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Commercials Target Underage Drinking ProblemsBy Jen Thomas - September 26, 2007
 | | Al Bashevkin, executive director of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, wants parents to educate youth on the dangers of underage drinking. |
PITTSFIELD - Parents of Berkshire County teenagers have a new resource to help curb risky and unhealthy behaviors in their children.
• Commercial 1
• Commercial 2
Thanks to a collaboration among law enforcement and several social and health agencies throughout the county, a series of commercials have been created with the intention of educating parents about the best ways to talk to their children about underage drinking.
"It's not simply illegal; it's unhealthy and dangerous," said District Attorney David F. Capeless. "What we're trying to do is express to adults that they need to set an example. In the community, we're talking the talk but not walking the walk."
The commercials will run 51 times per week on select Time Warner Cable channels, including Comedy Central, the Discovery Channel, ESPN and during Boston Red Sox baseball games and Monday Night Football through the end of the year and into January.
Partners used data from the 2006 Berkshire County Prevention Needs Assessment Survey, which surveyed more than 2,800 eighth, 10th and 12th graders in the county about their participation in substance abuse and anti-social behavior and the risk and protective factors that predict those problem behaviors.
From that survey, officials at the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, Berkshire Health Systems, the Berkshire United Way, and the South Berkshire Youth Coalition determined two major concerns of school-aged children - "that outside of the school environment, teenagers don't feel appreciated by adults for their positive qualities and that teens don't believe their parents consider underage drinking to be a serious problem."
"We found some pretty startling statistics, some pretty startling data, that gave us pause," said Alan Bashevkin, the executive director of NBCC.
The two commercials - titled "Bringing Up Bobby" and "Talk to Them" - address the issues outlined in the survey and feature Capeless in a public service announcement format. On the air since the beginning of September, the informational commercials educate parents on the concerns of Berkshire youth and provide them with an opportunity to get more information.
"The vast majority of kids are making the right decisions and we want to promote that. It's just that we need a common message that goes across the whole county and we'll be much stronger," said Ruth Blodgett, the senior vice president of Berkshire Health Systems.
"The publicity of alcohol is pervasive in our society, but you have to begin somewhere," said Eric Bruun, a steering committee member of SBYC. "Commercials are the most cost-effective way to reach the most people."
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| I think these commercials are wonderful way to reach more of the public. I have a 17 yr. old who can say no to peer pressure and isn't influenced by his friends. And I have gone through alot with my other two older children. I have worked in the high school and have seen what alcohol can do to a teen. It affects them physically and mentally. It can change their whole life. The more we educate the parent and the teen, we might change their life to a more positive one. | | from: Lynda Field | on: 09-27-2007 |
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