Campaign educates adults about teen alcohol dependency
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News from the Montana Department of Revenue
POLSON – Super 1 Foods in Polson is participating in an outreach program launched by the Interagency Coordinating Council on State Prevention Programs in several communities last week to educate parents and other adults about the importance of keeping alcohol out of the hands of teenagers.
Life-size cutouts with front and back views of teens greet shoppers in participating Montana businesses. The cutouts feature messages encouraging parents to make alcohol inaccessible to kids and educating them that youth are at greater risk than adults of becoming dependent on alcohol. Each cutout is accompanied by a sign reading “Keep Alcohol out of Reach” with one of the following messages, “Getting alcohol is hard for kids. Please don’t make it easier,” and “Youth are at a greater risk of becoming alcohol dependent.”
Kids are more vulnerable to alcohol dependency because alcohol affects a rapidly-developing teen brain much differently than an adult brain, according to Lisa Scates, alcohol education coordinator for the Department of Revenue’s Liquor Control Division.
Research shows that some children start to experiment with alcohol beginning at age nine, so it’s never too early for parents to start talking to their kids about alcohol, said Vicki Turner of the Department of Public Health and Human Services Prevention Resource Center and the ICC.
“Sometimes it is the small conversations that make the biggest impact,” Turner said. “And, know where your kids are hanging out.”
The campaign was made possible by a $10,000 grant awarded to the Department of Revenue from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association.
