SR ACT Highlights April Alcohol Awareness Month

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, however San Rafael ACT (SR ACT) wants to remind our Marin community that reducing youth access to alcohol is a year 'round responsibility. Throughout the month of April, SR ACT will share different ways, activities, and opportunities parents and other adults can help to speak to their youth about underage drinking.

"NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month, held every April, was founded by and has been sponsored by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) since 1987 to increase public awareness and understanding aimed at reducing the stigma associated with alcoholism that too often prevents individuals and families from seeking help.

For the 28th Anniversary of NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month, NCADD has chosen the theme "Help for Today. Hope For Tomorrow". 

Unfortunately, still too many of our children are drinking alcohol, at too early an age. Much of it goes unnoticed and unchecked by adults. Unconcerned or unaware of the health risks, lacking in other coping skills, and eager to find peer acceptance, many teens are involved in regular alcohol use, which puts them at greater risk for alcoholism, as well as related problems like drunk driving, sexual assault, and further drug use.

Parents can help to reduce their children's risk of problem drinking by educating their kids and keeping a more watchful eye on them, especially as they enter middle schools and high school. We know that high levels of parental monitoring are associated with lower levels of both high school and eventually college drinking. Research has linked parents' disapproval of underage drinking to a lower risk of alcohol use, and that increased parent-child hostility has been tied to a greater likelihood of problem drinking.

NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month raises awareness while encouraging people to make healthy and safe choices when it comes to use of alcohol. It also opens a window of opportunity to address underage drinking, which is one of the reasons why NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month is recognized in April – the beginning of prom and graduation season. For additional information and resources: Learn About Alcohol. To learn more about the issue of underage drinking, FOR YOUTH: Underage and College Drinking."