ENVIRONMENTAL PREVENTION: AN IMPORTANT WAY TO IMPACT UNDERAGE ALCOHOL PROBLEMS

Resources

To keep our children and our communities healthy and safe, delaying the onset of alcohol use is critical. This means that we need to reach children and adolescents early. The good news is that prevention and treatment work. There has been a growing body of research in the past 5-10 years showing that prevention programs and strategies to impact underage alcohol problems work. We know that individual efforts including education with children are only a small part of the solution.

Environmental prevention strategies change rules and community conditions. They support healthy behavior and discourage high-risk, unhealthy behaviors and perceptions. Environmental prevention focuses on changing the conditions that add to underage drinking.

The national IOM report recommends environmental policy solutions at the state level. The New Hampshire Legislature has laid the foundation by passing keg registration and party host liability laws - both recommendations contained within the IOM report. In addition, the NH Department of Health and Human Services is developing a statewide plan for alcohol and other drug problems, working with state agencies and other partners.

This state strategy is based on environmental prevention strategies. Its recommendations for action encourage us to think critically and ask questions about:

laws and regulations within our communities and our state; enforcement strategies utilized by law enforcement officials; business practices employed by those who sell and serve alcohol; action and agreed upon norms of behavior by parents and other adults; and messages youth see, hear and read about alcohol.

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Resources

Action Kit for Involving Youth in Environmental Prevention Efforts
Environmental Prevention in Rural Communities Action Kit
National Social Norms Resource Center
Solutions to Community Alcohol Problems: A Roadmap for Environmental Prevention
The Environmental Approach to Prevention: Implementing Alcohol Policies