1.7 million teens nationwide reported abusing cough medicine in the last year. That new statistic from research by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America is an important reminder that our Five Moms efforts to fight cough medicine abuse are critical. To drive down these numbers, we are stepping up our commitment through the Stop Medicine Abuse initiative.

As parents, we have an important role to play in this fight by educating our kids on the dangers of OTC abuse. That said, this new study shows that only 18 percent of teens say their parents discuss the risks of abusing OTC cough medicine with them. As we know, teenagers whose parents talk to them on a regular basis about the dangers of drug use are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don't.

Starting conversations with neighbors and teens isn't easy, but, as these statistics show, it's necessary if we are going to be successful in our fight against medicine abuse.

To help with these conversations, StopMedicineAbuse.org has as an expanded library of resources to help you learn and talk about—and fight—abuse. New to the site are interactive tools and resources you can use to reach parents and communities, including an updated Tell-A-Friend feature and an informative quiz. You can read more about all of these changes in my article, including a new way you can get involved with the campaign on Facebook.

I hope you take advantage of the campaign's new resources, and we look forward to continuing to work with you in the coming months.

All the best,

Becky Dyer