‘You Can’t Afford the Buzz’ Campaign Targets Underage Drinking.

The Alcohol Safety Network, an educational forum and informational exchange bringing communities together to promote alcohol responsibility, launched its Indiana educational outreach campaign today with the support of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Indiana (representing Olinger Distributing Company and National Wine and Spirits), the Marion County Prosecutor’s office, the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers, Indianapolis Public Schools, and local law enforcement.

“With the school year underway, students are facing new challenges and social situations, some of which may involve alcohol,” said David Sherman, Executive Director of the Alcohol Safety Network and Vice President, Government and Community Relations, for Glazer’s Distributors. “We felt this was the right time to arm young people with concrete information about what’s at stake and to remind adults of the consequences they face.”

The need for this campaign is clear — 9 out of 10 Indiana minors reported in a survey that alcohol is easy to get(1) and on the national level, 65 percent of youth who access alcohol say they get it from family and friends(2).

As part of this outreach, Indianapolis Public Schools is partnering with the Alcohol Safety Network to distribute posters to remind teens, “You Can’t Afford the Buzz.” The poster delivers a serious message through its mock mathematical equation: under twenty-one, caught with alcohol, can equal as much as a $500 fine and/or 60 days in jail.

“There are legal ramifications on both sides of this equation,” added Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi. “Young people need to understand that if they’re underage and they’re caught with alcohol, they’ll find themselves in juvenile court.”

The Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Indiana is also providing point-of-sale materials to local retail stores to remind adults that if they buy alcohol for a minor, they could be tapped for up to $500 in fines.

The Indiana launch of the “You Can’t Afford the Buzz” campaign is the second in a series of Alcohol Safety Network community initiatives, which draws on the collective resources of the alcohol industry, educators, parents, law enforcement, regulators and community organizations to help curb underage drinking in Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma.

1. (IU Public Opinion Laboratory – Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage
Drinking)
2. Century Council Report, 2003

For more information at http://www.alcoholsafetynetwork.org