Rockland CANDLE Renews 'Only 2 Will Do' Campaign Against Underage Drinking

From GMG PR: Initiated in 2010, CANDLE’s “Only 2 Will Do” Program was developed to provide a comprehensive and coordinated initiative combined with support strategies to enforce New York State laws that prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages to individuals under 21 years of age. Since that time, nearly 200 retail vendors of alcohol in Rockland have posted stickers advising customers that two (2) forms of identification may be required to purchase alcohol products.

Publications by the Surgeon General and the Institute of Medicine outline many prevention strategies including the development of comprehensive community-based programs. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says there is a strong relationship between alcohol use among youth and many social, emotional, and behavioral problems, such as using illegal drugs, fighting, stealing, driving under the influence of alcohol or other substance, skipping school, feeling depressed, and deliberately trying to hurt or kill themselves. Alcohol consumption by teens also correlates with alcohol-related problems later in life.

In Rockland County, according to the 2017 Pride Survey, nearly 68% of 11th grade students felt it was “sort of easy” or “very easy” to get alcohol—a 4% increase since 2013. Reducing underage drinking requires community-based efforts to monitor the activities of youth and reduce their access to alcohol. In March of 2016, CANDLE conducted a brief survey and received the following responses:

• Do you think it is okay to drink under the age of 21?
• Do you have any friends who have purchased alcohol using a fake ID?

60% said yes 40% said no

84% said yes 16% said no

CANDLE will revisit the 200 vendors who previously participated in the Only 2 Will Do Program to show support and encouragement for their efforts to deter underage drinking and reinforce the importance of underage drinking laws. CANDLE will distribute newly designed signage to present a uniform look for the program County-wide. The signage will include the message that two forms of ID will be required to purchase alcohol. CANDLE also plans to publicize the name and location of vendors who have participated in the program over the past six years.

High-school aged youth who seek to purchase alcohol products have no difficulty securing “false identification” that shows them to be 21. Typically, youngsters borrow the ID of friends or older siblings; some purchase readily available ID from on-line sources. However, while it is true that many young people have one form of ID showing them to be over the legal age, few have more than one form of ID with the same name.

“CANDLE’s goal is to empower businesses in the community by providing resources that promote compliance with the alcohol sales laws. By prominently displaying Only Two Will Do stickers in their stores, retailers are sending a strong message that they share the responsibility for preventing the illegal sale of alcohol. This campaign is about raising awareness of the serious problem of underage drinking and to promote positive, healthy choices,” stated Joanne Goodman, Executive Director of CANDLE.

CANDLE is a youth substance abuse and violence prevention agency that recently celebrated 35 years of serving the county and the organization now provides programs in every school district in the county as well as training for educators and youth-serving professionals in strategies for substance abuse prevention, LGBTQ competency, digital citizenship and other topics relating to the social-emotional well-being of youth. For further information, please call Annie Scott at 845-634-6677 x 13 or email at ascott@candlerockland.org. More information can also be found at www.candlerockland.org.

Image courtesy of GMG PR