Environmental prevention: policy

Earlier today my blog topic was environmental prevention. During the DFC New Grantee Training, I attended a workshop about promoting policies that are proven to reduce youth substance abuse. Policy advocacy is considered an environmental prevention strategy.

The session started off with the question, "What policies (at what level?) can help make the population-level change you want to make in your community?" There are many settings within a community in which policy can make a difference.

When planning to advocate for policy change, it's important for coalition's to also ask themselves:

-- Is this winnable?

-- Is there energy behind it?

-- Is it worth the effort?

At least in the beginning of policy advocacy work, it is essential that coalition's find success to keep and build momentum.

The workshop went on to discuss different policies to address different factors contributing to youth substance abuse. Below are two factors present in northeast Seattle.

The last part of the workshop dealt with the steps to take when advocating for policy.

Policy advocacy is best when many voices are heard. A high level of support behind a policy is extremely important and it needs to be seen and recognized by the community and policy-makers.

The entire handout from the workshop if available on the coalition's website.

Youth binge drinking in France

According to the BBC news, binge drinking was once thought to be the exclusive province of young Brits and Americans, but now French adolescents are defying cultural stereotypes and drinking heavily with the intention of getting drunk, too.

According to the story, "The (French) government recognises the problem and plans to raise the legal age for buying alcohol from 16 to 18 next year."

"In some parts of Paris, municipal authorities have already targeted teenage drunkenness by declaring "dry areas" where drinking on the streets is banned at night."

"These measures mark a major shift in a society which used to take pride in initiating children into the art of sipping wine with their parents from an early age."

"The consensus was that this approach bred a moderate, mature attitude to alcohol."

"A glass or two of wine at home over dinner, it used to be thought, protected the French from the need to indulge in a British-style Saturday night booze-up at the pub."

The article goes on to state, "Our societies resemble each other more and more, and binge drinking, especially at weekends, has developed in recent years in France," says Patrick Bloche, mayor of the 11th Arrondissement, or district, of Paris."

Of course there is opposition to new French policies. People argue that teens are going to drink not matter what restrictions are put in place. This is simply not true. We have plenty of research that backs up the idea that prevention works. We know that teaching youth refusal and other social skills reduces underage drinking rates in a community. We know that parents who talk to their children about alcohol make a significant difference. We know that anti-underage drinking community norms make a difference in prevention. As our society's change and become more alike, it's important to remember that old ways of prevention and harm reduction may need to be re-assessed and updated.