PRESENTED THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF THE

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: 2011 ADAS

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Alcohol Marijuana Tobacco (Cigarettes)

Prescription Drugs

12th Grade National Average

12th Graders in Bernards Township

10th Graders in Bernards Township

8th Graders in Bernards Township

6th Graders in Bernards Township

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

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:

oPrefrontal cortex = Judgment, reasoning, impulse control, retaining and learning information

oHippocampus = memory, learning

* American Medical Association

BELIEF # 3: Their Bodies Can Handle It

15 YEAR-OLD MALE

NONDRINKER

15 YEAR-OLD MALE

HEAVY DRINKER

Adolescent Brain Activity

• 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?

“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

Social Host Video

Social host laws and consequences of underage drinking

• 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

• Use the 40 Developmental Assets • 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

Delaying the age of first drink protects your children’s futures.

Remember…

For information about the

Municipal Alliance And delaying the age of first use, visit:

www.bernardsalliance.org

For information about

BuildingYouth And the 40 Developmental Assets, visit:

www.bernardsassets.org

Kaitlin Kordusky Municipal Alliance Grant Coordinator

Community Program Coordinator 908-204-2523

kkordusky@bernards.org

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