The Alcohol Policy Information System
(APIS) web site added a new topic to its Selected Policy Topics
section: Criminal Liability for Hosting Underage Drinking
Parties. The new section discusses legislation that holds
individuals (social hosts) criminally responsible for underage drinking
on property they own, lease, or otherwise control. Click on http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov
to connect to this new section.
The Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (SAPRP) of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) issued a report titled Assessing
State Readiness to Act on Alcohol Tax Research Findings.
The report includes public health findings on alcohol taxes as well
as information on the size of State budget deficits, political strength
of public health advocates and the alcohol industry, proportions
of drinkers and nondrinkers in each State, existing alcohol-related
policies, cultural and religious factors, and the burden of alcohol-related
health and crime on State budgets in relation to alcohol tax revenue.
The document is available at http://www.saprp.org/.
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) issued a new report
titled Underage Drinking in the United States: A Status Report,
2004. The purpose of the report is to prompt action on underage
drinking by putting a spotlight on whether the Nation is making
progress in protecting our children by reducing underage drinking.
It is based on epidemiological data and on research on underage
drinking released in 2004. The full report and the news release
can be found at http://camy.org/.
The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) established
the Youth Access to Alcohol Task Force to address the problem of
underage drinking. The task force studies youth exposure to alcohol
advertising and access to alcohol, educates state attorneys general
on ways to reduce access to alcohol by youth and change social norms
about underage drinking, and partners with National and State entities
to augment and enhance ongoing efforts to stop underage drinking.
The Task Forces full mission and membership is available
on the NAAG web page at http://www.naag.org/naag/naag_committees.php.
The Senate Appropriations Committee for the Departments of Labor,
Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies
recently released a report that commended the Department of Health
and Human Services Secretary for establishing the Interagency Coordinating
Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD). The
committee report also stated it was disappointed that ICCPUD’s
Interim Report did not include plans for a Surgeon’s General’s “Call
to Action” on the prevention of underage drinking. The committee
strongly appealed for the Surgeon General to issue a Call
to Action on the health crisis of underage drinking. The
Development of a Plan for Combating Underage Drinking was released
in April 2004.
After ICCPUD’s report, The Development of a Plan or Combating Underage
Drinking, was submitted, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA),
on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, promised
to present
Congress with a “plan for combating underage drinking, including project
costs and next steps to be taken.” That Interim
Report was made available to Congress in January 2005.
To view The National Alliance to Prevent Underage Drinking’s response
to the Interim Report, please
On February 16, 2005, “The STOP (Sober Truth on Preventing)
Underage Drinking Act” was introduced in Congress. The act
would fund key educational and research initiatives, including
a national media campaign to reduce the prevalence of underage
drinking. Rep. Lucille Royball-Allard (CA) introduced H.R. 864
in the House of Representatives. An identical bill (S. 408) was
introduced by Sen. Mike DeWine (OH) in the Senate. The text of
the act is available at http://thomas.loc.gov/. Type the bill number
to see the text.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) produced a
new resourcethe Factbook on State Beer Taxesaimed
at informing the debate on alcohol taxes and other alcohol policy
issues. Targeted toward preventionists, policymakers, educators,
and journalists, the book provides data on beer-tax rates across
the country and presents ideas about the appropriate role of the
alcohol industry in societal attempts to combat alcohol problems.
CSPI’s website is http://cspinet.org/booze/.
