Sample News Release

For Immediate Release
[Date]

[Name of your organization]
Contact: [Your organization]
[Spokesperson]
____________ (day)
____________ (evening)
____________ (email)

[Community] Comes Together for Town Hall Meeting on Underage Drinking

[Insert local statistics]
[Your community, date]

Today [Community name] in [City], [State], became one of hundreds of communities nationwide that held a Town Hall Meeting to alert the community to new research on the risks of underage drinking and empower the community to take action to stop it. The Federal Government’s Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD) is supporting Town Hall Meetings that are taking place in communities across America during the week of March 22–March 26, 2010, which coincides with the start of April’s Alcohol Awareness Month.

The Town Hall Meeting educated parents, teachers, officials, youth, and other community members about the impact underage drinking has on the community. Together, they discussed possible ways to address the issue.

Underage drinking is an important community concern. Among eighth graders, about 1 in 20 (5.4 percent) reported being drunk at least once in the past month. Nearly 1 out of every 7 10th graders (14.4 percent) and about 2 out of every 7 12th graders (27.6 percent) reported being drunk at least once in the last month.¹ [Insert local statistics or a story to reinforce the message (for example, the number of underage drinkers involved in traffic crashes or other community events tied to Alcohol Awareness Month).]

Research indicates that families exert a great deal of influence on whether a child uses alcohol later in life. “What parents may not realize,” says [Name] [Title] “is that children say that their parents’ disapproval of underage drinking is a key reason they have chosen not to drink.”

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that children and teens are less likely to abuse alcohol if parents are involved in their children’s lives, make and enforce clear rules, and are positive role models.

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¹ National Institute on Drug Abuse. 2008. Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use—Overview of Key Findings. 2008 (electronic version). Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/PDF/overview2008.pdf (PDF - 971 KB).

Excerpted from the Community Briefing Prevention Toolkit: Town Hall Meetings

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