Property Developers Push for Open Drinking on City Streets

Learning how to respect alcohol and planning ahead with safe transportation home helps reduces the opportunity for tragedy. Knowledge creates the wisdom to understand the dangers you face when drinking alcohol. "Buddy Up", before you drink. Go with a trusted friend and leave with that trusted friend. Plan ahead and always have a safe way home. About 11% of all alcohol produced is consumed by people between the age 12 and 20 years of age. I think this lower then what it really is because of the fact that binge drinking is the type of drinking that occurs when underage kids drink alcohol. About 5,000 underage drinkers die when illegally using alcohol. This risk-taking usually increases their willingness to take unreasonable risks. Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits teaching program are 
 teaching how to drink alcohol safely when they can drink legally drink and to never drink alcohol before they are 21 years of age? What is the purpose of their training? Learning how to be safe around alcohol and how to respect alcohol when you are old enough to enjoy it legally? 

Robert Pomplun
Servingalcohol.com

Florida: New Alcohol Safety Education Program Helps Teens in South Florida High Schools

Survey Indicates Positive Learning Results Following Alcohol Education and Awareness Program Piloted in Seven High Schools

Source: Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits

October 31, 2017

The Youth Alcohol Awareness and Education Foundation, Inc.-established by Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits to fund programs that support alcohol safety and underage drinking prevention-today announced insights into drinking behaviors among South Florida teens, based on the results of a recent education and awareness pilot program conducted in seven Miami-Dade and Broward high schools. The survey was conducted as part of a pilot of EVERFI's AlcoholEdu® for High School online curriculum with 254 high school students, an initiative funded by the Foundation in partnership with Step Up For Students.

Students were measured on knowledge gains as well as shifts in behavior, attitudes, and habits around alcohol safety through pre- and post-course assessments and surveys, and compared against EVERFI's national survey population of over 30,000 students from the 2016-2017 school year.

.           53 percent of high school students who took the course admitted to having had one alcoholic drink in the two weeks prior to taking the course. This is significantly higher than the national average reported by EverFi, where 33 percent of students admitted to having one drink in the 30 days prior to taking the survey.

.           Participating students also demonstrated higher rates of drinking - 23 percent identifying themselves as light/moderate or heavy episodic drinkers compared to EverFi's national average of 15 percent.

.           As compared with the national survey population, a notable number of South Florida students indicated that they acquire alcohol through family or friends, and a significantly higher percentage of students bought alcohol from a store without being carded.

The good news is that after taking AlcoholEdu® for High School, students increased their assessment scores by an average of 20 percent, indicating a meaningful knowledge gain from the course. In fact, an overwhelming majority of students reported that the course prepared them to: avoid riding in a vehicle driven by someone who's been drinking; stop a friend from driving drunk; establish a plan ahead of time to make responsible decisions; resist social pressure to drink alcohol, and identify when someone has consumed too much alcohol.

"As a leader in our industry, we take our responsibility very seriously - and that includes the prevention of underage drinking," said Wayne Chaplin, CEO of Southern Glazer's.

"We work regularly with our trade partners and customers to reduce teen access to alcohol. However, because this is such an important issue, we wanted to go a step further - by bringing important skill building programs directly to students. We look forward to working with our partners Step Up For Students and EverFi to expand this program to 25 high schools and make an even greater positive impact on this important social issue."

AlcoholEdu® for High School is a 1.5 hour, interactive course that engages students with science-based alcohol education and interactive exercises, providing an individualized experience that changes perceptions, motivates behavior change and supports healthier decisions regarding alcohol.  Teachers, guidance counselors, and school administrators in Miami-Dade and Broward counties who are interested in implementing this program should contact Emily Moloney at emoloney@everfi.com.