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Liquor Control Board launches effort to educate parents about
underage drinking
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September 15, 2008 |
OLYMPIA - To increase awareness of underage drinking issues and motivate
parents to talk with their kids about drinking, the Washington State Liquor
Control Board (WSLCB) has launched an alcohol awareness poster campaign in
all state liquor stores targeting parents of school-aged children. The
posters and accompanying materials such as brochures highlight current
alcohol research, detail Washington underage drinking statistics, and offer
tips and suggestions on how parents and the community can help reduce
underage drinking.
"This campaign offers the WSLCB a unique chance to reach parents at our
stores with regular messages about underage drinking," said Lorraine Lee,
WSLCB Chairman. "Our first poster, which is in stores now, features a
back-to-school theme in time for the new school year. The first few weeks of
school are a great time for parents and their children to talk about family
expectations about alcohol use."
Alcohol awareness poster campaign
The 22" by 28" posters are displayed in a metal frame in all 161 state
liquor stores. The WSLCB is working with communities across the state to
find ways to display the posters, and is also working with the state
Department of Licensing to display the posters in Licensing Service Offices
around the state. The WSLCB will release new posters with themes relevant to
the key times in which underage drinking is likely to occur, such as prom or
graduation.
"Underage drinking is a leading public health problem in Washington," said
Tony Masias, WSLCB Alcohol Awareness Program Manager. "Studies show parents
are the No. 1 influence on whether their children drink, so this campaign
targets parents with the latest information about alcohol and youth in an
effort to reduce underage drinking."
Parent and youth focus groups results released
In June 2008, the WSLCB contracted with Gilmore Research Group of Seattle to
conduct parent focus groups in Seattle and Yakima. The participating parents
have children ages 10 to 17. The results were compared to data from 11 youth
focus groups conducted by the two organizations in June 2007. The youth
participants were divided into four groups, including sixth graders, eighth
graders, older high school students, and younger college students.
The results from the youth and parent focus groups support previous studies
that have found that parents are the primary influence on their child's
decision to drink.
Data from the two focus groups - including information on youth drinking
habits, family perceptions of drinking, and motivations and deterrents to
youth drinking - will be used in conjunction with other studies when
creating future WSLCB educational programs and alcohol awareness posters.
To view a summary of the parent focus groups and the results from the parent
and youth focus groups, please visit
www.liq.wa.gov.
Link to Poster Download here
Link to
StartTalkingNow.org here
Link to Tips For Parents here
Parent Focus Group Summary
Parent Focus Group Results
Youth Focus Group Results
Contact: Tony Masias, Alcohol Awareness Program Manager, 360-664-1771
Brian Smith, Communications Director, 360-664-1774
Anne Radford, Communications Consultant, 360-664-1604
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