Written By: Frances M. Harding, Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
We continue to celebrate National Prevention Week, and today’s theme focuses on preventing alcohol abuse. Alcohol consumption at high levels can pose serious safety and health risks and is associated with approximately 79,000 deaths per year.1 Nearly 18 million people aged 12 or older were classified with alcohol dependence or abuse in 2010.2
Several problems are associated with alcohol dependence, including liver damage, diabetes, cardiovascular complications, and chronic disease. These side effects take a toll not only on the person who …

Written By: Frances M. Harding, Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
In adolescence, teens are met with new life experiences and greater freedom, but also more peer pressure. It’s during this time that teens may be more likely to experiment with alcohol.
It may not cross teens’ minds that underage drinking is both illegal and dangerous. According to SAMHSA’s 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 10 million people aged 12 to 20 reported consuming alcohol within the past month.1 People aged 20 or younger accounted for almost 200,000 …

Written By: Frances M. Harding, Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
On May 21, 2012, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. EDT, SAMHSA will host Getting to Outcomes in Underage Drinking Prevention, a live, interactive Webcast about communities that are using Town Hall Meetings to engage individuals and organizations in the use of evidence-based environmental prevention. Please join a panel of national, state, and local activists in discussing approaches leading to positive outcomes in reducing underage drinking and its consequences.
This Webcast supports SAMHSA’s National Prevention Week from May 20 to 26, 2012. …

Written By: Frances Harding, Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
April is a time of renewal, which makes it a perfect time for individuals and communities to renew their commitment to underage drinking prevention. In fact, April is Alcohol Awareness Month, making it the most appropriate month of the year to spring forward with prevention efforts. The theme for this year’s observance is “Healthy Choices, Healthy Communities: Prevent Underage Drinking.”
This April, hundreds of communities across the Nation are hosting Town Hall Meetings, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services …