In 2009, researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, uncovered a shocking statistic: Alcohol-dependent adults who take their first drink at age 15 or younger tend to have a greater risk of having a genetic predisposition to alcoholism. Those who drink for the first time at age 16 or older had environmental factors related to their alcoholism.
Above the Influence
Above the Influence is a multimedia campaign to raise awareness about drugs and alcohol that is endorsed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. On the website, designed specifically for teen users, kids can get facts about alcohol, including how it affects the brain and central nervous system. Statistics are available for kids to review, such as Department of Transportation data indicating that 19 percent of 16- to 20-year-old drivers who died in motor vehicle crashes in 2006 had been drinking alcohol.
Kids can also get information on why people take drugs and ask experts questions. There's a section on the website in which to play games, create poetry or contribute your own story of personal alcohol abuse or family addiction.
National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
750 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503 USA
800-666--3332
abovetheinfluence.com
The Bacchus Network
The Bacchus Network is a non-profit, university and community-based organization that promotes health and safety issues for college-aged young adults. Among the issues Bacchus focuses on, alcohol awareness is among the top concerns. The organization devotes its resources to providing young adult-led peer education and support groups, developing cutting-edge resources for promoting campaigns that support health and safety issues and creating strategies for helping communities address key health issues.
Bacchus offers year-round prevention programs and activities. The "Peer Educator" is a quarterly journal that publishes articles relevant to alcohol abuse prevention and related issues. Bacchus encourages college students and young community leaders to start a peer education program and makes it easy by providing tools for creating your own chapter, including how to do fundraising, recruit members and provide peer education.
The Bacchus Network
P.O. Box 100430
Denver, Colorado 80250
303-871-0901
bacchusnetwork.org
D.A.R.E
In 1983, the police chief of Los Angeles, Daryl Gates, had the idea to start a program to help kids resist getting involved in drugs. Today, D.A.R.E, short for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, can be found in about 75 percent of school districts in the United States. There are more than 220 community D.A.R.E chapters. The philosophy behind the drug and alcohol awareness program is to send specially-trained police officers into classrooms to talk with students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.
When police officers go to schools, they provide students with accurate information about alcohol and other drugs. Prior to speaking with students, the officers are trained in childhood development, classroom management and communication. For most kids, it's the first time they have a chance to meet a police officer outside of a law-enforcement situation. Advisory board members for D.A.R.E come from the American Association of School Administrators and Institute for Research on Women & Gender.
D.A.R.E. America
9800 La Cienega Blvd.
Suite 401
Inglewood, CA 90301
800-223-DARE
dare.com
References
- The Century Council: Teach Kids About Alcohol
- Washington University in St. Louis: Young Age at First Drink May Affect Genes and Risk for Alcoholism
- Futurity.org: Age of First Drink Linked to Alcoholism
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety Facts 2006: Alcohol-Impaired Driving
