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Over the past few years, the town of Revere, Mass., has seen a significant reduction in teen use and abuse of alcohol. Between 2001 and 2007, binge drinking by high school students was cut in half, dropping from 14 percent to 7 percent. (Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks in a row on six or more occasions in the past month.)

In 1997, a study reported that 59 percent of local middle school students had experimented with alcohol, and 54 percent had smoked cigarettes. In 2007, the number of students who reported drinking decreased to 42 percent and the number who smoked went down to 28 percent.

Local experts largely attribute these encouraging trends to CARES, a program that was instituted in Revere in 1997. CARES (Community Awareness, Resources, and Education to Prevent Substance Abuse) is a coalition of local agencies and individuals. CARES employs diverse strategies to raise awareness about the prevalence and dangers of teen substance abuse, and strives to change community acceptance of teen drinking.

Under the CARES program, sanctions for teen drinking were increased in severity, and adults in the community learned the dangers of considering teen drinking just a "rite of passage." The success of this program is especially encouraging for Revere, where adult drug and alcohol abuse rates have historically been higher than the statewide average.

(Sources: www.boston.com)

Labels: teen-drinking, binge-drinking

Posted By: jgarcia