Evidence Based Environmental Strategies
Reduce Underage Drinking and Accidental
Death and Injury Among Youth
Overall Objectives
Participants will:
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Understand why it is important to take an
environmental approach to underage drinking
Get an overview of environmental strategies to reduce
accidental death and injury among underage drinkers
What research based approaches have met with
success in communities
Examine and discuss the relationship of policy and
enforcement to alcohol prevention work
Learn Available resources and tools to support this
work
Underage Drinking Enforcement and
Training Center (UDETC) background
Identify Promising Strategies
Develop Curriculum
Publish Supporting Documents
Deliver Training
Provide Technical Assistance
Follow up
ABOUT UDETC
Why focus on Alcohol/Underage
Drinking?
ALCOHOL is the #1 drug
problem in this country; and the
#1 drug of choice for youth in
the US and results in a host of
physical, legal, economic, and
social consequences for youth
and the communities in which
they live.
FACT: The alcohol industry earns approximately $22 billion/year
from underage drinkers?
Underage Drinking Stats
Alcohol Kills more than 5,000 Youth Each Year in the
US, which equals 13 youth each day.
Source: Why Do Adolescents Drink, What Are the Risks, and How Can Underage
Drinking Be Prevented?, Number 67, January 2006, NIAAA
Underage Drinking Stats
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Each day, more than 7,000 kids in the
United States under age 16 take their first
drink (IOM Report, 2004)
Fact: 36% of eighth graders have consumed alcohol
(Monitoring the Future, 2011)
Underage Drinking Stats
Most kids drink to get drunk consuming four to five drinks at
one time. (NIAAA, 2006)
Fact: In 2011, Monitoring The Future (MTF) data
showed that 16% of 8th graders, and 54% percent
of 12th graders report having been drunk at least
once..
Underage drinking has many potential
consequences
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Accidental falls,
burns, and
drowning
Alcohol
dependence
Alcohol poisoning
Brain damage
Cirrhosis of the
liver
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Death
Impaired
driving
Pregnancy
Poly drug use
Poor school
performance
(including
learning
impairment)
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Sexual assault
STDs
Traffic crashes
Truancy
Violence
Vandalism
Work
productivity
loss
The HUMAN Costs of Underage Drinking
(youth, ages 18-24) per year
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1,700 college student deaths
599,000 youth who are unintentionally injured
696,000 youth who are assaulted
97,000 sexual assaults
400,000 incidents of unprotected sex
2.1 million drive under the influence
110,000 arrested for alcohol violations
31% of college youth meet the criteria for alcohol
abuse
Source: College Drinking: A Snapshot of Annual High-Risk College Drinking Consequences.
www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/facts/snapshot.aspx
What’s Different About Youth
Drinking Today?
Before
Today
What’s Different About Youth
Drinking Today?
Before
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Pooled Money
Meet in person or
contact by “land line”
Piled in 1 Car
Modified Paper Licenses
6 Pack of beer shared by
the group
Drinking in Fields
Today
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Everybody’s Got $$
Cell phone and text
messaging
Meet at the Beer Store
Computerized Fake IDs
Kegs/Large Quantities of
Alcohol (Beer and liquor)
Drink in Homes, Hotels,
Limos, Remote locations
The US Surgeon General issues a
“Call to Action” to prevent underage
drinking (March 6, 2007)
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Calls upon members of Society to recognize
the severity of the problem of the underage
drinking in the United States and reduce
alcohol use by children and adolescents to
protect them from the negative effects of
underage drinking.
Information can be found at:
www.surgeongeneral.gov
2 Ways To Make Change
1. We can focus on what’s
going on inside a person
(i.e. feelings and
individual choices).
2. We can focus on what’s
going on around a
person (i.e. conditions
in the environment).
