The Alcohol Policy Conference Series.  The AP series has aided the development of a number of national and international initiatives, including national prevention policies (increase in minimum legal drinking age to 21; health warnings on alcoholic beverage containers; promotion of recommendations from a Surgeon General's workshop on impaired driving; articulation of Healthy People goals; decrease in blood alcohol limit for determination of driving while impaired; excise tax increase; international marketing practices) and local actions (enforcement of laws pertaining to underage alcohol sales and possession; responsible sales and service practices; controls on alcohol availability at sports stadia and during public events; and encouragement of faith-based initiatives).  

The series, from the outset, has been a forum for researchers, community advocates, and public officials to convene and exchange findings, explore evidence-based solutions, and consider adoption of laws aimed at minimizing risks associated with alcohol use. When held in conjunction with state and regional sponsors, e.g., South Carolina (1981, 1984, 1987, and 1994), California (1985), New York (1986), Michigan (1988), and Oregon (1990), AP conferences have served to spark collaborative prevention campaigns. Others have focused on national and international concerns, e.g., Toronto (1996), Chicago (1998), and Washington, DC (1992, 2000). 

The alcohol policy conference series is not owned by any organization. The conference has no secretariat, no official standing, and no organizational affiliation; yet, on 12 occasions since 1981, this national conference has been held, propelled by the professional interest and commitment of alcohol policy researchers and advocates brought together by the need to learn from each other. Click here for a chronology of the AP series. The Alcohol Policy conferences have become self-perpetuating because real community change is hard work and personally challenging — people come to this conference because they genuinely want to share experiences and perspectives with others who are doing similar work.

AP13 will continue the series tradition, this iteration focusing on the unique problems arising from alcohol consumption by youth, i.e., adolescents and young adults. National and international science  with a special focus on issues important to the New England and mid Atlantic states -- will inform the agenda. Cooperating organizations (see below) will share their perspectives. Advocates, educators, civic and government leaders, and others concerned with younger people will forge new partnerships in pursuit of prevention strategies. The agenda will focus on illegal and high-risk alcohol consumption among 13 - 25 year olds. 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation acknowledged with thanks.

Significance. Recent reports document significant health and safety problems posed by illegal and high-risk alcohol consumption among adolescents and young adults. This applied policy-oriented conference will consider the health and safety status of youths in relation to alcohol, explore evidence-based solutions, and recommend how further policy strategies might diminish alcohol-related risks for younger people. Conference presentations will address a range of concerns, e.g.:

• Minors and alcoholic beverages are a volatile combination – a mix that can lead to foolish choices, destructive behavior, and lives that are ruined or lost. Alcohol plays a part in teen assaults, rapes, murders, thefts, and suicides and is a major factor in automobile crashes and fatalities involving teens.
   

• Underage drinking is not a harmless rite of passage. It is illegal and dangerous. Those responsible for enforcing underage drinking laws need to rally community support and raise awareness of the problem.
   

• Of drivers involved in fatal crashes who had alcohol in their systems, 29 percent were between 15-24 years of age.
   

• Deterrence of alcohol-impaired driving is among the most important preventive measures to further reduce motor-vehicle occupant injuries and deaths.
   

• Only 14 states have lowered  their threshold for alcohol - impaired driving since Congress passed a law intended to pressure states into doing so.
   

• A recent study found that teenagers who are highly involved in athletics are more likely to engage in high-risk drinking than non-athletes.
   

• Customs that promote drinking by youths are embedded in numerous levels of their environments
   

• The perception that underage and excessive drinking by young people is intractable reflects the need for more credible research and evaluation to be brought to this issue.

Outcome. This 13th conference in the Alcohol Policy series will explore, develop, and advocate public policies for the prevention of alcohol problems by advancing evidence-based strategies and bringing public focus to the need for alcohol policy reform at all levels. Participants will have opportunity to formulate and endorse a declaration of recommendations. Specific objectives are to:

1.      Strengthen the understanding of sound control policies in preventing and reducing alcohol-related problems.

2.      Expand the coalition of individuals, organizations and agencies committed to public policies to reduce adverse consequences associated with alcohol, especially among the young.

3.      Influence international, national, regional, state and local agendas to consider alcohol policy, with an emphasis on youths.

CHRONOLOGY OF ALCOHOL POLICY CONFERENCE SERIES (1981 – 2003)

The series, from the outset, has been a forum for researchers, community advocates, and public officials to convene and exchange findings, explore evidence-based solutions, and consider adoption of laws aimed at minimizing risks associated with alcohol use. When held in conjunction with state and regional sponsors, e.g., South Carolina (1981, 1984, 1987, and 1994), California (1985), New York (1986), Michigan (1988), and Oregon (1990), AP conferences have served to spark collaborative prevention campaigns. To provide a context for the participatory nature of this meeting, we present the chronology of meetings – offered on less than an annual frequency – dating back to the first in 1981. The list is presented in reverse order, most recent first:

13. March 13 – 15, 2003, Preventing Alcohol Problems Among Youth: Policy Approaches – Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston sponsored by EDC  with cooperation from a variety of national, state, and regional organizations.

12. June 2000, Alcohol and Crime: Research and Practice for Prevention - Renaissance Hotel, Washington DC  -- sponsored by National Crime Prevention Council

11. May 1998, Common Goals, Common Challenges: Creating Alcohol-Safe Communities through Alcohol Policies - Inter-Continental, Chicago -- sponsored by American Medical Association

10. May 1996, Reducing Risk among Young Adults - Chelsea Delta, Toronto  -- sponsored by Addiction Research Foundation (now Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)

9.   January 1994 - Charleston Place, Charleston, South Carolina -- sponsored by South Carolina Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse

8.   March 1992, Alcohol Policy and Community Action: Agendas for Today - Sheraton Washington (now Marriott Wardman Park), Washington --sponsored by the National Association for Public Health Policy

7.   March 1990 - Hilton, Portland, Oregon -- sponsored by Oregon Department of Health Services

6.   November 1988 - Ann Arbor, Michigan -- sponsored by Michigan Department of Health Services

5.   October 1987 - Omni (now Charleston Place) -- sponsored by South Carolina Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse

4.   November 1986, Hotel Pennsylvania, New York -- sponsored by New York State Office of Alcoholism (now Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services)

3.   October 1985, Alcoholic Beverage Control: Prescription for Prevention, Bahia Hotel, San Diego -- sponsored by San Diego County HealthCare Agency (now Department of Health and Human Services) and University of California, San Diego

2.   September 1984, Mills House, Charleston, South Carolina -- sponsored by South Carolina Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse

1.   September 1981, Mills House, Charleston, South Carolina -- sponsored by South Carolina Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Education Development Center's Health and Human Development Program (HHD) division will plan and manage Alcohol Policy 13. HHD, committed to promoting health and preventing disease across the lifecycle in many settings, oversees a number of Centers concerned with the AP13 conference theme and other issues related alcohol and youth. Principals from these Centers will participate in the event, contributing findings from their respective experiences and joining other delegates in forging support for evidence-based policy solutions.  HHD Centers and related projects include: the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention supported by the U.S. Department of Education with supplemental funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Social Norms Marketing Research Project under a grant award from NIAAA; the Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies supported by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention; the National Training Center for Middle School Drug Prevention & School Safety Coordinators funded by the U. S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools (SDFS) Program; a middle childhood risk prevention study; teenage health teaching modules national dissemination network; and multiple other health initiatives, including targeted outreach to Latinos and women.