Disclaimer: The Activator is designed to keep prevention professionals informed about emerging products, industry marketing, public messaging, research, and current events. Content is shared to promote awareness and informed discussion—not to endorse, recommend, or promote any product, opinion, organization, or viewpoint featured within the newsletter.

Being a preventionist means you never really stop noticing things.

I can walk into a store, stream a show, scroll through my feed, or sit through a commercial break and find myself looking for the trends, products, promotions, and subtle messages shaping what we see as “normal”—and, of course, thinking, “That needs to go in The Activator!” 😆

This week, it happened on an end cap at my local big-box store: Beer Cheese Cheez-It crackers featuring prominent Coors Light branding. And listen, I’m from Wisconsin—I’m certainly not suggesting beer cheese can’t be delicious. 🧀🍺 But Cheez-Its are also a familiar snack enjoyed across generations, from daycare snack packs to senior centers. So when an alcohol brand becomes part of that familiar, everyday snack experience, I notice.

That’s what prevention asks us to do: look beyond the product to the message and the environment around it. What does prominent alcohol branding on a mainstream snack communicate? Does repeated exposure make the brand feel more familiar, ordinary, or simply part of everyday life—even among people who aren’t old enough to drink? I’m not telling you what to think about the crackers. I’m asking you to notice the end cap.🛒



Because once you start looking at the world through a prevention lens, you see things everywhere. And that, my friends, is a day in the life of a preventionist. 💛

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk about Wisconsin WINS and our local tobacco prevention efforts—and it was another great reminder that prevention work doesn’t tell its own story. Strong partnerships with local media help us take what we’re seeing and doing in our communities and put it in front of the people who need to hear it. Whether we’re highlighting successful compliance checks, emerging products like nicotine pouches, or the bigger picture of preventing youth access and nicotine use, media partners can help turn local prevention efforts into community awareness—and awareness into action. Check out the two links below, which feature different soundbites emphasizing why we need to go beyond simply raising awareness and continue working together to reduce youth access. Don’t wait for the media to find your prevention story—build the relationship, give them the story, and help prevention get heard! 📣💛



• 6PM broadcast - https://www.wsaw.com/video/2026/10/01/nicotine-pouches-small-inexpensive-very-accessible-kids/
• 5PM broadcast - two story links, same video - https://www.wsaw.com/video/2026/10/01/keeping-your-kids-away-harmful-nicotine-products/ and https://www.wsaw.com/2026/10/01/prevention-specialist-raises-red-flag-nicotine-pouches/

Related resources: This week, CADCA posted a new blog - Nicotine Pouches: Growing Nicotine Concentrations, Growing Concern for Youth - which really breaks down the nicotine pouch trend which is flooding your local storefronts and exploding on the online markets.

I also regularly use the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids fact sheet and list of FDA-Authorization List of Nicotine Pouch Products in my media and stakeholder outreach! Have one you use? Send it on!

🍺Is Alcohol Losing Its Appeal?📉

Why alcohol and drug use may be declining among young Americans ABC News

...Public health awareness campaigns may be behind some of the declines...

Gen X is drinking more as younger Americans cut back on alcohol, study finds The Guardian

News from the North: Alcohol is Canada's biggest drug problem. So why aren't people getting help? CBC

🎓 What’s Trending on Campus?🔍

University of Vermont police warn of suspected drink-spiking incidents 10Boston (MA)

Emerging opioid cycholorphine can be hidden in other drugs, MSU warns East Lansing Info (MI)

UK officials issue drug warning after Ole Miss deaths WKYR (KY)

New deadly synthetic drug warning: What Ohio colelge students need to know about cychlorphine WBNS10 (OH)

University of Arizona students warned about new street drug cychlorphine 13News (AZ)

📱Peptides: The Wellness Trend to Watch🧬

From TikTok and fitness influencers to longevity clinics and celebrity wellness conversations, peptides are having a moment. They’re being promoted for everything from weight loss and muscle growth to injury recovery, anti-aging, and improved performance. While some peptide-based medications have established medical uses, other products promoted online have limited evidence or are not FDA-approved for human use. For prevention, it’s another trend worth watching—particularly as social media, wellness culture, and easy online access can make experimental products feel mainstream before the science catches up. 🔍

Peptides and teens: Are they safe? What parents need to know Partnership to End Addiction

What this article is about: Peptides have gained attention recently for their potential in muscle building, skin improvement, and weight loss, especially among teens. However, many peptide products promoted online are unapproved and can carry serious risks. It’s crucial for parents to understand what they are, how they can affect the body, and how to support their children.

