Governments should ban alcoholic-beverage firms from sponsoring sports teams and sporting events, which could instead be supported by taxes on alcohol products, according to researchers.

Science Daily reported Nov. 11 that researchers Kypros Kypri of Australia’s Newcastle University and Kerry O’Brien of The University of Manchester in Great Britain wrote in the December 2009 issue of the journal Addiction that the alcohol industry has ignored their 2008 report showing a link between alcohol sponsorship of sports and high-risk drinking among participants.

“The latest moves by the major sporting codes in Australia to lobby against the regulation of alcohol sponsorship of sport show that these bodies remain in denial of alcohol-related problems in their sports,” said Krypi. “In addition, it is clear that these organizations have enormous vested interests in continuing to receive alcohol money and government should be careful to act in the public interest rather than to cave in to the sports and Big Booze.”

“Sport administrators are sending mixed messages to participants and fans when, on the one hand, they embrace and peddle alcohol via their sport, while on the other they punish individual sport stars and fans when they display loutish behavior while intoxicated,” added O’Brien.

The British Medical Association also has called for a ban on alcohol sports sponsorships.

Would lowering the drinking age help curb excessive alcohol consumption among college students? That was the central question posed to CASA President and CEO David Rosenbloom, Ph.D., and John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College and head of Choose Responsibility, during a recent event at Colby College.

The Amethyst Initiative consists of chancellors and presidents of universities and colleges across the United States who allege that the problem of irresponsible drinking by young people continues despite the minimum legal drinking age of 21. Yet all major public health authorities, including the American Medical Association, Centers for Disease Control, National Highway Traffic Safety Board, and surgeon general, continue to support the higher drinking age. John McCardell and David Rosenbloom presented two opposing sides of this controversial issue.

Listen to the podcast HERE.

By Pamela S. Erickson, CEO, Public Action Management

Recently, the Interim Study Committee on Alcoholic Beverage Issues announced it would not support measures to liberalize Indiana alcohol laws by allowing Sunday sales in grocery and convenience stores. To some this may seem like a small issue of customer convenience. In September, I testified before this committee to caution them about any extension of alcohol sales. As a former alcohol regulator in Oregon, I know how this “chipping away” at the regulatory system will ultimately result in more alcohol problems. In fact, the issue ought to be the need to increase the controls on grocery, convenience and drug store licensees to, at least match, the controls Indiana has placed on the package liquor stores.

Indiana’s system of private package liquor stores has some excellent controls to ensure that retailing is done responsibly. Customers must be 21 to enter. Store employees must be trained, licensed and at least 21 years of age. This is often an effective deterrent. The University of Minnesota Alcohol Epidemiology Program reports that grocery and convenience stores are more likely to sell alcohol to youth than liquor stores.* In focus groups, youth reported that convenience stores are the easiest place to get alcohol. The controls placed on liquor stores should also apply to grocery, convenience and drug stores. And, it’s not just because these controls reduce youth access to alcohol. In the long run, market dynamics will weaken the types of stores which have the best control. Here’s how:

1. Overhead costs for liquor stores are generally higher because they must train clerks and ensure they are licensed. And, employees over 21 generally command higher wages than those 19-20. Grocery, convenience and drug stores don’t have these costs. This gives them a financial advantage and allows them to sell alcohol cheaper.

2. Large national chains can use their purchasing power to buy alcohol cheaper than smaller liquor stores. Even if the distributor sells the products at the same price to all, the larger store can buy more of a product when the price is discounted and put it on sale for a longer time.

3. Grocery, convenience and drug stores can afford to offer alcohol products as “loss leaders” or at much lower prices because they can make up the loss on the wide variety of other products they sell. Liquor stores in Indiana are restricted from selling almost all other products and are placed at a severe disadvantage.

The increase in these market advantages will result in deteriorating profitability for the package liquor stores. But, that’s not the worst news. It will likely result in increased problems with alcohol, particularly for youth. Again, here’s how:

1. Lower prices will be offered: The combination of lower overhead, large purchasing power and ability to offer specials and loss leaders will reduce the price of alcohol at grocery, convenience and drug stores. Liquor stores may have to lower prices just to compete.

2. Lower prices generally increase alcohol consumption particularly among youth. Like almost all commodities, when prices are lower, sales increase. This is particularly true for youth, who are more price-sensitive than adults.

3. Higher alcohol consumption invariably leads to greater problems of underage drinking, drunk driving, alcohol related disease and addiction.

4. More alcohol availability means more work for law enforcement. Alcohol laws—especially underage drinking laws—need to be enforced to be effective. Allowing more stores to sell alcohol for more hours increases the burden on law enforcement.

