1 www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov

Parent-Focused National Media Campaign

Backgrounder

Issue

Underage drinking continues to be one of 

our nation’s most significant public health 

problems, and its associated problems 

have profound consequences not just for 

underage drinkers, but also for their families, 

their communities, and society. Nearly $24.3 

billion (about 10 percent) of the total $249 

billion economic cost of excessive alcohol 

consumption is related to underage drinking, 

much of it due to premature mortality of 

underage youth.1

 Alcohol continues to be 

the most widely used substance among 

America’s youth, and a higher proportion use 

alcohol than use tobacco, marijuana, or other 

drugs.2 Alcohol use, especially heavy use, at 

a young age appears to permanently impair 

brain function by affecting the actual physical 

development of the brain structure as well as 

brain functioning. Negative effects include 

decreased ability in planning, executive 

functioning, memory, spatial operations, and 

attention.3

The benefits of reducing 

underage drinking are 

substantial, including 

saving lives and dollars 

and promoting the health of young people. 

Delaying the age at which young people 

begin drinking will reduce their chances of 

developing an alcohol use disorder and of 

experiencing other negative consequences. 

The STOP Act and “Talk. They 

Hear You.”® Campaign 

To address underage drinking and its related 

consequences, Congress passed the Sober 

Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking 

Act, Public Law 109-422, popularly known as 

the STOP Act (December 2006). The STOP 

Act was created to engage communities and 

parents to be responsible for preventing 

underage drinking. The policy calls for 

modified enforcement of drinking laws, steps 

to reduce alcohol’s availability to teenagers, 
2

increased research on underage drinking, 

improved monitoring of alcohol advertising 

to youth, and an adult-oriented media 

campaign. In response, the Substance 

Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration (SAMHSA) created the 

“Talk. They Hear You.” Campaign, an adultoriented campaign that provides parents 

and caregivers of children under the age 

of 21 resources, tips, and tools to start and 

continue conversations with their children 

about underage drinking prevention.

About the Campaign 

“Talk. They Hear You.” launched in 2013, 

and features a suite of resources for 

parents/caregivers to increase awareness 

of the prevalence and risks of underage 

drinking; equip them with the knowledge, 

skills, and confidence to prevent underage 

drinking; and increase their actions to 

prevent underage drinking. The Campaign 

also works directly with hundreds of local, 

state, and national organizations, providing 

tips and tools to help them implement the 

campaign in their communities. 

The Campaign is grounded in research 

and was developed using a nuanced 

understanding of public health issues, 

rigorous methodologies, evidence-based 

communications models, and a continuous 

improvement process. All products are 

focus group tested to ensure they deliver 

the right messages to the target audience.

The suite of products includes TV, radio, 

and print public service announcements; a 

campaign website (www.underagedrinking.

samhsa.gov); posters, postcards, partner 

toolkit, original soundtracks; point-of-sales 

products; and a mobile app.

Subject Area Expansion

Amid the nation’s opioid 

crisis and changes in state 

laws regarding marijuana in 

a growing number of states 

across the country, in 2017, 

the “Talk. They Hear You.” Campaign 

received separate funding to expand 

content to include information on alcohol 

and other substances. Recognizing the 

dynamic national context, SAMHSA is 

expanding the “Talk. They Hear You.” 

Campaign so parents can be prepared to 

talk to their children about alcohol and 

other drugs, including prescription pain 

medications and marijuana.

References

1

 Sacks, J. J., Gonzales, K. R., Bouchery, E. E., Tomedi, L. 

E., & Brewer, R.D. (2015). 2010 National and state costs 

of excessive alcohol consumption. American Journal of 

Preventive Medicine, 49(5), e73–79.

2

 Miech, R.A., Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, 

J. G., Schulenberg, J. E., & Patrick, M. (2017). Monitoring 

the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–

2016: Volume I, Secondary school students. Ann Arbor, 

Michigan: Institute for Social Research, University of 

Michigan.

3

 Brown, S. A., & Tapert, S. F. (2004). Adolescence and 

the trajectory of alcohol use: Basic to clinical studies. 

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021, 

234–244; Brown, S. A., Tapert, S., Granholm, E., & Delis, 

D.C. (2000). Neurocognitive functioning of adolescents: 

Effects of protracted alcohol use. Alcoholism: Clinical and 

Experimental Research, 24(2), 164–171; Giancola, P. R., 

& Mezzich, A. C. (2000). Neuropsychological deficits in 

female adolescents with a substance use disorder: Better 

accounted for by conduct disorder? Journal of Studies 

on Alcohol, 61(6), 809–817; Tapert, S. F., Brown, G. G., 

Kindermann, S. S., Cheung, E. H., Frank, L R., & Brown, 

S. A. (2001). fMRI measurement of brain dysfunction in 

alcohol-dependent young women. Alcoholism: Clinical 

and Experimental Research, 25, 236–245; Winward, 

J. L., Hanson, K. L., Bekman, N. M., Tapert, S. F., & 

Brown, S. A. (2014). Adolescent heavy episodic drinking: 

Neurocognitive functioning during early abstinence. 

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 

20(2), 218–229.

www.underagedrinking.samhsa.gov