Use Your Instincts

Your brain is still developing until age 25, and drinking can impact important areas, like those that control attention, planning, emotions, and decision-making.

Drinking alcohol affects your decision-making, which can lead you to make choices you wouldn’t normally make when sober. For example, getting into a car with a driver who has been drinking.

Why does it matter?

Drinking alcohol has been linked to:

• Increased risky behaviour

• Higher levels of aggression

• Greater chance of serious harm, like:

• Suicide

• Drowning

• Experiencing or committing physical or sexual assault

Alcohol impairs your judgment, reasoning, and ability to assess risk.

Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows your body down and changes the chemical makeup in your brain. This can affect your mental health in many ways.

Drinking alcohol can lead to changes in:

• Mood – feeling low, anxious, or irritable

• Energy levels – feeling tired or sluggish

• Sleeping patterns – trouble falling or staying asleep

• Concentration – finding it hard to focus

• Memory – forgetting things more easily

These effects can impact your daily life, schoolwork, and relationships.

Sometimes it might feel like everyone around you is drinking, but most youth in Ontario don’t drink alcohol.

Why does it seem that way?

Alcohol marketing is everywhere. You see it in:

• TV and radio ads

• Posters, billboards, and transit ads

• Branded merchandise

• Sports and music event sponsorships

• Social media and influencers

The alcohol industry works hard to make drinking seem normal and fun. The more they make it seem like everyone is doing it, the less harmful you might think it is.

Make informed choices:

• Question what you see and hear about alcohol.

• Think about who is giving you the message and what they want you to believe.

• Base your decisions on facts, not marketing tactics.

Your brain continues to develop until your mid-20s. Using cannabis before age 25 can change how your brain grows and functions.

Why is your brain at risk? The prefrontal cortex – the part of your brain that helps with:

• Decision-making

• Regulating emotions

• Planning and problem-solving

This area is especially sensitive to cannabis during your teen years. How does cannabis affect you? Regular cannabis use during adolescence can lead to:

• Problems with attention, memory, and learning

• Difficulty keeping up with schoolwork

• Higher risk of dropping out of high school or university

Even if it feels like everyone is using cannabis, remember — most youth in Ontario don’t. In fact, 4 out of 5 students didn’t use cannabis in the last year.

Why is waiting a smart choice? Using cannabis when you’re young can lead to problems, like:

• Trouble with relationships – at home, school, or work.

• Health problems – like lung damage or breathing issues from smoking.

• Mental health issues – such as feeling anxious, depressed, or having scary thoughts, especially if mental illness runs in your family.

• Brain changes – like trouble remembering things, concentrating, or making decisions.

Cannabis can affect your mental health. It can increase the risk of serious mental health issues, especially if you or someone in your family has a history of mental illness.

How cannabis can affect your mind

• Psychosis or schizophrenia – This means having trouble knowing what is real and what isn’t.

• Anxiety and panic – Cannabis can make you feel very anxious or scared.

• Depression and suicide risk – Using cannabis often can increase the chance of feeling very sad or having harmful thoughts.

Cannabis can be addictive

• About 1 in 10 people who use cannabis will become addicted.

If you start using cannabis as a teen, this number goes up to 1 in 6.

Make sure you get your facts about cannabis from reliable sources. It’s safer not to use cannabis, but if you choose to, here are some tips to protect your brain and body:

• Delay use – The older you are, the lower the risks to your brain.

• Choose safer products – Pick products with low THC or higher CBD compared to THC.

• Protect your lungs – If you smoke cannabis, avoid deep inhaling or holding your breath.

• Take breaks – Have more cannabis-free days to give your body a rest.

• Avoid synthetic cannabis – Products like K2 or Spice can be very dangerous. They’ve been linked to: seizures, irregular heartbeats, panic attacks and hallucinations and in some cases, death

Know your risks. If you or your family has a history of psychosis (trouble knowing what’s real) or addiction, it’s best to stay away from cannabis.

Vaping may seem safer than smoking, but it comes with risks. The aerosol you inhale isn't just harmless water.

The aerosol you breathe in from vaping isn’t just harmless water. It contains harmful chemicals that can cause:

• Lung damage – Trouble breathing and lung disease.

• Gum disease – Problems with your teeth and gums.

• Changes in the brain – Issues with memory, attention, and decision-making.

• Addiction – Getting hooked on nicotine, which can be hard to quit.

Vaping companies want you to believe that vaping helps you relax. But research shows otherwise.

A study of more than 96,000 people found that those who vape are twice as likely to have:

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Other emotional problems

Don’t let the industry fool you. Knowing the facts can help you protect your mental health.

The aerosol (mist) from e-cigarettes isn’t just harmless water. It contains harmful substances that you breathe in and exhale. These can include:

• Nicotine – a highly addictive chemical.

• Ultrafine particles – can get deep into your lungs.

• Flavorings like diacetyl – linked to serious lung disease.

• Volatile organic compounds – chemicals that can harm your body.

• Cancer-causing chemicals – increase your risk of cancer.

• Heavy metals – like nickel, tin, and lead.

When you vape, you’re not just hurting yourself — bystanders can breathe in these harmful substances, too.

Vape companies know their products are harmful to youth, yet they still try to hook you with:

• Fun flavours like cotton candy and mango.

• Trendy designs that look like cool gadgets.

• Social media influencers who make vaping look fun.

• School marketing and even events like summer camps!

Big Tobacco is behind it

• Tobacco giant Altria Group (the makers of Marlboro cigarettes) bought 35% of Juul Labs.

• An Altria executive even became the CEO of Juul.

Why are they doing this? Big Tobacco wants to stay relevant and make more money by getting into the vaping business.

Canada’s biggest vape company does not make a nicotine-free product. In fact, one vape pod contains as much nicotine as a whole pack of cigarettes!

What are Nicotine Salts (Nic Salts)?

• Vape pods contain Nicotine Salts (also called Nic Salts), a type of nicotine that’s easier to inhale than regular nicotine found in cigarettes.

• Nic Salts are less harsh on the throat, so people can inhale more nicotine with each puff.

• This makes it easier to get addicted faster and stay addicted longer.

Why does it matters? Using nicotine before age 25 can harm your brain. It can affect memory, attention and self-control

Even though vaping among youth is increasing, most Canadian teens are not vaping.

• In 2017, 8.4% of teens reported vaping.

• In 2018, this went up to 14.6%.

That still means 85% of Canadian teens are not vaping.

You’re not alone if you choose not to vape. Most teens are making the same choice.