Westfield Students Target Underage Drinking with Project Sticker Shock

WESTFIELD, NJ — The Westfield Youth Peer Leadership Group and Westfield liquor stores have partnered to remind adults over the age of 21 about the risks of providing alcohol to minors.

The Sticker Shock campaign brings awareness to underage drinking, one of the priorities of the Peer Leadership Group. The stickers are placed on the products throughout the store and act as warning labels to inform the public of the consequences they can face if they provide or purchase alcohol for minors.

Six students, along with their advisor, Amy Lewis, Health Educator of the Westfield Regional Health Department, placed stickers on alcohol cases and boxes in Peterson’s Wines Unlimited on South Avenue West, House of Wine & Liquor on North Avenue, ShopRite Wines and Spirits on South Avenue East, and Central Avenue Wines & Liquors on Central Avenue in Westfield during Red Ribbon Week which, celebrated annually in October, highlights the importance of living a drug-free life.

The stickers remind customers that providing alcohol to those under age 21 is illegal and that they could face up to six months of jail time or a $1,000 fine.

According to SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), adults who had their first drink before the age of 15 were seven times more likely to experience alcohol problems than those who had not started drinking before the age of 21.

— Submitted by Westfield Regional Health Department