| E-UPDATE | 9/14/2007 | ||
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SUCCESS STORY Congratulations to the NH State Liquor Commission The NH State Liquor Commission's Bureau of Enforcement has received the "Liquor Law Enforcement Agency of the Year Award" from the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association (NLLEA). Presented at the 9th Annual Leadership Conference for Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws in Orlando Florida on August 3, the award was given in recognition of the Bureau of Enforcement's "multifaceted approach to preventing underage access to alcohol, impaired driving, hazardous drinking, illegal gambling and drug use, through state wide compliance check operations, specialized, gambling, and fictitious ID investigations, the Ripple Effect program, and specialized trainings for servers and sellers of alcohol." As reported here last month, the NEW FUTURES NEWS a. RESCHEDULED: 9th Annual Leadership Recognition and Awards Celebration Acting U.S. Surgeon General Moritsugu has cancelled his visit to LEGISLATIVE UPDATE a. Legislative Session Wrap Up http://www.new-futures.org/issues-action/current-issues/legislative-updates.asp b. Update on Legislative Study Committees New Futures has continued to follow a number of legislative study committees including: · SB 233 (Relative to flavored malt beverages) - This committee has scheduled its organizational meeting for September 18. New Futures is following this to advocate against any legislation that would expand the availability or increase the alcohol content of flavored malt beverages (also knows as "Alcopops"). · HB 323 (Relative to Liquor Commission Enforcement, procedures and training) - New Futures is following this study both to advocate for improved training for those who sell or serve alcohol and to support enforcement of existing statues related to underage alcohol. c. Preview of 2008 Legislative Session House and Senate members will soon begin filing legislation for the 2008 session. We will monitor these bills and proposed titles as they become available and continue to keep you updated throughout the legislative session. RESOURCES a. Get the Truth About the 21 Law As the nation's current debate on the 21 Minimum Drinking Age Law rages on, it's easy to mistake opinions as facts. MADD's new website, http://why21.org, presents facts on why the law is important - and how it saves lives. Use this information and other information from valid sources to refute the rumors. To view New Futures fact sheet on the MLDA and a recent action alert, visit http://www.new-futures.org/pdf/publications/NF_Why_21.pdf and http://www.new-futures.org/issues-action/current-issues/action-alerts.asp respectively. b. Teacher's Aid to Prevent Drinking in Middle School Teacher's Corner is a new feature on TheCool Spot.gov, NIAAA's alcohol prevention web resource for ages 11 to 13. This feature provides educators and volunteers working in middle schools and after school programs with materials, including lesson plans, role-playing activities and science-based information about alcohol. www.thecoolspot.gov/teachercorner.asp. c. Funds Available for Youth Led Community Events By hosting a Take It Back Community Briefing youth can influence adults to support, assist and get out of the way of policies that will keep youth safer. Support to conduct a community briefing, fill out an application form as soon as possible. All applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Deadline for consideration is November 2, 2007. Details at: www.utakeitback.org. d. Funding Available for Screening and Brief Alcohol Interventions The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) invites nonprofits, schools, and others to apply for funding under the agency's Screening and Brief Alcohol Interventions in Underage and Young Adult Populations grants program. The program is aimed at generating research on screening and brief interventions to prevent and/or reduce alcohol use and its consequences. Grants will be awarded under the R01, R03, and R21 mechanisms. e. Reclaiming Futures' Recommendations for Addressing Adolescent Problems Improved Care for Teens in Trouble with Drugs, Alcohol and Crime suggests 10 recommendations such as creating a service team made up of treatment providers, judges, probation officers, family and community members to design a care plan for the youth. That report and several supporting documents can be found at: www.reclaimingfutures.org. f. How to Use Local Regulatory and Land Use Powers to Prevent Underage Drinking Local governments have the responsibility and authority to protect the public's general health, safety, and welfare. They fulfill this responsibility in part through their land use powers. Both commercial and noncommercial activities associated with alcohol fall within these broad powers. Get some ideas here: www.udetc.org/documents/LocalRegulLandUse.pdf. g. A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at US Colleges This new report from NIAAA issues a call to action for college campuses around the consequences of excessive drinking by students. For more information, visit: http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/media/TaskForceReport.pdf. h. MMWR Podcasts on Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising in Magazines If you haven't had a chance to read CAMY's latest report, you can hear about it on-line. Listen to A Minute of Health with CDC (Length: 0:59) at or view a PDF transcript. If you have a little more time, listen to or read the longer version (Length: 6:30), A Cup of Health with CDC. Think about linking to them in your next newsletter or on your website. IN THE NEWS a. Gender Differences in Alcohol Use Based on combined data from SAMHSA's 2004-2005 National Surveys on Drug Use & Health, males had higher rates than females for all measures of drinking in the past month: any alcohol use (57.5% vs. 45%), binge drinking (30.8% vs. 15.1%), and heavy alcohol use (10.5% vs. 3.3%). Males were twice as likely as females to have met the criteria for alcohol dependence or abuse in the past year (10.5% vs. 5.1%). http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7/AlcGender/AlcGender.cfm. b. Can schools help reduce youth risk-taking behavior? A report out of UCLA's Center for Mental Health in Schools suggests that by creating a positive learning environment - rather than through teaching prevention programs - youths' negative behaviors will decrease both on and off school grounds. Read the report at: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/policyissues/risktaking.pdf. c. Brief Interventions Found Effective in Curbing Student Drinking Researchers at d. Alcoholic Beverages