NC launches campaign to combat underage drinking

by Colin Campbell, News and Observer, December 3, 2014.

State officials on Wednesday launched a $2.5 million campaign to reduce underage drinking through sobering TV ads, a website to help parents talk to kids, and a series of school assemblies with Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.

Citing statistics showing that the average child starts drinking before age 14, Gov. Pat McCrory said the effort can help reduce drunken driving accidents and long-term alcohol addiction.

The campaign’s theme is “Talk it out: Start the conversation. Stop underage drinking.”

“I’m not accepting this concept of a rite of passage where everybody gets their time to get ripped, to get drunk,” McCrory told a crowd of students and parents at Daniels Middle School. “That rite of passage that my generation helped start – including me – is no longer acceptable.”

Two TV spots will begin airing statewide on Wednesday. One shows a father preparing baby food for an adult son suffering from a severe brain injury. The second shows a mother talking to her daughter in a coffin.

The coffin ad prompted gasps and cries of “oh my God” from the middle schoolers present. “It’s never too early to talk with your kids about the dangers of alcohol,” the narrator says. “But it can be too late.”

The ads refer families to the campaign website,  TalkItOutNC.org, which features tips for parents. It encourages parents to teach their kids about the dangers of alcohol starting around age 8. Parents should broach the subject often and should explain why drinking is harmful, the site says.

Forest and his wife, Alice, will give presentations at schools throughout the state. “Talking about these issues does make a drastic difference,” Forest said. “Parents, believe it or not, your kids do want to talk to you.”

The study – which surveyed 500 parents and 300 middle and high school students – found that 9 of 10 middle schoolers think a parental talk about drinking would be helpful. Of those surveyed, 87 percent of students called underage drinking a problem, while only 62 percent of parents agreed.

“The study shows there’s a lot of denial among the adults,” McCrory said.

In addition to the TV ads, the state has produced a seven-minute video featuring personal tales of drunk-driving tragedies.

Steve Sciascia, mayor of the Charlotte suburb of Harrisburg, speaks about his son Joseph’s death in a drunk-driving accident. His son was a passenger in the car.

“No one in this room wants to experience what my family has endured since 2011,” Sciascia said.

ABC Commission chairman Jim Gardner says the personal stories speak louder than statistics. “The fact that they’re willing to share their stories in North Carolina is one of the most heroic things I’ve known,” he said.

The campaign is funded by revenue from state-controlled liquor stores.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/12/03/4373563/nc-launches-campaign-to-combat.html?sp=/99/102/