Yuen, Community Organizer May is an exciting month for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Not only is May AAPI Heritage Month, a month-long celebration that pays tribute to the generations of AAPIs who have shaped our nation’s history, but it is …

Friday Night Live Chapters Aim to Counter Social Stereotypes  Sacramento, CA—This school year, three Friday Night Live chapters in Sacramento County – which are supported by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) – implemented projects to help tackle underage drinking in the county. Friday Night Live (FNL) builds partnerships for positive and healthy youth development, engaging youth as active …

煙草商的掠奪性和陰險的營銷策略，對於年輕人來說似乎是無窮無盡的，因為煙草商不斷推出並促銷對年輕人而言討喜並具有吸引力的帶有口味煙草產品。這些口味如芒果、薄荷、草莓和香草等，可以掩蓋煙草的刺激味道及尼古丁的存在。尼古丁是一種已知與海洛因一樣會令人上癮的化學物質，1  對於尚未完全了解這些產品對於健康造成危害的青少年和年輕人而言，卻相當具有吸引力，因此也特別危險。尼古丁對於青少年發育中的大腦是有毒的，因為青少年更容易因尼古丁成癮並受到傷害。2  簡而言之，尼古丁會毒害青少年的大腦。由於大腦發育會一直持續到25歲左右，而尼古丁會對青少年和年輕人產生負面影響。尼古丁事實上會改變青少年大腦中負責注意力、學習和記憶部分的腦細胞活動，3 4 而且還會讓下列狀況惡化加劇： 內心焦慮 5 暴躁易怒 6 行為衝動 7 處在青春期，對這些狀況自然非常熟悉，而且也已相當具有挑戰性。這些影響結果對任何人而言都並不好，尤其對於仍在學習和養成習慣的年輕人來說更是如此。雖然這些行為當中，也許有些只是因為青春期階段，但尼古丁在青春期所引起的大腦變化卻可能是永久性的。8  尼古丁的危害可能導致對於決策能力的長期影響2，也可能使青少年對於其它藥物上癮的風險增加。9 尼古丁其實完全沒什麼好處。若想了解更多有關尼古丁所造成危害的詳情，請瀏覽www.FlavorsHookKids.org/Chinese。若想了解關於吸電子煙疾病爆發的詳請，請瀏覽英文網站CDC.gov。 參考資料 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, Center for Health Promotion and Education, Office on Smoking and Health, 1988. ↩︎Goriounova NA, …