The eighth grade girls leadership group Circle and the high school group Point Blank found that local stores care about their appearance and how they are perceive by our community. This is based on information the group collected while conducting a Community Assessment of Neighborhood Stores.
Over the past several weeks, they have been surveying stores as part of the statewide effort to prevent underage alcohol use. On Orcas there are five retailers that sell alcohol. Of the five that were surveyed, they found that:
Five out of five stores do not use their store front windows to market alcohol and tobacco products.
All five were mindful of product placement and avoided placing alcohol and tobacco products next to youth items and away from exits
All five encouraged the youth to survey their store, were eager to know results and open to positive suggestions for change.
“We know that greater exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in drinking among underage youth.” said leadership advisor Julie Pinardi. “A 2006 study found that the more alcohol ads young people see, the more likely they are to drink. Visiting these stores gives us much needed information about our community and what we can do to supporting youth in making healthy choices and avoiding alcohol.”
The stores were surveyed as part of a statewide campaign to engage adults and youth in taking action to reduce underage drinking. The campaign, entitled Let’s Draw the Line Between Youth and Alcohol is sponsored by the Washington State Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking. The CANS is a simple, two-page form that community groups can use to gauge the availability of and marketing of alcohol and tobacco at local stores. The form also collects information about the healthy foods.
“While we were conducting the CANS Surveys we were happy to find that most of the questions on the survey were positive,” said Joanne Mietzner a member of Circle
“After reviewing the CANS surveys we realized how lucky we were to grow up in a kid friendly town,” said Joie Zier a member of Circle
“We’re drawing the line because alcohol is especially harmful to the still-developing teen brain,” said Julie Pinardi. “Teens who drink are more likely to experience school failure, assaults, unprotected sex, alcohol poisoning and car crashes. They are also more likely to develop alcohol problems, compared to those who wait until they are 21 to drink.”
For more information about the Let’s Draw the Line campaign, email LDTL@dshs.wa.gov. For questions about the CANS survey, contact Paul Davis at Paul.Davis@doh.wa.gov. Information and tips for parents for preventing underage drinking can be found at www.StartTalkingNow.org.
