For more information:
Doug Allen, Acting Director, DASA, 360- 725-3700
Pam Darby, State Project Manager, DASA, 360-725-3720
Deb Schnellman, Communications, DASA, 360-725-3763
Media Advisory
63 Washington State Communities and Parents to Team Up This Spring to
Reduce Underage Drinking
OLYMPIA - Sixty-three Washington communities are holding Town Hall
meetings in late March in a statewide effort to increase awareness of
underage drinking and its consequences and to encourage more families
and communities to take preventive action. Underage drinking is a
leading public health problem in Washington. The 2005 Healthy
Youth Survey, conducted in schools statewide, found that nearly one out
of five (18 percent) 8th graders had used alcohol recently, and one out
of five (19 percent) 10th graders recently drank five or more drinks in
a row.
"Just as Joe Camel was used to attract a young, cartoon-oriented,
pre-smoking audience, advertisers today are spending billions of dollars
to portray youthful drinkers looking successful and happy in order to
encourage adolescent and young adult drinkers," said Doug Allen, Acting
Director of the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) in the
Department of Social and Health Services. DASA is one of the
sponsors of the meetings. "We have alcohol that looks and tastes
like pop, and 5,000 youth nationally under the age of 21 who die every
year from alcohol-related injuries," Allen said. "State agencies,
community groups, and parents can save lives by working together to
change attitudes and restrict alcohol marketing."
The Town Hall Meetings will provide an opportunity for community members
to learn more about new research, including local data on underage
drinking and how they can best prevent underage alcohol use.
Community members will also receive education materials from a new
campaign that will be launched at the meetings. The materials
encourage parents to "Start talking before they start drinking."
The campaign materials, developed by the Ad Council, include posters, an
online brochure, and advertising for newspapers, radio, and television.
One of the ads features a young boy in a recovery group meeting saying,
"My name is David and in eight years I'll be an alcoholic."
The brochure may be downloaded at:
http://www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/townhall/materials.aspx.
The Town Hall Meetings are sponsored by the Washington State Coalition
to Reduce Underage Drinking, which is made up of 22 state and local
organizations.
"These town halls are a major step forward in addressing the problem of
underage drinking," said Merritt Long, Chairman of the Washington State
Liquor Control Board. "In coming months, we will work with our
coalition partners to expand awareness in middle schools, high schools,
and the community."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Most Town Hall meetings are planned March 28. For
specific details of local meeting dates, times, and locations, please
contact the following local coordinators:
Meeting locations and
contacts.
top
|
