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Example: Evidence-Based Environmental Strategies to Prevent Underage Drinking Using the Strategic Prevention Framework.

Preventing Underage Drinking: Using Getting To Outcomes™ with the SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework to Achieve Results describes 10 environmental strategies for reducing underage drinking that have the strongest evidence base. Each example includes a brief research summary and additional text that describes issues related to planning, implementing, and evaluating the strategy. The examples also include samples of tools, worksheets, or ordinances to facilitate the community’s work.The ten strategies are briefly described below.

  • Responsible beverage service is a merchant education program designed to reduce sales to minors and intoxicated adults. It involves media advocacy to promote policy changes, manager training, and server/seller training.
  • Alcohol compliance checks are thought to be most effective when they are frequent and well publicized, solicit community support, and involve penalties for the licensed establishment rather than just the server.
  • Happy hour restrictions eliminate one of the environments most conducive to overconsumption of alcohol.
  • Controls on alcohol outlet location and density reduce the accessibility of alcohol to young people by making it less prevalent in their immediate environment.
  • Sobriety/traffic-safety checkpoints, which are very effective in reducing alcohol-related traffi c accidents, injuries, and deaths, are even more effective when combined with a vigorous public awareness campaign.
  • Graduated drivers’ licensing laws, which entail clearly specified learner, intermediate, and full license phases, are effective in reducing crashes among teen drivers, but they need to be adequately enforced.
  • Social-host liability laws state that adults providing alcohol to minors or those who are obviously intoxicated are legally liable if the person is killed or injured, or kills or injures another person.
  • Keg registration is intended to prevent friends or relatives of legal drinking age from buying beer kegs for teen parties. Registration can be achieved in a number of ways, for example, permanent markings on each keg that identify where and when it was purchased or a requirement that keg delivery requests be made in person at the store.
  • Restricting sales of alcohol at public events controls the availability of alcohol at gatherings such as concerts, street fairs, and sporting events.
  • Increasing taxes on the sale of alcohol leads to reductions in the levels and frequency of drinking and, especially, heavy drinking among youth, as well as lower traffic accident fatality rates and reduced incidence of some types of crime. Several surveys indicate that most Americans support increased alcohol taxes.

For more in-depth information on these evidence-based environmental strategies to prevent underage drinking, please see the full manual Preventing Underage Drinking: Using Getting To Outcomes™ with the SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework to Achieve Results. Imm P, Chinman M, Wandersman A, Rosenbloom D, Guckenburg S, Leis R. (2007). Preventing Underage Drinking: Using Getting to Outcomes with the SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework to Achieve Results, RAND, TR-403-SAMHSA. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.