Alcohol Initiative

Girls Incorporated of Columbus and Phenix-Russell was awarded an Alcohol Abuse/Prevention grant to provide services for Muscogee County. This grant is a community initiative and Girls Inc will oversee the daily operation of the program’s activities, however, the Community Prevention Alliance Workgroup (CPAW) will set overall goals and objectives for the program’s operation jointly with staff and volunteers. The CPAW will also create a strategic plan; participate in a workgroup (EPI, Planning & Operation, or Evaluation & Sustainability). Year one of the initiative is primarily Training, Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Implementation may begin towards the end of the grant year, September 30, 2012. This is a continuation grant and can be renewed for up to 5 years.

Alcohol is the most widely used substance among youth in the US; most youth between the ages of 9 and 20 use alcohol more than tobacco or any other substance. It is the most often used drug among Georgia youth, lifetime prevalence of alcohol use among GA HS students is approximately 72%, cigarette use 54%, and marijuana 38%. Underage drinking and alcohol abuse among young adults is a widespread public health and safety problem. It has serious personal, social, and economic consequences. According to CDC data, an average of 2,375 people in Georgia die from alcohol-related injuries or illness each year. 22% of these were homicides and suicides and 21% were motor-vehicle crashes.

In fact, alcohol is the 3rd leading cause of death in Georgia. Youth alcohol use is also associated with increased risk for:

• Physical assault
• Sexual assault
• Academic problems
• Tobacco use
• Drug use
• Unplanned and unprotected sexual activity

Youth who consume alcohol are 5 times more likely to become dependent on or abuse alcohol than those who wait until 211 Source: Hingson RW, Heeren T, Winter MR. Age at drinking onset and alcohol dependence: age at onset, duration, and severity. Pediatrics 2006;160:739–746 Excessive alcohol use among youth is associated with brain damage, intellectual impairment, and memory problems2,3 Sources: . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2007. 3. Zeigler DW, Wang CC, Yoast RA, Dickinson BD, McCaffree MA, Robinowitz CB, Sterling ML. The neurocognitive effects of alcohol on adolescents and college students. Preventive Medicine 2005 40: 23-32

Drinking Behaviors

• 21% of GA HS students had first drink before age 13
• 32% of GA MS & 68% HS students had one or more alcoholic drinks at least once in their lifetime
• Approx 331,386 (34%) HS students had at least one drink in the last 30 days
• Approx 181,634 (19%) GA HS students binge drink (consuming five or more drinks at one time)

Among GA HS who consumed alcohol:

• 41% drank liquor rather than malt beverages
• 17% beer
• 14% other types of beverages (e.g. wine and wine coolers)

Drinking & Driving

• ~66,953 (7%) HS reported drinking & driving
• Among 12th graders, 12% reported driving after consuming alcohol

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Youth Access to Alcohol

• 36% of HS who reported alcohol use got it from someone else
• Among HS who consumed alcohol, 82% did so at their home or someone else’s home

Source: 2009 Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance Survey (http://health.state.ga.us/epi/cdiee/studenthealth.asp). To address the negative impact of alcohol use in Georgia, OPSP has developed a Georgia Strategic Prevention System (GASPS). This initiative aims to impact population level change of behaviors and trends of alcohol use and abuse among youth and young adults ages 9-25 years.

GASPS will use the SAMHSA/CSAP Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) model to develop and implement strategies aimed at population level change using the public health model approach. This approach uses environmental strategies that often focus on media, enforcement, and policy to help create an environment that supports healthy, safe behavior.

The GASPS statewide alcohol initiative will address three primary goals:

1) Reduce the early onset of alcohol use among youth: Reduce the early onset of alcohol use among 9-20 year olds

Why?

• The earlier youth begin using alcohol the more likely they develop an issue in the future
• Youth brains are not fully developed until their 20’s. Use of alcohol can damage the memory and learning areas of the brain.
• School performance is impacted. Youth who use alcohol are absent more often and have lower grades than those who don’t use.

2) Prevent and reduce access to alcohol for youth under 21: Reduce access to alcohol and binge drinking among 9-20 year olds

Why?

• Around 700,000 12 to 14 year olds in the U.S. drank alcohol in the past month, with over 90% of them getting their alcohol for free the last time they drank. More than 300,000 of these youth got it at home or from a family member.
• People aged 12 to 20 years drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States. More than 90% of this alcohol is consumed in the form of binging.

3) Prevent and reduce excessive alcohol use and related consequences among youth and adults: Reduce binge & heavy drinking among 18-25 year olds.

Why?

• It is the most often used drug among Georgia youth.
• Alcohol use and abuse is related to accidents, suicides, homicides, assaults, etc.
• More teens die as a result of alcohol use than all other illegal drugs combined
• Alcohol is the most frequently used substance before the age of 13 by GA High School students.
• Kids drink to get drunk…not the same as adults. On average, underage drinkers consume more alcohol per drinking occasion than adult drinkers.