SAFE GC Coalition: Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released its “Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking 2022.” According to the report:

• Alcohol is responsible for more than 3,900 deaths annually among Americans under 21 and shortens their lives by an average of 57 years.
• Approximately 140,500 individuals of all ages in the U.S. die from alcohol-attributable causes each year, making excessive alcohol use the third leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.
• Alcohol is the most widely used substance among U.S. youth aged 12-20.
• The peak years of initiation of alcohol use are in grades 7-11 and 15.0 percent of high school students report using alcohol before the age of 13.
• Approximately 3.4 million youth aged 12-20 reported past-month binge drinking in 2020. Seven hundred thousand of these youth engaged in binge drinking on 5 or more days in a 30-day period.
• Past-month alcohol use is reported by 15.6 percent of males and 16.7 percent of females aged 12-20.
• 4.9% of 12–20-year-olds meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder.
• Comprehensive underage drinking prevention and reduction efforts, including evidence-based prevention, intervention, treatment, and enforcement policies, programs and practices, implemented at multiple levels are effective in addressing underage drinking.

SAMHSA is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and the cost to society resulting from alcohol, substance abuse and mental illnesses.

SAMHSA maintains comprehensive underage drinking prevention and reduction efforts, including evidence-based prevention, intervention, treatment, and enforcement policies, programs and practices, implemented at multiple levels are effective in addressing underage drinking. For more information about SAMHSA please visit www.samhsa.gov.

SAFE is the only alcohol and substance use prevention, intervention and education agency in Glen Cove. The organization provides Life Skills Training (LST), an evidence-based alcohol and drug prevention program enrolled in elementary and middle schools during the school year as part of the Glen Cove Youth Bureau’s After 3 program. LST incorporates interactive learning, social skills building, specific alcohol and drug use prevention-related information, providing youth with the confidence and skills necessary to successfully handle challenging situations- such as drinking at a party or accessing parents alcohol.

In the Spring of 2023, LST students, recognizing the serious issue of underage drinking, participated in SAMHSA’s Communities Talk to Prevent Alcohol and Other Drug Misuse initiative to educate communities about the consequences of alcohol and other substance misuse by creating a sustainable logo “LIVE SAFE” that represents the prevention of alcohol misuse and its negative consequences. LIVE SAFE Campaign’s mission is to empower youth against alcohol and substance abuse from any toxic chemical sources that are addictive, unhealthy and effects their maturing bodies and brains. Carol Meschkow-Manager Tobacco Action Coalition of LI lent her technical support on the dangers of toxic chemicals and their addictive properties on the developing brain and concerns over co-dependent behaviors and recreational use.

Under the leadership of Spiro Tsirkas, Glen Cove Youth Bureau Executive Director/ SAFE Coalition’s Youth Committee Chair, and Monica Salinas, SAFE’s LST Program Coordinator, students participated in an art contest to create the logo.

The SAFE Glen Cove Coalition was formed in 2003 to change societal norms about alcohol and substance use. The Coalition is concerned about excessive alcohol use in youth and adults and seeks to educate the community about its negative effects on one’s health and wellness. The Glen Cove Police Department has been a longstanding member of the Coalition and works diligently to monitor alcohol sales to minors and provide prevention education to youth and adults about Social Host Law and its consequences throughout the year.

To learn more about the SAFE Glen Cove Coalition please follow www.facebook.com/safeglencove or to learn more about the dangers of underage alcohol use please visit the Alcohol Awareness and LIVE SAFE webpages of SAFE’s website at www.safeglencove.org.