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What’s New

Communities Talk What’s New articles share information to help event organizers plan, host, and evaluate events aimed at mobilizing a community around evidence-based prevention of underage drinking.

Start Planning for Your Communities Talk Event

11/05/2018

What can you do now to get ready for your next Communities Talk event?

Start with careful planning to develop a results-oriented event.
Conduct a community assessment to inform your event approach.
Consider what metrics and outcomes you will use to evaluate your event.

Additionally, you can share statistics from SAMHSA’s 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data to inform your community about the issue of underage drinking. Community leaders, parents, and other concerned citizens may become invested in preventing underage drinking when they realize how many youth begin drinking alcohol each year and that underage drinking is related to other substance abuse.

The number of 12- to 17-year-olds who began using alcohol in 2017:

2 million used alcohol for the first time
6,400 began using alcohol each day

How 12- to 20-year-olds obtained alcohol in 2017:

10 percent–from parents or guardians
10 percent–from another family members over age 21
6 percent–took it from their own house
3 percent– took it from someone else’s house

Alcohol and the relationship to other substance misusein 2017 (ages 12-17 that drank in the past month):

24 percent also reported illicit drug use
23 percent also reported marijuana use
1 percent also reported misusing opioids

Read 10 Steps for Communities Talk Meeting Planning for more information to plan your event. And, stay tuned for more information about Communities Talk events in the coming months.