Chalk it Up POSTPONED

It's not raining now, but the forecast calls for driving rain by lunchtime, so we've decided to postpone Chalk it Up to Prevention until next Friday, October 8.

We're choosing to look at the bright side of this development--we have another whole week to get more participants! Let us know if you're planning to join us next week.  We'll see you there!

Thursday morning links

Our own Jo Morrissey was featured yesterday on Good Day Maine talking about tomorrow's Chalk it Up to Prevention (wish hard with us to keep the rain away--and check our website after 9am on 10/1 if you're uncertain if the event will be held):

And the Brunswick Times-Record featured an excellent opinion piece about the risks of alcohol use by young people--and what we can do to prevent it:

• Involve all segments of the community — youths, parents, lawmakers, law enforcement, health care, schools and the media.
• Determine specific community norms that permit or encourage teen drinking and target our efforts toward changing those norms.
• Provide facts about the potential dangers of drinking — sugar-coating the realities is not effective, any more than over-dramatizing them.
• Provide youth-driven, safe, healthy and fun alternatives to drinking alcohol.
• Present clear NO-USE messages regarding underage drinking.
• Continue talking with (not at) our youth about the pressure to drink, offer skills to resist the pressure and have an open door for dialogue when the issue arises.
• Educate adults about the warning signs of alcohol use by youth, the effects of their own attitudes about alcohol use and where to go for help if needed. 
• Support law enforcement officials in enforcing the 21-year-old drinking age, in enforcing the laws that exist to deter adults from purchasing alcohol for minors, in adopting policies for detecting and terminating underage drinking parties and in strengthening compliance check programs in retail outlets.
• Utilize existing key resources to learn what has and has not worked. The realities of underage drinking have multiple layers and need a multi-layered approach.

Looking for more news? You can find lots more links to local, national, and international news about underage drinking and its prevention and enforcement at our Delicious page.

Prom Photo Contest, $500 Grand Prize

21 Reasons, with the help of Tim and Eva in the Morning on Maine’s Coast, 93.1, is announcing a “best” prom photo contest—with a cash prize of $500 to the most awkward, uh, winner!

Wow, Times Have Changed, and for the better. Thank goodness underage drinking is going the way of big hair, ruffled shirts, and bad fashion!

To celebrate the fact that underage drinking rates in Portland have been declining since 1995, 21 Reasons, an underage drinking prevention coalition, is sponsoring a Prom Photo Contest. Why? Since underage drinking can harm the developing brain (which actually stops developing at the ripe old age of 25!), this decline in drinking rates is cause for celebration!

Who can enter? Anyone over 29 can enter, because anyone 29 and older was in high school before 1995.

How do I enter? Go into the attic and find your most awesome prom photo, then go to www.21reasons.org and follow the simple directions. It’s so easy even a baby boomer can do it.

What can I win? There are two ways to win! The first 21 photo entries will receive a $10 music download card. The photo with the most votes will receive $500!

HOW do I win? When your photo is posted online, 21 Reasons will send you a link to it. You send the link to ALL your friends and family, and then they can vote for your photo as the best! On-line voting opens up April 12th. Photos posted as they come in until then.

Why should I participate? Not only is this a fun contest with amazing prizes, but spreading the word about how “times have changed” will help parents, and everyone else, realize when it comes to underage drinking we’re headed in the right direction. There are more statistics and information below.

Overview:
• Accepting photos for two weeks between March 29th and April 11th.
• On-line Voting begins April 12th and lasts one week until April 19th.
• Winner Announced Tuesday, April 20th. LIVE Tim and Eva in the Morning on Maine’s Coast, 93.1- WMGX.
• Winning photo to be used in a Prom and Graduation season reminder card to be distributed through area participating tux, florists and limousine companies. The cards will be distributed with each boutonniere, corsage, or limousine contract. Messages on the card will remind parents that most youth don’t drink and that parents can and do have the power to enforce underage drinking rules.



Additional Information:

According the Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey, most youth don’t drink. In fact, only 28% say they have had a drink in the past 30 days. That’s down from almost 40% in 1995. In addition, a recent Parent Phone Survey sponsored by 21 Reasons revealed more Portland parents are concerned about underage drinking and taking concrete steps to prevent it. This includes:
• talking with their teens about alcohol
• asking if alcohol will be at parties
• calling party hosts to make sure alcohol will not be provided

Due to modern brain scanning technology, we know more now than ever before about the harm underage drinking can cause the developing brain.

Together, we are making underage drinking a thing of the past…just like those tacky prom dresses.

For more tips and information, visit: http://www.21reasons.org

Opportunities, Missed

A study just out from the Journal of Adolescent Health suggests that most physicians aren’t discussing substance use with their adolescent patients. According to the study, which looked at 2,192 adolescents 12 to 17 years old who had received a physical exam within the last six months, adolescents were not asked about substance use about 70% of the time.

“The guidelines say that adolescents should have an annual visit that provides screening and guidance about high-risk health behaviors,” said lead study author Sally Adams, R.N., Ph.D. “If teens can get preventive care to avoid risky behavior, it may impact their health not only in adolescence, but also throughout their lifetime.”

(via Health Behavior News Service)

Physicians are in an excellent position to provide screening and early intervention—the best ways to avoid development of more serious problems—for their patients’ risky behaviors, making this a critical piece of any community prevention plan.

This research is especially timely for what’s going on here in Maine: the Maine Office of Substance Abuse has developed a tool to help healthcare providers address substance use in their young patients. As a complement to the OSA campaign here in Cumberland County, 21 Reasons is also developing some materials and trainings for use by pediatricians, with a tentative release date in Spring 2009.

Fall 2008 Newsletter

We're excited to announce the release of our Fall 2008 newsletter! The newsletter features City Council candidates' responses to a questionnaire on youth accesss to alcohol, as well as program updates and news.

Click here to view the newsletter; click here to subscribe to future editions.