November
New Underage Drinking Research From SAMHSA
SAMHSA has released a supplemental report from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) which looks at underage drinking by source and how the alcohol was obtained.
More than one in four youth ages 12 to 20 report they consumed alcohol in the past month, with 31% of these youth reporting they paid for the alcohol they last consumed and 69% reporting they got the last alcohol they consumed for free. Sources of alcohol vary by age, but among younger youth (12-14 year olds) the leading sources of alcohol is family, whereas a plurality of older youth (18-20 year olds) report their leading source of alcohol is a non-relative aged 21 or older.
Regardless of their source of alcohol, youth who paid for the last alcohol they consumed drink more, on average, than those who did not pay for the alcohol they consumed (6 drinks and 3.9 drinks, respectively.) Additional highlights from the report include paying for alcohol increases with increasing age and that females are less likely to pay for the alcohol they last consumed than their male peers (76% and 63%, respectively). The complete report can be viewed here.
Decade-long Commitment to Alcohol Education on Campus
The Century Council will attend the US Department of Education’s National Meeting on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention in Higher Education. For over 10 years, The Century Council has assisted colleges and universities with innovative strategies to promote alcohol education on campus. Its commitment to developing a comprehensive approach that includes research- based educational materials for students, parents, faculty, administrators and other members of the campus community while supporting enforcement of the legal drinking age provides a solid foundation to our efforts to curb underage and binge drinking among college students.
Most recently, we partnered with the American Advertising Federation to sponsor their 2009 National Students Advertising Competition. Through this national competition, students will contribute to solving the problem of dangerous alcohol overconsumption among college students by presenting new approaches to communicate with their peers about this important issue.
The Century Council programs highlighted at this year’s conference include: Alcohol 101 Plus™ Online, Promising Practices: Campus Alcohol Strategies, Back on Trac, and the Parents You’re Not Done Yet brochures.
For more information about the meeting, visit the conference website.
B4UDrink Goes Mobile!
The B4UDrink Educator, which allows users to learn how alcohol consumption affects individuals' Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level, has now expanded. In addition to B4Udrink.org's online Virtual Bar, users can now use the interactive program on the go by navigating to B4UDrink.mobi on cell phones, BlackBerrys, PDAs, iPhones, and any other smart phones and devices with internet access. Now that B4UDrink has gone mobile, you can estimate BAC levels before you drink anywhere and everywhere you take your mobile phone!
