Prevention Programs

Joining Forces to Tackle Campus Drinking. In 1997, the Boston Coalition—a group formed in 1991 to fight substance abuse and reduce violence—established the Task Force on Campus Drinking. Originally funded by the Federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the Task Force united more than 24 colleges and universities in the Boston area in a cooperative agreement. In an intensive 1-year planning process, the schools developed a 53-point plan to decrease problem drinking and illegal drinking on campuses. The plan includes increasing the availability of alcohol-free programs and housing for underage students, prohibiting commercial delivery of alcohol to first-year residence halls, and enhancing support for students who need alcohol counseling. The plan also calls for prohibiting alcohol from fraternity and sorority rush activities; reducing alcohol advertising on campus; and imposing strict university penalties against the manufacture, sale, distribution or use of false ID cards. Regular meetings with local law enforcement, businesses, students, parents, alumni and other concerned citizens are part of the Task Force’s collaboration. The project will be evaluated on an on-going basis. For more details about the Task Force on Campus Drinking, call (617) 451-1441.

Highlighting Signs of Success. Residents of some neighborhoods believe they have been specially targeted by advertisements that link alcohol with images of wealth, prestige, success and social approval. This is the case in Detroit, where up to 50 percent of the city’s billboards once advertised alcohol and cigarettes. In lower-income areas the figure was 58 percent, compared to 43 percent in higher-income neighborhoods. In 1988, Detroit residents created the Coalition Against Billboard Advertising of Alcohol and Tobacco (CABAAT). The Coalition was inspired by a rally protesting a Wild Irish Rose alcohol billboard located a few feet from a shelter for runaway teens. Led by Congressman John Conyers and City Council member Alberta Tinsley-Talabi, the rally motivated residents to call for tougher restrictions on billboard advertising. CABAAT’s efforts made a difference. Neighborhoods where CABAAT was active saw a 50 percent decline in the number of alcohol billboards, according to a 1997 study by Wayne State University. In addition to its billboard crusades, CABAAT led substance abuse prevention and education workshops and provided technical assistance to other groups. Gratified at having met their goals, CABAAT leaders disbanded the group in 1999. To learn about CABAAT’s history, contact Alberta Tinsley-Talabi at (313) 224-1645.

Cleaner, Drier Neighborhoods. Through the collaboration of residents, law enforcement officials and local leaders, neighborhoods can reduce their vulnerability to alcohol-related problems. Various communities in South Chicago have voted for a local ban on alcohol sales as a step toward revitalizing their neighborhoods. By closing local liquor stores, which can foster public intoxication, crime and neighborhood deterioration, leaders and residents aim to improve the community environment and attract new businesses. In one South Chicago neighborhood, a local minister has spearheaded the effort to "go dry." In another church-based effort, an abandoned "booze house" was converted into a Christian bookstore with a cappuccino bar. Nineteen percent of the city’s 2,500 precincts have voted to go dry or have supported partial bans, closing down alcohol outlets and other buildings considered dangerous. In order to buy alcohol, residents from these communities must go elsewhere—sometimes more than 15 blocks. Leaders hope the effort required to obtain alcohol will help reduce problem drinking. To learn more about the dry precincts initiative in South Chicago, call South Chicago’s Local Liquor Control Commission at (312) 744-8071.

A Comprehensive Intervention. In 1993, Project Northland was established as a 3-year pilot study to help prevent youth drinking in ten Minnesota communities. Developed at the University of Minnesota with support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the study included 24 Minnesota school districts, including schools on seven Native Americans Reservation with high rates of death and disability from alcohol abuse. In eight sessions each year, middle school students learn about the risks associated with drinking. Community strategies, action-based curricula and peer leadership activities all encourage positive individual behavior and environmental change. Students also develop decision making skills through role playing and receive take-home family assignments. In 1996, a 3-year follow-up study published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that past month drinking rates among Project Northland youth were 28 percent lower than rates among youth who did not participate in the program (15 percent vs. 21 percent). To learn more about Project Northland, call (800) 328-9000.

Coalitions to Reduce Youth Drinking. Between 1995 and 1998, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) awarded nearly $14 million through its grant program Reducing Underage Drinking Through Coalitions. One of its grantees, the North Carolina Governor’s Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, used its nearly $1 million grant to create the Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking. Coalition activities have led to passage of two state laws: the first establishing mandatory minimum penalties for adults who provide alcohol to minors, and the second limiting alcohol outlet density in low-income areas. A statewide media campaign to educate adults about the dangers of underage drinking, and a website to help inform alcohol retailers and licensed outlets, are other Initiative accomplishments. The American Medical Association’s Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse provides technical support and direction to the RWJF coalitions. A University of Minnesota evaluation of the multi-state project will be completed in 2001. For more information on Reducing Underage Drinking Through Coalitions, contact the American Medical Association’s Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse at (312) 464-4202; for details on North Carolina’s Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking, visit the Initiative at www.initiative.org or call (919) 990-9559.