2 Types of Prevention Strategies
Individual Strategies
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Focus on behavior, feelings,
and skills
School-based education
programs
Counseling services
Incentives for healthy
behavior
Alternative activities for
youth
Environmental Strategies
Focus on causes and conditions
• Changing economic conditions
• Cost & Availability
• Changing
social conditions
• What people think & how they
live
• Changing
media conditions
• What people read, watch, hear
& see
• Changing
political conditions
• Who has power & influence
None of us lives in a vacuum; we
are all affected by the conditions in
our environment.
FAMILY
COMMUNITY
CHURCH
WORK
SCHOOL
Individual
TV
MOVIES, MUSIC
FRIENDS
GOVERNMENT
FINANCES
What are Environmental
Strategies?
Strategies used to reduce problems
associated with the use of alcohol
through changes in the physical, social,
legal, and economic environment
Basic Concepts of
Environmental Change
Establishes or changes community standards
• Policy-oriented
• Addresses physical, social, legal, & economic
factors
• Involves citizen participation, including youth
• Engages citizen action
• Involves partnerships with law enforcement,
the legal system, community groups, and
community leaders
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Environmental Strategies
What’s So Great About Them?
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Effective and Efficient
Immediate Results
Long lasting effects
Inherently Sustainable
What questions should we be asking?
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What alcohol laws/ordinances are in place or
lacking?
Are laws being consistently enforced?
Do advertising laws exist?
Is there comprehensive/collaborative
enforcement of existing laws?
Are there locations where youth can easily
obtain or know they can easily obtain alcohol?
What policies/programs exist in local schools?
What are the attitudes of parents and other
adults in the community?
Limitations
on Access
Expressions
of
Community
Norms
Strategies
Prevention
of Impaired
Driving
Strategies
Based in
Schools
Essential Elements of Effective
Prevention of Alcohol Problems
Policy
Prevention
Public
Support
Enforcement
Environmental strategies integrate three key components into
a comprehensive plan to address underage drinking within the
community as a multi-pronged approach that occurs on an ongoing basis.
Components of a Comprehensive Plan
PIRE
EXAMPLE OF DATA GUIDED
PREVENTION PLANNING
USING LOGIC MODEL
Example: Logic Model for Reducing Underage
SubstanceDrinking
Substance
Causal
Strategies
Related
Consequences
Use
Alcohol-related
crash fatalities
Alcohol
Poisoning
Violence/Crime
School Problems
Teen Pregnancy
Underage
drinking
Factors
(Examples)
Easy Retail Access to
Alcohol for youth
Educate retailers to
check ID and enforce
underage sales law
Low enforcement of
alcohol laws
Enforce underage
alcohol laws
(compliance checks,
sobriety checkpoints)
Easy Social Access to
Alcohol (parties, peers,
family)
Social Event Monitoring
and Enforcement
Social Norms accepting
and/or encouraging
youth drinking (peer,
family, community)
Media Advocacy to
Increase Community
Concern about
Underage Drinking
Promotion of alcohol
use (advertising,
movies, music)
Restrictions on alcohol
advertising in youth
markets
Low or discount pricing
of alcohol
Bans on alcohol price
promotion/happy hours
Outcome-Based Logic
Models
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Represent complex systems of cause and effect
Encourage planners and implementers to focus on the
most important and strongest paths for creating change
Can be constantly reviewed/revised to understand
relationships, adapt to new circumstances, and
accommodate success
Bring data and evidence to selecting key strategies for
prevention planning
How can we use this
outcomes based logic
model for environmental
strategies?
UDETC recognizes four interlocking
strategies to reduce underage drinking
Limitations on
Access
Expressions of
Community
Norms
Strategies
Prevention of
Impaired Driving
STRATEGIES
Strategies
Based in
Schools
Limitations on access help reduce
alcohol availability to minors.