When considering changes to alcohol regulation, policy makers should first look at the impact on the whole system. For Indiana, legislators should ensure that all alcohol outlets have adequate controls before any increase in alcohol availability is considered.

*”Quick Facts from AEP Research, Youth Access to Alcohol,” compiled by Kathleen M. Lenk and Traci L. Toomey, University of Minnesota, Alcohol Epidemiology Program website, www.epi.umn.edu/alcohol.

For more information on the Campaign for a Healthy Alcohol Marketplace, go to http://www.healthyalcoholmarket.com

Journal and Courier – Justin L. Mack – November 7, 2009

For the second consecutive year, a more preventive approach to consumption has led to fewer alcohol-related arrests near Purdue University during the fall semester.

According to data compiled by the West Lafayette Police Department, the number of alcohol-related offenses from August to Nov. 4 dropped from 192 to 176, a change of 8.3 percent.

Last year, the department reported a 35 percent decline from 2007 to 2008 during the same time.

The biggest drop relates to the number of minors arrested for possessing and consuming alcohol, which was down by 46 percent when compared to last fall.

“We are very pleased with the way the students have acted in the Village,” Lt. Gary Sparger of the West Lafayette Police Department said. He was referring to the Village area, a near-campus stretch of the city that includes several bars. “Even if the numbers stayed the same as they did last year after the 35 percent drop we would have been pleased, so we are glad to see the numbers continue to fall.”

Purdue senior Anthony Moore said he was not surprised to hear that fewer students are “getting busted for drinking” this school year.

“It seems like people aren’t coming out to the bars like they used to,” he said. “I don’t know if more people are at home studying on Saturdays or if less people are watching the football team or what it is.”

The number of individuals arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated also saw a slight decline, with a 2 percent drop.

However, public intoxication arrests increased from 77 to 95, yielding a 23 percent jump.

“You will have blips like that from time to time, but we are not sure what directly caused these totals to increase,” Sparger said.

Sparger said in order to keep an eye on West Lafayette’s Village during busy events, including home football games and a popular bar-hopping tradition called “breakfast club,” the department has more than doubled the amount of officers patrolling the area.

“We have partnered with the university police in order to get more officers out there during big events,” said Sparger. “You would imagine with more officers (you) would see more people getting picked up, but it seems like the more people we have out there the better people behave.”

He said that the temporary barricades used to separate pedestrians and vehicles in West Lafayette’s Village during home football games this year may have played a role in the changes.

“By giving those people more room to move around, I think the barricades have relieved some tension down there,” Sparger said. “Breakfast club numbers are also down, and we don’t have people overconsuming to the point where they can’t take care of themselves.

“Any time we have fewer people drinking for long periods of time is a good thing.”

Purdue senior Ashley Williams said although she wasn’t a fan of the barricades at first, she has grown to love them.

“As a driver coming up State Street I hate them, but if I’m out walking from place to place I think they’re the greatest,” Williams said. “They’re big, they’re ugly, but they get the job done.”

Along with having more officers near campus, Sparger credits increased education for the lower numbers this fall.

He said the preventive education may have lead to big decreases in minor consumption and possession numbers.

“The university has done a tremendous job educating the new students, and a lot of that has to do with the efforts of the Purdue Student Wellness Office,” said Sparger. “Both the West Lafayette and Purdue police chiefs speak to students about alcohol usage, and the on-campus initiatives are really getting this information out quickly.”

Sparger said because the football season has yet to come to a close, the department is unsure whether any changes will be made to their approach next school year.

“We are pleased with the alcohol stats,” Sparger said, “but there are other issues, such as the level of violence on campus earlier in the school year, that we want to continue to focus on.”

From the CADCA Newsletter,

As anyone working in substance abuse prevention knows, a big part of preventing underage drinking are local policies that reduce access to alcohol. In Indiana, there have been several attempts to eliminate some of those policies, prompting community coalitions and retailers in that state to join forces to combat those efforts.

The most recent attempt was a proposal in the Indiana legislature that would allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays at gas stations, groceries and convenience stores. Randy Miller, who heads the Drug-Free Marion County coalition in Indianapolis, said such a proposal is unnecessary and only adds to the risk of underage drinking.

“We’re concerned that it would increase youth access to alcohol. We don’t need another day for alcohol sales; it’s unnecessary and the beverage retail stores support us on this,” he said.

Drug-Free Marion County is one of several community-based organizations that have partnered with the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers (IABR) for Project RAD, which was formed to encourage responsible handling and distribution of alcohol in Indiana. The group, which also includes local elected and civic leaders, law enforcement officials, pastors and business executives, monitors and reviews local alcohol policies and state legislation, and educates the public on responsible alcohol policies.

