70 percent of Oregon young adults do NOT binge drink. This is the key message in the Shared Future Coalition’s new video public service announcement. It is part of a larger grassroots awareness campaign designed to reduce underage and binge drinking among young adults. The Shared Future Coalition is a group of community stakeholders whose mission is to foster the legal and safe use of alcohol in Deschutes County.
This statistic contradicts the popular opinion that most 18 to 25 year olds do binge drink. The public service announcement (available at the website: www.sharedfuturecoalition.org) goes on to define binge drinking as four or more drinks for women, or five or more drinks for men, in about a two-hour period. It encourages young adults to get the facts and take action to “kick binge drinking”. Raising awareness that MORE young adults are choosing NOT to binge drink aligns with current research which indicates that positive social norms have a preventative impact on individual choices.
The awareness campaign is being launched out of concern for the health and safety of the nearly 30 percent of Oregon young adults who are binge drinking. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 90 percent of the alcohol consumed by youth is done while binge drinking. Binge drinking is associated with many health problems, including injuries, alcohol poisoning, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancy and a variety of long-term negative health consequences.
The Coalition’s campaign is launching in online media venues which connect specifically with 18 to 25 year-olds in Deschutes County. The audience is encouraged to both learn the facts about binge drinking, and to share them with friends. This approach represents an expansion of previous awareness campaigns which only had a limited presence in online media.
Anyone in Deschutes County can also help promote the Coalition’s awareness campaign by sharing messages from the Shared Future Coalition on YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/sharedfuture and in Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharedfuturecoalition.
For more information, please contact Deschutes County Health Services Coalition Coordinator Julie Spackman at 541-388-6619 or send email to julie.spackman@deschutes.org .
