Underage drinking prevention
Announcements
- Funding Announcement - Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP Act) (01/17/23)
- 2021 Monitoring the Future Survey outcomes released (09/01/22)
- Getting Candid toolkit aids (03/14/22)
- NEW! Underage Drinking Prevention Resources by SAMHSA (05/06/21)
- New publications released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration focused on pregnant women and young adults (12/20/19)
Addressing underage drinking is a state priority.
- Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are six times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who wait until age 21 (National Survey on Drug Use and Health).
- In the United States, excessive drinking is responsible for more than 4,300 deaths among underage youth each year (CDC Alcohol and Public Health: Alcohol-Related Disease Impact, 2006-2010).
Alcohol consumption by youth in Washington State:
- One in five 10th grade students report using alcohol in the past 30 days (Healthy Youth Survey, 2018).
- One in six 10th and 12th grade students reported riding in a car in the past month with a driver who had been drinking (Healthy Youth Survey, 2018).
Prevention strategies are being implemented throughout the state at local, county, and state levels, across the Continuum of Care that influence multiple domains and risk and protective factors. Here is a list of some state-wide initiatives focused specifically on underage drinking:
- Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) supports 82 Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative (CPWI) communities across the state – most have a focus on underage drinking prevention.
- DBHR supported two statewide media campaigns with underage drinking prevention messaging: Out of the Picture, Looks Can Deceive and Rethinking College Drinking.
- Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board - Alcohol and Marijuana Education
- Washington Healthy Youth Coalition – a partnership of Washington State government agencies and organization with the mission to prevent and reduce youth alcohol and marijuana use.
- Out of the Picture – DBHR underage drinking prevention media campaign for teens partner toolkit.
- Looks Can Deceive – DBHR underage drinking prevention media campaign for parents partner toolkit.
- Rethinking College Drinking - DBHR underage drinking prevention media campaign for college students. Toolkit password: HealthyinCollegeWA
- DBHR’s Washington's Best Practices for Substance Abuse Prevention and Mental Health Promotion Guide
- Start Talking Now - website for parents supported by the Washington Healthy Youth Coalition
- Not A Moment Wasted - website for college students supported in partnership by the Washington State Health Care Authority and Department of Health.
- University of Washington Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute
- Partnership for Drug Free Kids
- Underage Drinking - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- Alcohol Fact Sheet (August 2022) - National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD)
- Fact Sheets – Underage Drinking - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- NIAAA Spectrum (Winter 2019) - Advances in Understanding and Addressing Underage Drinking
Martha Williams
Prevention Project Coordinator
Martha.Williams@hca.wa.gov