Coalitions and the IABR are also fighting against a recent legislative proposal to allow the sale of cold beer in grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations. Currently, cold beer can only be sold in liquor stores. Karah Rawlings, Director of the Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County, said extending the sale of cold beer to grocery stores, gas stations and convenient stores is a recipe for disaster.

“It means that the product would be immediately consumable, which we think could drive up drunk driving incidents,” she explained.

Rawlings noted that most of the alcohol violations in her county are with grocery and convenient stores, so the coalition is concerned that increasing accessibility in these places would only make it easier for underage youth to get a hold of alcohol.

Other efforts that the groups are working on are getting grocery stores to designate separate areas for alcohol products and laws that would mandate universal carding.

“We’re just trying to even up the standards. The liquor stores are doing a good job in the community of keeping alcohol out of the hands of minors and we want to see other retail stores in the community rise to the same level,” Rawling said.

Article Written by: Lisa A. Smith – Tippecanoe County Forensic Diversion Drug Court

About the Tippecanoe County Forensic Diversion Drug Court

The Tippecanoe County Forensic Diversion Drug Court (FDDC) accepts eligible offenders sentenced that are non-violent and are addicted to drugs or alcohol.  Participants are accepted to the two to three year program in lieu of traditional sentencing which in most cases would include a minimum of two years in jail.  The FDDC, through intense case management, supervision, and weekly court accountability keep participants in treatment long enough for it effectively provide the tools to live a substance-free lifestyle

After the required initial evaluations participants are referred to the appropriate treatment and other services they require to become and remain clean and sober.  Participants are regularly and randomly drug tested to ensure abstinence, meet with a case manager a minimum of once a week, and assigned additional obligations during the four-phase program to include: support group meetings, obtaining a sponsor, home group, step work, responsible to respond to cell phone at any hour, approval of friend/contact, curfew, weekly court appearances, employment and/or school, Thinking for a Change Class, and Career Exploration Workshop, Volunteers in Probation program, and Community Service work.

Participants are required to appear in court weekly to allow the FDDC Judge and Team to review their progress allowing participants to be held accountable by the Drug Court judge for meeting their obligations to the court, society, themselves and their families.  Participants are then given incentives for doing well or sanctioned when they violate a program rule or fail to meet their required obligations.

Drug Courts Work

In 20 years since the first Drug Court was founded, there has been more research published on the effects of Drug Courts than on virtually all other criminal justice programs combined.  The scientific community has put Drug Courts under a microscope and concluded that Drug Courts work better than any other current option including jail, prison, probation, or treatment alone. Drug Courts significantly reduce drug use and crime and are more cost-effective than any other proven criminal justice strategy.

Drug Courts Reduce Crime

• FACT: Nationwide, 75% of Drug Court graduates remain arrest-free at least two years after leaving the program.
• FACT: Rigorous studies examining long-term outcomes of individual Drug Courts have found that reductions in crime last at least 3 years and can endure for over 14 years.
• FACT: The most rigorous and conservative scientific “meta-analyses” have all concluded that Drug Courts significantly reduce crime as much as 35 percent more than other sentencing options.

Drug Courts Save Money

• FACT: Nationwide, for every $1.00 invested in Drug Court, taxpayers save as much as $3.36 in avoided criminal justice costs alone.
• FACT: When considering other cost offsets such as savings from reduced victimization and healthcare service utilization, studies have shown benefits range up to $12 for every $1 invested.
• FACT: Drug Courts produce cost savings ranging from $4,000 to $12,000 per client. These cost savings reflect reduced prison costs, reduced revolving-door arrests and trials, and reduced victimization.
• FACT: In 2007, for every Federal dollar invested in Drug Court, $9.00 was leveraged in state funding.

Drug Courts Ensure Compliance

• FACT: Unless substance abusing/addicted offenders are regularly supervised by a judge and held accountable, 70% drop out of treatment prematurely.
• FACT: Drug Courts provide more comprehensive and closer supervision than other community-based supervision programs.
• FACT: Drug Courts are six times more likely to keep offenders in treatment long enough for them to get better.

The mission of the Tippecanoe County Forensic Diversion Drug Court is to empower chemically dependant adults to live substance-free and improve the quality of life.

For more information contact Lisa A. Smith, FDDC Coordinator at  lsmith@tippecanoe.in.gov.

Written by: Peggy Bylund – Big Brothers Big Sisters

Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention program reaching millions of Americans during October.

Each year the Drug-Free Coalition plans several events during the last week of October. We kick off the week with our Annual Red Ribbon Breakfast. It was an awesome event with nearly 350 people in attendance!

