![](media/image1.jpeg){width="2.0416666666666665in"
height="1.03125in"}**YOUTH ACCESS TO ALCOHOL**

**SAMPLE NEWS RELEASE**

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: \[Date\]**

**CONTACT: \[Name, Phone Number, E-mail address\]**

**Note: Before filling in the names of the organization and organization
spokesperson, you MUST contact them to obtain their permission to use
their names in this press release. You must get their approval for the
language of their quotation and any changes or additions they may
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**Underage Drinking. Adult Consequences.**

***Campaign Targets Underage Drinkers and Parents Who Provide Alcohol***

**\[City, State\]** \-- In a special effort to prevent the deadly
consequences of underage drinking and driving, local law enforcement
officials in **\[State\]** are joining with **\[Local Organization\]**
to send a strong message to all teens and parents that underage drinking
is not only wrong -- it's against the law.

Each year thousands of teens are killed or injured in traffic crashes as
a result of underage drinking. In 2006, more than **\[number\]** percent
of all 15- to 20-year-old drivers and motorcycle operators killed in
traffic crashes in **\[State\]** had blood alcohol concentration (BAC)
levels of .08 or higher, despite the fact that it is illegal for these
drivers to drink any alcohol.

In hopes of saving more lives in **\[State\]**, local community leaders,
concerned citizens, and law enforcement officials in **\[State\]** are
joining together to crack down on underage drinking.

"Teens and parents need to be reminded that underage drinking is deadly
serious," said **\[Local Leader\]**. "Parents need to know that hosting
a party where alcohol is being served to minors is not only illegal, but
is extremely dangerous for their teens, for others in the community, and
for the parents themselves given the legal liabilities they face."

Local law enforcement officers will be out in force targeting underage
drinkers through stepped-up compliance checks and saturation and party
patrols**.** Law enforcement will pay particular attention to parents
who provide teens with alcohol or host drinking parties for underage
teens.

Every year, teens consume alcohol at parties hosted in their own homes
or in the homes of friends and end up getting hurt or killed on the
highways. Nationally, 64 percent of all drivers or motorcycle operators
ages 15 to 20 who were involved in fatal traffic crashes and had a BAC
of .08 or higher died as a result of the crash.

\- more -

To help spread the message, a series of hard-hitting radio and newspaper
ads, mobile billboards, and other materials will be used throughout the
area to put parents on notice that it is not only wrong, but it's also
illegal to supply alcohol to underage teens and their teenagers'
friends.

"The new advertising messages that bluntly advise parents it is 'time to
grow up' are not intended to speak to responsible, law-abiding parents
who are already doing the right thing, but rather to those parents who
still don't get it and for some reason think it is okay to host parties
where underage drinking occurs or to supply alcohol to their teens and
their teens' friends," said **\[Local Leader\]**.

"If an underage teen drinks and drives, the parent may be legally liable
for any damage, injury, or death caused by the teen driver," said
**\[Law Enforcement Official\]**. "This is especially true if the parent
hosts the party or provides the alcohol -- they could even go to jail."

**\[State\]** law requires that any adult found supplying or assisting
an underage individual in possessing or consuming alcohol can be fined
ANY amount or be imprisoned up to **\[number\]** days. The law also
mandates that the individual's driver's license be revoked for
**\[timeframe\].**

Penalties for underage drinking are also costly to teens. Any individual
under the age of 21 found to be in possession (i.e., purchasing,
attempting to purchase, possessing, or consuming) alcohol can be fined
up to **\[amount\]** or imprisoned up to **\[number\]** days.

We're asking teens to avoid alcohol, and we ask parents to make a new or
renewed commitment to never being a party to underage drinking," said
**\[Local Leader\]**. "Please remember, giving teens alcohol is not only
wrong -- it's against the law: *Underage Drinking. Adult Consequences*."

For more information on visit www.nhtsa.gov

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