A few months ago I wrote about an organization called New Futures, a New Hampshire non-profit organization with a two-fold mission to reduce underage alcohol problems, and to increase access to treatment through leadership, policy development, information dissemination and program innovation.  Back then the organization was getting ready to release its report: Recommendations for Success – New Hampshire’s Strategy to Reduce Underage Alcohol Problems.

Well, the report was finished and recently released. The final product provides a comprehensive picture of the problem of underage drinking, and recommendations to confront the problem through creative strategies that encourage all concerned to be attentive, active and committed.

For starters, the report lays out the problem at hand with some hard facts.

• Alcohol is our number one youth drug problem in New Hampshire. The research shows that almost one half of New Hampshire high school students—47 percent—report regular alcohol use.
  
• One third—31 percent—of New Hampshire high school students report binge drinking, which is defined as consuming 5 or more drinks on one or more occasions in the last 30 days.
  
• The risk of alcohol problems increases when drinking starts at an early age. In New Hampshire, more than 1 in 4 (26 percent) high school students had their first drink of alcohol before the age of 13. 
  
• Research suggests that 3 percent of parents think that their high school student has had 5 or more drinks in a row in the past month, and more than 30 percent of high school students report this behavior.
  
• Teenagers, especially girls, obtain alcohol easily from their friends, family, and other adults. In 2001, 30 percent of alcohol beverage outlets sold alcohol to minors.
  
• Youth are drinking a wide range of alcoholic beverages. Teen girls report drinking alcopops, sweet tasting, fruit-flavored, malt-based drinks, more than other alcoholic drinks, whereas adult women age 21 or older rank alcopops as their least-consumed alcoholic beverage.
  
• Kids see and hear alcohol-related images. A substantial portion of alcohol advertising reaches an underage audience. Research suggests that youth see more advertising for beer than for juice, gum, sneakers, or jeans.

So what to do about this?  The report, which is worth reading cover to cover, breaks the solutions down into manageable how-to bites that strategize how to increase awareness through public information and education; limit access through law enforcement and legislation; coordinate efforts; and research and evaluate data.

Each of these areas receives a good deal of attention in the report with recom-mendations for statewide action, and actions closer to home in schools, communities and through the work of regional coalitions.

The report reflects the combined efforts of many people and organizations too numerous to mention here – fifty-six separate organizations and agencies in all, including Creating Positive Change.

Most important though is the need to recognize this report as a tool -- a roadmap to achieving a comprehensive and consistent prevention effort statewide. So, avoid, if you can, the tendency to read and retire it to the back of the filing cabinet. I’ve seen too many of worthy efforts gather dust this way.

Check it out for yourself at CPC’s website at www.cpcnh.org.  And, if you’re moved to action, give us a call at 924-4981, and/or come to CPC’s Quarterly Coalition meeting on Wednesday, December 7^th from 5:30 to 7:30pm at Club Cannon (the teen center) at 40 Grove Street in Peterborough. We can use all the help we can get.