The following Purdue coaches were Honorary Chairpersons:

            Nadine Morgan – Women’s Basketball

            Matt Painter – Men’s Basketball

            John Klinge – Women’s Swimming & Diving

            Danny Hope – Football

            Dan Ross – Men’s Swimming & Diving

            Cathy Wright-Eger – Special Projects Manager Student Services and former Head Coach for Women’s Swimming and Diving

All of the Purdue coaches did a great job encouraging the students to live a drug free lifestyle! Coach Nadine Morgan used the letters of the alphabet to present the message of maintaining a healthy lifestyle:

Abstain from Drugs!

Believe in Yourself!

Confidence & Courage are 2 keys to what it takes to say NO!

Decide if temporary happiness or permanent happiness means more.

Enjoy some natural highs of life…Exercise, pick up a new hobby

Find Friends who share the same goals and interests as you & are positive people!

Give it up to Coach Hope and the Purdue football team for whooping up on Ohio State!

Help! Don’t be afraid to ask a parent or trusted family member to help you.

Ignore the Idiots in the world that say just a little bit won’t hurt.

Join a team!

Keep your promise to be drug free!

Learn from other people’s choices…both good and bad.

Make the RIGHT choice, which is the one that DOES NOT involve drug & alcohol abuse!

No such thing as a harmless drug!

Ohio State lost to the Purdue Boilers this weekend!!! BOILER UP!

Prepare yourself for peer pressure…Be Peer Pressure Proof & Plan ahead!

Quality of Life will be a lot better without drugs!

Remember that drug and alcohol abuse effects more than just you!

Set a good Example for others to follow!

Temptation—Avoid it by steering clear of high risk individuals and situations!

Be Unique…it’s perfectly ok to be different!

Value your body, your health, your family, your future.

Willpower is what it will take  to say NO…Stay Strong.

X-Box is way more fun than abusing drugs and alcohol.

Yes to Life is Saying No to Drugs

Zero Tolerance—take that approach when dealing with drugs/alcohol.

We hope that you will be able to join us for next year’s Red Ribbon Breakfast!

KOKOMO, Ind.—Hoosiers who want the facts about Indiana’s alcohol policies are invited to join the community coalition building efforts of Project RAD http://projectrad.com , a statewide initiative emphasizing responsible alcohol distribution in the state.

Project RAD’s newly revised Web site launched today in Kokomo, where a dozen community partners are part of the locally based North Central Indiana Community group. The North Central Indiana group includes a dozen local elected and civic leaders, law enforcement officials, pastors and business executives.

Project RAD’s other state and community partners include the Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, the Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County and CHANCES for Indiana Youth in Vigo County. More are expected to join as Project RAD expands and grows its community partner base across the state.

Project RAD was established in 2002 by the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers (IABR) at a time when the state’s responsible alcohol distribution and sales policies came under assault in the Indiana Legislature. That assault continues today with a push for Sunday sales in new retail outlets across the state, including gas stations, groceries, convenience stores, and big box chains.

“With a legislative study committee recently recommending against expanded alcohol sales on Sunday, we feel the time is right to educate Hoosiers about Indiana’s sound public policies and reinforce how responsible retailers actually do their jobs,” said Kyle Rayl, immediate past board chairman of IABR, which represents the interests of 1,000 package stores in Indiana.

Project RAD’s updated site features a video, called “Six Days a Week,” which was shown to lawmakers at a public hearing. The 10-minute video, shot at an Indiana package store, features candid conversations with owners, employees and customers.

Other Web site features include:

• A form for potential community partners to seek assistance with public service announcements or community campaigns
• A sign-up form for newsletters on upcoming debates about alcohol policies
• A contact form to reach elected officials on the state and Congressional level
• A contact list to reach newspapers across the state of Indiana
• A blog that allows updated posts and two-way conversations on alcohol-related policies across the nation  
• A link to a national essay contest with a $5,000 prize on the topic: “Why state regulation is important …”

“The Web site is not only a place for Hoosiers to receive updated alerts on legislative action, but also provides a place for community leaders to build their own partnerships and spread the word about an industry that is strictly regulated by the state of Indiana,” Rayl said. “We will be reaching a wide online audience with current and accurate information about our industry.”

Rayl, co-owner of Soupley’s Wine  Spirits, also owns 10 package stores in Howard County and has been in business 21 years. Community partners who joined Rayl Tuesday in making the Project RAD announcement included Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight, Howard County Sheriff Marshall Talbert and Howard County Commissioner Tyler Moore.

“If legislation is proposed next year to unravel the current protections in place for the sale of alcohol, Indiana voters will now be better prepared to make informed decisions based on this resource,” Rayl said. “As more groups join in this effort across the state, we’ll make sure everyone is notified about upcoming actions in the Indiana General Assembly.”

For more information about the responsible distribution of alcohol in Indiana, visit: www.ProjectRAD.com   or www.IndianaAlcoholSales.com .