Traffic Safety Facts Banner

Number 267 March 2002

U.S. Department of Transportation

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590

PREVENTING UNDERAGE DRINKING BEST PRACTICES FROM A STATE ALCOHOL CONTROL AGENCY

As regulatory bodies, Alcohol Beverage Control agencies (ABCs) have the potential to be particularly effective in reducing underage access to alcohol and high risk drinking by

college students. The right laws and regulations can minimize opportunities for young people to use alcohol and maximize the opportunities for effective enforcement and

prevention. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sponsored a project by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to develop a manual to help Alcohol

Beverage Control (ABCs) agencies identify opportunities and initiatives to reduce underage drinking.

ABCs, whether in control or licensed States, engage in a variety of programs to educate consumers and retailers, oversee server training, are active in statewide and local

responsible beverage servers coalitions, fund grants to local law enforcement agencies to encourage participation, develop and conduct school awareness programs, and

distribute information and materials. Control States control the sale of distilled spirits and in some cases, wine, through government agencies at the wholesale level. There are 18

Control States (Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington,

West Virginia, Wyoming) and one county (Montgomery County, Maryland). The remaining 32 States are License States, where the wholesale and retail sales of distilled spirits and

wine are wholly in the hands of private sellers.

Educating the Public

Act as a clearinghouse for materials

Compose materials in various languages

Create portable education displays

Develop brochures & other materials

Print an alcohol education newsletter

Produce a web site

Promote positive role models

Provide alcohol research and information

Working with Campus and Community Partners

Conduct statewide CORE surveys

Coordinate a collaboration conference

Develop state coalition & initiatives

Generate media

Provide mini-grants

Provide training & technical assistance

Working with K-12 Students

Coordinate youth forums & conferences

Create a mascot to deliver a "no-use" message

Develop a lesson plan for mascot

Implement a statewide high school journalism contest

Implement a statewide school poster contest

Working with Licensees

Help develop technology to scan drivers' licenses

Circulate responsible retailer posters

Develop a licensee publication

Increase compliance by checking IDs

Promote use of designated drivers

Working with Law Enforcement

Compliance checks by youth

Cops in Shops

Implement a toll free underage drinking hotline

Keg registration

Sobriety checkpoints

Nuisance bar program

Working with Community & Statewide Coalitions

Aware mini-grants for community prevention efforts

Establish a statewide coalition to reduce high risk and underage drinking among college students

Establish a statewide coalition to reduce underage drinking

Working with the Media

Develop a public service campaign

Distribute media kits

Evaluation

Conduct a process evaluation

Conduct an outcome evaluation

Conduct an impact evaluation

The Bloomsburg Initiative

Describes a case study of the Bloomsburg coalition (ABC, university, and town representatives)

formed after students die of alcohol poisoning

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board

Describes history, activities, and projects

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Provide orientation for new licensees

Provide regional licensee seminars

Provide training & responsible alcohol management service to

stadiums & large public venues

Train sellers and servers

Topics

The manual briefly describes projects and activities conducted by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, as shown in the tables. Each section follows a standard format of

identifying the target population, specifying goals to accomplish, describes the project and activities, lists specific action steps to reach the goals, and provides a list of resources.

The comprehensive appendices, which are only available on CD-ROM, contain detailed materials for each topic. For example, in the Section about working with campus

communities and college students, one page describes how to conduct statewide CORE surveys. The CORE survey was developed by Southern Illinois University to collect

information on student drinking behaviors and perceptions. An ABC may want to assist in conducting a survey such as this to provide evaluation data and feedback for individual

colleges and statewide efforts. The appendix contains a sample of the complete survey instrument.

Other sections of the appendices contain a lesson plan "Say No to Alcohol" targeted at students in kindergarten through third grade, Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management

(TEAM) targeted at large public venues, Responsible Alcohol Management Program(RAMP) targeted at alcohol purveyors. There are sample mini-grant forms, public service

announcements for television and radio, and coalition building activities. There is also a documentary play, "gravity hill (or whatever)..." sponsored by the Bloomsburg Initiative that

targets underage drinking.

HOW TO ORDER

For a copy of State Alcohol Control Agencies Approach toUnderage Drinking Prevention; Overview (about 50 pages) and Appendix of Best Practices (only on CD-ROM)

prepared by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, write to Media and Marketing, NHTSA, NTS-21, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590 or send a fax to (301)

386-2194 or download from http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov//

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, West Building, Washington, DC 20590 USA 1-888-327-4236 TTY:1-800-424-9153

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