Alcohol

When a problem affects the entire state, it sometimes takes the entire state to address the problem. And when the problem is binge, or high-risk drinking on college campuses, it takes both college and coalition staff and students to collaborate. That's what the Missouri Partners in Prevention did to address their community's binge drinking rates.

To reduce alcohol and other drug use takes more than just one or two strategies – it takes a variety of strategies involving the entire community. For 13 years, the Revere CARES Coalition in Revere, Mass. has done just that. The result? Reduced underage drinking and binge drinking rates among youth. Because of their success, the Revere CARES Coalition was named CADCA's Got Outcomes! Coalition of the Year award winner. The honor was given to director Kitty Bowman at CADCA's National Leadership Forum last month in Maryland.

Although men make up the vast majority of drunken drivers in the United States, more young women are driving drunk and getting into fatal car crashes than ever before, a new study reports. The study was reported in Health Day news.

Despite the research on the negative effects of alcohol use on young people, many parents still believe that teen drinking is a right of passage. Many take the approach of trying to teach responsible drinking by letting their teenagers have alcohol at home. However, a new study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, shows that this approach is ineffective.

One of the stories that made national headlines the past couple of years was an attempt by a group of college presidents to reduce the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) from 21 to 18. While research has shown that the MLDA saves lives, there are still those who argue that reducing the legal drinking age could result in less alcohol use on college campuses. During CADCA's 20th Annual National Leadership Forum, a researcher with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) who has studied the impact of the MLDA, will present the latest research on this topic and reasons why the MLDA should remain at 21.

 Adolescents across all age groups perceive a greater risk to smoking cigarettes than the use of alcohol and other substances including cocaine and LSD, according to a new report based on a national survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). An individual’s perception of risk about a substance can be a key factor whether they decide to refrain from using.

While there were slight decreases in the use of cocaine and methamphetamine among youth, teen marijuana use showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, according to the 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey, marijuana use among adolescents has increased gradually over the past two years after years of declining use; and past year rates of Vicodin and OxyContin abuse increased during the last 5 years among 10th graders and remained unchanged among 8th and 12th graders. The MTF Survey, which surveys youth in 8th, 10th and 12th graders, was released Monday by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the University of Michigan.

This week, the Department of Transportation (DOT), in partnership with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), kicked off the "Over the Limit. Under Arrest" national drunk and impaired driving crackdown involving thousands of law enforcement agencies during the holiday season. In addition, DOT announced new data showing states with the best – and worst – improvement over the last year in addressing drunk driving behavior.

A new study funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that suicides – both completed and attempted – occurred at greater rates in rural community areas with greater bar densities. The study was published in the December issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

The Marin Institute launched its second annual, nationwide anti-alcohol-advertising contest, FREE the BOWL. This year's theme is "Free the Bowl from Big Al" (a.k.a. Big Alcohol). The contest, for youth and young adults ages 10 to 25, seeks original ads 30 to 60 seconds long to counter excessive alcohol advertising. The alcohol industry watchdog launched the contest at www.FreeTheBowl.com and will use YouTube to showcase entries. The contest deadline is January 26, 2010, two weeks before the Super Bowl, the biggest alcohol advertising and intoxication day of the year.

Alcoholic beverages popular among youths are more likely to be advertised in magazines with high youth readership than alcoholic drinks consumed mainly by adults, resulting in disproportionately high youth exposure to such targeted alcohol ads, according to a new study.

Due to the growing popularity of alcoholic beverages containing caffeine, the Food and Drug Administration recently notified nearly 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic drinks that it intends to look into the safety and legality of their products.