May Get New Labels The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the U.S. Department of Treasury is formally considering a new rule to require alcohol labels to contain information on alcohol content, serving size, servings per container, calories, and other nutritional facts. Comments on the proposed rule are due by October 29. Learn more at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-14774.pdf. e. Most Drug Users and Alcohol Abusers are in the Work Force Most of the nation's approximately 16.4 million current illicit drug users and approximately 15 million heavy alcohol users hold full-time jobs, according to a new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The report found that illicit drug use and heavy alcohol use are associated with higher levels of absenteeism and frequent job changes. Read more at: www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/070713survey0610.aspx. f. Non-smoking Spouses, Smoke-free Workplaces Help Quitters A recent study suggests that environmental factors are important to tobacco cessation. Researchers at g. Students Report Drinking Hard Liquor To examine types of alcoholic beverages usually consumed by students in 9th--12th grades, CDC analyzed 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data from the four state surveys that included a question on the type of alcohol consumed (Arkansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Wyoming). In all four grades, in all four states, liquor was the most prevalent type of alcohol usually consumed among students who reported current alcohol use. For more detail, go to: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5629a3.htm. h. SAMHSA Parent Education Campaign Reports Positive Results In a recent tracking study, 42% of parents who saw or heard "Start Talking Before They Start Drinking" campaign advertising have spoken to other parents or friends about the issue compared to 22% of those who haven't. Furthermore, visitors are spending more time on the campaign Web site (10 to 13 minutes) than the average of 3 minutes. For more information, visit the campaign Web site, www.stopalcoholabuse.gov. i. New Data from the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XII: Teens and parents This new data report issued by the j. Join Together: Heavy Drinking Increases Relocation to Poor Neighborhoods It's not the neighborhood that creates the behavior, but the other way around. Tracking 400 men for 12 years, and controlling for factors like poverty level and antisocial behavior, researchers found that the men with the greatest alcohol problems were more likely to live in or move into a poor neighborhood. On the other hand, recovering alcoholics were no more likely to live in poor neighborhoods than non-alcoholics. www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2007/heavy-drinking-forces-move-to.html. UPCOMING EVENTS See all this and more at: www.new-futures.org/calendar a. Art and Recovery September 17th- October 12th at In celebration of National Recovery Month, The Partnership for Healthy Youth will be having an art show featuring work by artists in recovery and those inspired by recovery. We are reaching out to artists of all ages, and will accept work in any medium. The deadline for submissions is September 10th. Contact Megan McDonald at 373-9251 or megan@makinithappen.org for details. b. Addiction: The September 20-21 at UMASS The New England Association of Drug Courts' Annual Meeting will feature HBO Addiction Series' Executive Producers John Hoffman and Susan Froemke, as well as featured experts Dr. Kathleen Brady, Dr. Douglas Marlowe, and many other field professionals, as they discuss the latest advancements in addiction treatment and research. For more information, please contact Kerin Raymond at (978) 772-1846 or kraymon@advocatesinc.org. c. Getting a Handle on Substance Abuse in the Elderly September 24, 2007 10:30 to 3 PM Fireside Inn, 10:30 - noon is networking and announcements. The afternoon will include presentations on Polypharmacy and Alcohol Use in the Older Patient; Taking Action to Aid Elders at Risk from Substance Abuse and Medication Misuse: and "What Services Are Currently Available for Elders with Addiction and What is Needed?" Please reserve a space for this MAZE program by sending an email to Marcia.Masland@Hitchcock.org or calling her at 603-653-1975. Certificates of attendance available by request when you register. d. What are the Implications of Adolescent Brain Development for Juvenile Justice? October 16, 2007, This conference will focus on better understanding of the adolescent brain and how it differs from the adult brain and positive youth development. The speakers include Dr Patricia MacNamee, Dr Jeffrey Butts from the University of Chicago, and Michael Nurney. Please e-mail psullivan@dhhs.state.nh.us by September 20, to request a registration form. e. What are They Thinking? October 16, 7:00pm - A community forum with Michael Nerney, an expert on adolescent brain development and a consultant in substance abuse prevention and education. This event is specially designed to help parents, coaches, and others in the community understand what motivates adolescents to become involved in drug use and other risky behaviors. The forum is free and refreshments will be provided. For further information, visit www.makinithappen.org. f. Adolescent Brain: Substance Abuse & Other Risky Behaviors October 17, Child and Family Services and the Makin' it Happen Coalition present a conference for industry professionals, including therapists, educators, healthcare providers and other professionals who work with adolescents. The presentation by Michael Nerney features the latest research on the structure and neuro-chemistry of the adolescent brain, explores the psychological and social motivations for drug use, reveals the signs and symptoms of at-risk youth, explores elements of treatment and examines prevention and intervention strategies. For further information and to register, visit www.makinithappen.org. g. State of the Art in Addiction Medicine October 25-27, Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, DC h. How to Talk so Families Will Listen and Listen so Families Will Talk November 13, 2007, 8:30 - 12:15, Highlander Inn and This workshop is designed to provide home visitors, therapists, counselors, social workers, teachers, child-care providers, and early supports and services specialists with information and techniques to better address alcohol and drug related concerns with families. Contact the NH Task Force on Women and Recovery at 603-647-4629 or nmiller@nhtwr.org to find out more. _____________________________________________________________________ | |||
