it's 21 for a reason - 2015
TRANSCRIPT
What is the Municipal Alliance Against Substance Abuse?
• Community volunteer coalition
• Our mission is to provide consultation, programs, training, and resources to members of the Bernards Township community with the goal of preventing and reducing the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
Our Community Goals: ESP!
– To educate about the damaging and addictive effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs
– To support events & programs which provide healthy alternatives to substance use
– To create a community-wide presence in the identification of problems and in designing effective measurable solutions
Prior 30 Day Use: 2014 ADAS
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Alcohol Been Drunk Marijuana Narcotic Painkillers
12th National Average
12th Graders
10th Graders
8th Graders
6th Graders
Delayed First Use
* The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism’s (NIAAA)
National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey, 2006
No Alcohol
Problems 90%
Experience Alcohol
Problems 10%
Age of First Drink = 21
No Alcohol
Problems 55%
Experience Alcohol
Problems 45%
Age of First Drink = 14
Chronic Problems: Alcoholism, liver damage, brain damage Immediate Dangers: Drunk driving deaths, DUI, binge drinking & alcohol poisoning injuries, sexual assault, academic decline & failure
Delayed Legal Drinking Age
Since the drinking age in New
Jersey was raised to 21 in 1983,
the number of young people
killed in drunk-driving accidents
has dropped nearly 78%*
*Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey
BELIEF #1: • “It will teach responsible drinking before college”
BELIEF #2: • “If I take away the keys, they won’t drink and
drive so they’ll be safe” BELIEF #3:
• “Teens are young; their bodies can handle it” BELIEF #4:
• “Kids will be kids; underage drinking is inevitable and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Common Parental Beliefs About Under-Aged Drinking:
BELIEF # 1: Teach Responsible Drinking
Alcohol use prior to college correlates to heavy drinking
during college*
• Alcoholism • Drunk driving, DUI • Riding with an intoxicated
driver • Injuries • Sexual Assault • Drop in school performance
* From the Harvard School of Public Health
“College Alcohol Study” - Henry Wechsler, Ph.D.
Intoxicated Drivers
38.5% of Bernards Township 12th graders have ridden with a driver who had consumed alcohol*
* From the 2012 Student Stressors Survey
BELIEF # 2: Taking Away the Keys
Drinking in high school, especially in males, is a strong predictor of binge drinking in college*
Binge drinking causes:
• 1,400 deaths
• 500,000 injuries
• 70,000 sexual assaults
• 110,000 arrests each year
*National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
What IS binge drinking..
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL.
This typically occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men—in about 2 hours
..And what is one drink?
The brain matures through age 25.
Drinking during this time can cause long-term and irreversible damage*
Areas of the brain affected by alcohol use: Frontal lobe: The CEO of the brain. It performs “executive functions”:
•Planning •Setting priorities •Organizing thoughts •Not acting impulsively •Thinking about the consequences of actions
Hippocampus: in the temporal lobe: handles memory and learning Amygdala: regulates emotions, manages anxiety and anger
* American Medical Association
BELIEF # 3: Their Bodies Can Handle It
Taking a closer look at alcohol and the brain..
Research with adolescent rats: Even a single high dose of alcohol interfered with the creation of new nerve cells from progenitor cells in the forebrain. Damage began at a level = 2 drinks in humans. At the level of 10 drinks in humans, the production of all new nerve cells stopped.
• Drinking to intoxication can negate as much as fourteen days of training
• Players that drink are twice as likely to become injured than non-drinkers
• A hangover reduces athletic performance by 11.4% and performance is effected up to four days after drinking
*American Athletic Institute
Athletes…
In May 2010, Huguely was charged with the murder of Love after he beat her to death while intoxicated.
University of Virginia lacrosse players George Huguely and Yeardley Love
Nationally, 57% of high school
seniors did NOT use alcohol in the
past month.
*American Drug & Alcohol Survey, 2009
BELIEF # 4: Is Teenage Drinking is Really Inevitable?
Ridge Against Alcohol & Drugs
The Mission of Ridge Against Alcohol & Drugs (RAAD) is to promote healthy lifestyle choices through an alcohol, tobacco,
and other drug free lifestyle amongst Bernards Township youth.
Raise awareness of Natural Highs and other alternative activities Educate fellow youth about the dangers of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs Create positive change through leadership and self acceptance
“A child who reaches age 21 without
smoking, abusing alcohol or using drugs
is virtually certain never to do so.”
- Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Chairman and President of The National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University
• Teens rely on the adults in their lives more than anyone else to help them make tough decisions and provide good advice¹
• Teen behavior is strongly associated with their parents’ behavior²
• Teen behavior is related to parents’ expectations: when parents expect the worst, teens will deliver²
• Teens in Bernards Township reported unclear rules at home³
¹ Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).
² National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents; Columbia University
³ 2005 Student Stressor Survey
What Parents Need to Know
• Do your children know what your expectations are regarding drugs and alcohol?
• Are you involved in your children’s activities? Do you share with them your interests and values?
• Do you model good behavior?
• Do you teach them what to look for in a good friend?
• Do you monitor their activities?
• When setting rules are you clear, specific, consistent, and reasonable and do you recognize good behavior?
What Can Parents Do?
What Can Organizations Do To Help
• Members and constituents have kids
• Mission Statement to provide service to others and promote integrity
• Specific ways to help:
– Matching funds, donate prizes to our HS booth, sponsor Twilight Challenge, attend/volunteer at events, participate in Neighborhood Coffees, display posters, post announcements in your newsletters
– If your group sponsors activities for youth, make it clear that they are alcohol-free events
For information about the
Municipal Alliance And delaying the age of first use, visit:
www.bernardsalliance.org
Kaitlin Kordusky Municipal Alliance Grant Coordinator
Community Program Coordinator 908-204-2523
American Athletic Institute. Retrieved from http://www.aaisport.org/
American Medical Association. Brain Damage Risks. Retrieved from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/physician-resources/9416.shtml
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, Still Growing After All These Years: Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising on Television, 2001-2005 (Washington, D.C., 2006).
DeWitt, D.J., Adlaf, E.M., Offord, D.R., Ogborn, A.C. (2000). Age at First Alcohol Use: A Risk Factor for the Development of Alcohol Disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry 157:745-750, May American Psychiatric Association
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (1995). College Students and Drinking, Alcohol Alert No. 29, Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism’s (NIAAA) National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey
QEV Analytics, Ltd. (2009). National survey of American attitudes on Substance abuse XIV: Teens and parents. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
SAMHSA. Start talking before they start drinking: A family guide.
Wechsler, H. Findings of the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study. Retrieved from http://www.thegordiefoundation.org/getdoc/ae6cd5de-c5f3-4a7c-8745-03cff5526c6d/Wechsler_paper.aspx
References