FAMILY DAY-- A DAY TO EAT DINNER WITH YOUR CHILDREN

TO HELP PREVENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG CHILDREN AND TEENS

September 23, 2011 – Arizona SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) is joining forces with The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA Columbia) at Columbia University to celebrate Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children^TMon September 26, 2011.

Launched by CASA Columbia in 2001, Family Day is a national movement that encourages parents to frequently eat dinner with their kids and be involved in children's lives. CASA Columbia's research consistently finds that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs. Those kids are also liklier to get better grades in school and have an excellent relationship with their parents are are also less likely to have friends who drink, smoke or use drugs.

“Meal time is a great opportunity for families to come together to talk about issues that are important to them in their daily routines. Often times in our fast paced lifestyles it’s the only time the family unit makes the opportunity to stop technology and other outside influences and for a meal and conversation” say Jessica Smith, Arizona SADD Coordinator.

“SADD encourages families to make this a nightly routine, open the lines of communication and talk to your kids about drugs and alcohol, you’ll be amazed what they have seen and what they will tell you, often times you just need to ask. Make the Family Day Pledge; they offer great tools to start what can often be difficult conversations.”

“America 's drug problem is not going to be solved in courtrooms or legislative hearing rooms by judges and politicians. It will be solved in living rooms and dining rooms and across kitchen tables – by parents and families,” says Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA Columbia’s Chairman and Founder and the former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. “Family dinners and the communication that occurs over the course of a meal are critical in building a relationship with your children and to understanding the world in which they live. Parents, frequent family dinners make a difference!”

According to CASA Columbia’s report The Importance of Family Dinners VI, compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are:

• Twice as likely to have used tobacco

• Almost twice as likely to have used alcohol

• One and a half times likelier to have used marijuana

Arizona SADD is committed to strengthening families and believes that celebrating Family Day is an important first step in helping to provide a substance free youth for America ’s children and teens.

For additional information about Family Day, visit www.CASAFamilyDay.org.