Talk It Up. Lock It Up!™ North Carolina Preventing Underage Drinking Initiative (NC PUDI) www.ncpud.org

What is Talk It Up. Lock It Up!™ NC PUDI has created the Talk It Up. Lock It Up!™ initiative to address the issue of underage alcohol access in private homes. We are asking adults to make their home a NO underage drinking zone by monitoring and securing their alcohol at home.

Why Talk It Up. Lock It Up!™? Many youth access alcohol in the place that they should be the safest; home! The most common source of alcohol for youth under the age of 21 is taking it from their, or someone else’s, home.

Underage Drinking in North Carolina

North Carolina students in grades 9-12 reported: • 63.8% have had at least one drink • 35% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more occasions in the past 30 days. • 18.7% had five or more drinks of alcohol in a row (binge drinking) in the past 30 days. • 19% had their first drink of alcohol before age 13.

Affects of Underage Drinking Underage drinking cost the citizens of North Carolina $1.5 billion in 2010.

Harm Associated with Underage Drinking During 2009, an estimated 41 traffic fatalities and 1,693 nonfatal traffic injuries were attributable to driving after underage drinking in NC. In 2009, an estimated 60 homicides; 26,800 nonfatal violent crimes such as rape, robbery and assault; and 67,400 property crimes including burglary, larceny, and car theft were attributable to underage drinking in NC.

Affect on Youth In 2005, there were more than 14,500 ER visits by youth aged 12 to 20 for injuries and other conditions linked to alcohol Youth who start drinking before age 15 are 5 times more likely to develop an alcohol abuse problem Until the early twenties, the brain continues to develop and alcohol exposure at that time damages the parts of it that control cognitive abilities. Alcohol kills 6.5 times more youth than all other illicit drugs combined. CDC 2005 SAHMSHA MADD

Why focus on HOME? 2/3 of youth who drink alcohol get it from a residential home. In fact, 2/3 of teens, aged 13-18, said it is easy to get alcohol from their homes without adults knowing about it.

As an adult, you have a critical role in shaping the habits of the children in your care. Research states that your talking to youth, disapproving of the behavior, and taking action to prevent it is a huge factor in whether or not the youth around you will use alcohol.

Monitoring and Securing Alcohol Know the number of drinks you have, where they are, and how much is in them. Regularly check to make sure that no alcohol has been taken. Make sure that alcohol is never located where small children could accidently drink it Alcohol should be secured in places not accessible by youth Locked coolers, mini-refrigerators, cabinets, etc.

As adults, you bear the responsibility for the 2/3 of youth that access alcohol from the homes of adults around them. This access is 100% preventable with small actions from monitoring alcohol to securing alcohol in places unreachable by youth.

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