Peptides are all over social media and the news. Here's what to know about them. Harvard TH Chan - School of Public Health

FDA advisors narrowly vote to add 6 peptides to a drug compounding list. What's next? ESPN

Peptides: The benefits, the risks, and the black market

NBC4 (CA)

Remember the BuzzBallz x Pop-Tarts collaboration we’ve been talking about? Here’s an important update—and a great example of the role advocacy can play. More than 30 public health organizations raised concerns about pairing a well-known youth-associated food brand with 15% ABV cocktails, and the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance met with Mars to discuss those concerns. Mars subsequently said it regretted the partnership, canceled remaining marketing plans, and said Pop-Tarts would not pursue similar alcohol co-branding partnerships in the future.

This is why advocacy matters: prevention professionals and organizations can identify concerns, bring evidence and community perspectives forward, and engage companies and decision-makers in conversations about public health.

Awareness is important—but advocacy provides another avenue for communities to make their concerns heard.

Pop-Tarts is ending its BuzzBallz collab after backlash Delish

New to prevention—or ready for a refresher? The Great Lakes PTTC is offering a free Foundations in Substance Misuse Prevention webinar series from October 2026 through March 2027. Sessions cover the building blocks of effective prevention, including risk and protective factors, what doesn’t work, evidence-based strategies, logic models, and fidelity and adaptation—with free slides and handouts to support your learning. A great opportunity for newer preventionists and seasoned professionals looking to get back to the basics!

Explore the series and register - starts October 8th!

💻🎓 Learn More, Spend Less!

Scholarships are still available! Use code PTTC350 to bring your registration down to just $125, then join from the comfort of your own office and earn up to 18 continuing education hours. Even better, you can join me in learning alongside other experts from across the prevention field—without the travel! Don’t miss this affordable opportunity to learn, connect, and build your prevention toolbox. 🙌 Learn more

🌱 Build Foundations Beyond Prevention Conferences📚

One of my favorite ways to build your prevention foundation is to learn outside traditional prevention spaces. The 2026 Wisconsin Public Child Welfare Conference, October 21–23, is a great example, with sessions on family engagement, substance use and mental health, protective factors, lived experience, community partnerships, and more. For just $100, you can attend in Wisconsin Dells or virtually and earn up to 19 continuing education hours. And I might be a little biased—I’ll be there Friday presenting Old Drugs, New Threats®! 😉 Sometimes building your foundation means stepping outside your usual lane and learning from those working right alongside it. Learn more

🎀 Red Ribbon Week Is Coming!❤️

Red Ribbon Week is October 23–31, and our partners at VIVE18 have resources to help communities bring prevention to life with youth. Whether you’re still planning activities or looking for something new to add, take a look at their 2026 Red Ribbon Week resources and use the week as an opportunity to start conversations, engage young people, and make prevention visible.

Explore their new toolkit

🌿 Marijuana Rescheduling Update⚖️

Our partners at Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) are sharing an update on the ongoing federal marijuana rescheduling proceeding. According to SAM, the DEA administrative law judge has stayed the proceeding for two weeks and requested additional briefing following a Government Accountability Office report examining federal controlled-substance scheduling processes. SAM is a participant in the proceeding and has opposed moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, so its article reflects that organization’s perspective on the issue. Read More

Five years. Thousands of people. Countless connections—and more gratitude than I can put into words. What started as M3 Consulting LLC in September 2021 has given me opportunities to present to thousands of people across the United States, learn alongside incredible professionals, visit communities I might never otherwise have experienced, and turn a whole lot of ideas into action. None of it happens alone. To everyone who has followed, subscribed, shared, referred, encouraged, hired, partnered, collaborated, contracted with me—or trusted me to work under your organization’s umbrella—thank you. Every opportunity, introduction, repeat invitation, kind word, and “I know someone you should talk to” has helped build M3 into what it is today. Y’all truly are the best. 💙 I’m incredibly grateful for the first five years—and even more excited to see where we go next! 🚀

UW–Madison is hiring a Substance Use Prevention Coordinator to work within the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ Division of Care and Treatment Services. The position will help manage statewide substance use prevention services, including evidence-based prevention strategies, grantee monitoring, contracts, training and technical assistance, planning, evaluation, and strengthening Wisconsin’s prevention system. It’s a hybrid, 12-month appointment with the possibility of extension; starting salary is $70,000 and negotiable based on experience and qualifications. Applications close October 1, 2026 at 11 PM CT.

The Activator may land in your inbox on Friday, but the prevention conversation keeps going all week long! This week on Facebook and LinkedIn, we’ve been talking emerging trends, sharing practical tools and funding opportunities, exploring leadership and sustainability, and—of course—having a little fun along the way. From Trend Tuesday to Toolbox Thursday, Strategy Saturday, and Sustainable Leader Sunday, there’s always something new to help you stay informed and move ideas into action. Follow along—and don’t just scroll by!

Like, comment, share, and add your voice to the conversation.