Over the past 18 months, you’ve shown us how powerful our communities, families, and friends can be in the fight to stop cough medicine abuse. But, over those months, we have been struck by how the little things really have been the most important in helping spread the word. There are so many things that may take no more than five minutes, but that truly help raise awareness about this teen trend. And awareness is the first step towards preventing teen cough medicine abuse.

Start with talking about it. Talking with your friends about cough medicine abuse isn’t always easy, but it is important to let other parents know about the warning signs. Parents can’t safeguard their kids about this substance abuse problem if they don’t know it’s occurring. Talking about it with your friends also has an added benefit; sharing information with one another can help you decide how to talk to your kids about the dangers of medicine abuse. Fellow parents are a great resource and can give you new ideas on how you might want to approach your own child on the subject.

As with any tough subject, it can be hard to find the right time and place to bring up cough medicine abuse. Fortunately, the Five Moms web site makes starting this discussion a little easier. Use our “Tell a Friend” tool to reach out to friends around the country. The form takes minutes to complete. Just type in your name, e-mail, and zip code; then, type in the names of up to 10 friends and send!

If you have your own blog or web site, take a minute to let your readers know. The resources we have at Five Moms are perfect for sharing with your readers. Challenge them to tell five friends, too, and see how many lives we can change.

Just think, if your five friends tell five people, who then tell five people more, your efforts will have ensured that 125 parents know about this teen substance abuse trend. And all in less than five minutes.