ROBERT W. BLACK Associated Press Writer | Posted: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 12:00 am
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming adults need to help crack down on underage drinking, first lady Nancy Freudenthal said Wednesday in launching a public-awareness program.
"We need to get the message to Wyoming parents that alcohol contributes to more deaths among our children than all illicit drugs combined - six times as many," Mrs. Freudenthal said at a Capitol news conference.
Surveys showing Wyoming ranks first in the nation for children who drink more than a few sips of alcohol before age 13 and fourth for youth binge-drinking underscore the depth of the problem, she said.
"We need to stand up and say it's not acceptable," she said, adding that parents' own drinking habits and their allowing access to alcohol in the home, along with media advertising play a large role in teen and preteen use of liquor.
"We just can't blame our children," she said. "Our children don't live in a vacuum."
The Wyoming departments of Health and Family Services have joined with The Wyoming First Lady's Underage Drinking Initiative to provide suggestions to parents, community groups, law enforcement and youths to reduce underage drinking.
Rodger McDaniel, director of the Department of Family Services, said he hopes the campaign will reduce the number of troubled children and families his agency deals with on a daily basis.
"One of the common themes running through these families is the abuse of alcohol," he said.
The campaign will include billboards featuring a black-on-yellow belt-buckle logo that reads: "Wyoming, where life itself is a ride," intended to remind adults that no one needs alcohol to lead an enjoyable life.
One billboard will depict a bull rider along with the words, "Help kids hang on longer. Work to reduce underage drinking."
Another features a cowboy's gloved hands holding a horse's reins accompanied by the statement, "Alcohol and youth do not have free rein in Wyoming."
Television and radio public service announcements, theater ads, banners and community training will also be part of the campaign.
Nancy Freudenthal said alcohol abuse is "handicapping the ability of our children to grow up to be successful adults."
Referring to her husband's election in 2002 and the fact they have four children of their own, she said, "Dave's election didn't inoculate us from our own challenges" regarding youth drinking issues.
Underage alcohol abuse doesn't just lead to accidental deaths but increased suicide attempts and physical and sexual assaults, she said.
Parents tend to look on youthful drinking as a rite of passage, a part of society, she said, but "it's time to change the cultural norm."
The program is divided into four phases: general awareness of the issue; prevalence and availability of alcohol for youths; reducing adult tolerance of underage drinking; and education for youths of the risks of alcohol use.
Beginning Dec. 3, information, materials and other resources will be available online at http://www.wlfi.org