Nassau County Residents Featured in New State Underage Drinking Prevention Video

ALBANY, NY (10/21/2009)(readMedia)-- State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Commissioner Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo today premiered a new underage drinking prevention video featuring New York residents taking action in their community.

The premiere comes as colleges across the state observe College Alcohol Awareness Week, October 1923, increasing awareness of the dangers of college drinking and the importance of responsible behavior and healthy lifestyles.

Governor David A. Paterson said, "It is our duty as leaders to partner with communities across the state to provide these much-needed underage drinking prevention efforts. High school and college-age New Yorkers are the future of this great state and through these efforts, we will save precious lives and prevent tragedies that tear at the very heart of our families and communities."

"We know that seven out of 10 college students (1.4 million) under age 21 consumed alcohol in the past month and half are binge drinkers (1 million)," said Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo. "

"Alcohol is the No. 1 drug of choice for young people, costing New York about $3.2 billion a year," Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo said. "As a parent, and as the Commissioner of one of the largest addiction services systems in the country, my job is to educate, prevent, help young people make the right decision not to drink most importantly, save lives. Working with parents, educators, community members and law enforcement, we can influence the decisions of teens and make a difference - this video is a call to action in educating New York."

Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo was joined by University at Albany President George M. Philip to launch the video at the University of Albany - SUNY. Also, joining the Commissioner and President Philip were a number of area leaders in the underage drinking prevention effort who appeared in the video.

The video (Windows Media - closed captioned, QuickTime), sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), is designed to highlight the underage drinking prevention efforts in New York. The video also issues a call to action to elicit involvement from prevention providers, law enforcement, judiciary, colleges and community coalitions.

University at Albany President George M. Philip said, "This video will be a significant tool in fighting underage drinking. As a University we recognize the importance of tackling the very real dangers of alcohol abuse among young people. We stand with our partners and colleagues at OASAS in their efforts to prevent high-risk drinking."

UAlbany has developed several nationally-recognized model programs that address underage drinking among college-age students. These include the U.S. Department of Education and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration-funded STEPS Comprehensive Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Program, an early intervention program designed to meet the complex needs of high-risk drinkers.

Additionally, the University's Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program, a drug and alcohol abuse prevention peer education program, is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as an exemplary program. A National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH) grant has funded the Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems program, featuring peer-delivered early intervention strategies for students who violate University alcohol policy.

Featured in the video from Nassau County are Maureen McCormick, Assistant District Attorney from Nassau County and Judi Vining, Coordinator for the Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking at Long Beach Medical Center.

Kathleen Rice, District Attorney for Nassau County said, "Underage drinking is robbing our kids' futures. In Nassau County alone we have terrible examples of intoxicated teens killed crossing the street, crossing railroad tracks and falling down stairs. The parents of one teenager were charged with hosting an underage drinking party in the spring. In the Fall the same teenager drove impaired by alcohol and drugs, crashed and seriously injured his teen-age passenger. Allowing underage drinking invites our kids to violate the law and leads directly to assaults, criminal mischief and even increased teen suicide. OASAS and CSAP have created this "call to action" video to help unite communities in this fight. We will use this tool with our Teenage Safety Coalition to energize our efforts against this public health crisis."

Judi Vining said, "In our County, 54.9 percent of our 11th graders say they drank alcohol within the last month, and 36.8 percent report binge drinking within the past two weeks. Our very real concern is that with all of the recent focus in the county on heroin and youth, adults will lose sight of the fact that alcohol is still the biggest threat to our youth, the overwhelming choice for our young people, is easily available, and kills more kids annually than all other illegal drugs combined!"

Long Beach Medical Center's Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking focuses its efforts on changing the prevailing permissive culture around alcohol use by youth. The Coalition members include: the Police Department, the School District, the City Council, the Courts, SADD, PTA, the media, the clergy among others, to bring about policy change on the local level.

In 2006, largely through the efforts of the Coalition, the City of Long Beach passed the first Social Host ordinance in the State of New York, making it a crime for an adult to allow underage drinking to take place on premises under their control. The school district passed a breathalyzer policy in 2007 and has mandatory pre-prom meetings with seniors and their parents.

Alcohol advertising was removed from the volleyball league, and City policy no longer allows alcohol advertising on cafe umbrellas which line the restaurant area. Twice a year, at holiday time and prom season, the Coalition in conjunction with the Clergy Association, has a city-wide "Lock Up Your Liquor" campaign. TIPS trainings are held four times per year by the Police Department, and there are regular party patrols and compliance checks.

The focus of the Council's collaboration has always been the adults of the community. A three-pronged approach is used: increased enforcement, limiting access, and education - for the community. Its theme is: Underage drinking is an adult problem - anywhere you have a child drinking an adult must be involved somewhere: selling, providing, allowing or simply looking away.

OASAS continues to promote its nationally recognized Underage Drinking: Not a Minor Problem Media Campaign which includes helpful information to parents, as well as beer, liquor and wine retailers. To report underage alcohol sales or an underage drinking party, individuals can call 1-866-under21.

OASAS oversees one of the nation's largest addiction services systems dedicated to Prevention, Treatment and Recovery, with more than 1,550 programs serving over 110,000 New Yorkers on any given day.

Through efforts such as the Your Story Matters campaign at www.iamrecovery.com, the agency hopes to foster a movement of recovery, one that sheds the stigma and promotes a life of health and wellness.

Addiction is a chronic disease and New Yorkers need to know that help and hope is available. Individuals can find help by calling the toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day a week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY. For more information, please visit www.oasas.state.ny.us.

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