Limitations
on Access
ACCESS
•Enforce minimum age
purchase laws:
-aimed at retailers
- aimed at adults
- aimed at youth
•Strengthen minimum age
purchase laws
•Reduce social availability
•Reduce overall community
availability of alcohol
Limitations on Access: Commercial
Availability
Limitations
on Access
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Vigorous use of compliance
checks
Application of appropriate
sanctions to violating merchants
Education of merchants regarding
techniques and responsibilities
(RBS Training)
Require alcohol sellers and
servers to be at least 21 years old
Prohibit those under 21 from
entering alcohol establishments
Limitations
on Access
Elected officials in the City of Knoxville and Knox County
have stepped up their support and commitment to
reducing underage drinking. As a result, the Knox
County Commission and the Knoxville City Council have
passed ordinances related to mandatory photo ID
checks when purchasing alcohol and increased
compliance check operations. A coordinated media
campaign related to underage drinking prevention was
created and was instrumental in maintaining high levels
of public support for law enforcement efforts on
underage drinking.
Questions
What obstacles do epidemiologists and
prevention professionals face in proving
the case for reducing alcohol density?
 How do scientists best make their case
on issues that can be very political?
What do you find is the best way to
share data?
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Limitations on Access: Commercial
Availability (continued)
Limitations
on Access
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Controls on hours of sale and
drink specials
Controls on outlet
location/density
Increase price through
excise taxes
Make the manufacture or
purchase of false/fraudulent
identification a crime
Development of community
support for enforcement
operations
Limitations on Access: Social
Availability
Limitations
on Access
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Special enforcement campaigns to prevent
parties where alcohol is served
Keg registration laws
Enforcement of laws against buying alcohol
for minors (third-party transactions)
Enforcement of social host laws
Source Investigations
Development of community support for
enforcement operations
Limitations
on Access
The community of Long Beach successfully adopted the
first social host ordinance in the State of New York.
Collaborations between law enforcement and key
community leaders were instrumental in the passage of
the policy change which has since been adopted as a
model to be used by other communities throughout the
State of New York to aide communities in more
effectively addressing youth alcohol access issues in
social settings.
New York
Tip: Use Comprehensive Community
Interventions
 Involve multiple departments of city
government and private citizens
 Use multiple program strategies
– Community organizing and mobilization
– Environmental policy change
– Heightened enforcement
– Media advocacy
– Education
Remember:
Environmental (Not just educational!!!)
 Realistic
 Specific to the problem
 “Sellable” to the public
 Provides opportunities for wide
involvement
 Be strategic
 Tell your success stories
Never doubt that a small, committed
group of people with a good idea
can change the world. Indeed, it is
the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Meade
National Resources
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AIDA (American Indian Development Associates)
AMA (American Medical Association)
Center for Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws
Program at PIRE (Funded by OJJDP)
CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of
America)
CAMY (Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth)
CDC (Centers for Disease Control)
CSAP (Center for Substance Abuse Prevention)
CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest)
FACE: Truth and Clarity on Alcohol (Facing Alcohol
Concerns through Education)
National Resources Continued
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HEC (Higher Education Center)
IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police)
Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free
(Governor’s Spouses initiative)
LCAT (Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco
Prevention)
MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers)
Marin Institute
Municode.org
NCPC (National Crime Prevention Council)
NCJFCJ (National Council on Juvenile and Family
Court Judges)
National Resources Continued
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NJC (National Judicial College)
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration)
NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism)
NLLEA (National Liquor Law Enforcement Association)
OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention)
ONDCP (Office of National Drug Control Policy)
PERF (Police Executive Research Forum)
National Resources Continued
PIRE (Pacific Institute for Research and
Evaluation)
 RWJ (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
 SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration)
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See our document, “Strategies to
Reduce Underage Alcohol Use” for
more information.
•Visit our website
to download free
of charge:
www.udetc.org
STRATEGIES
Other Services Provided by the UDETC
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Monthly Audioteleconferences
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Monthly Resource Alerts
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Success Story Features
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Research Information
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Toll-free Technical
Assistance Hotline
1-877-335-1287
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Internet Website
www.udetc.org
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Web-based Alcohol
Enforcement Databases
Annual National Leadership Conference
(August 10 to 12, Orlando, Florida)