It's easy to feel paralyzed when we hear that 6.8 million of our country's 12- to 20-year-olds are binge drinkers and that alcohol and drugs are associated with the leading causes of death and injury among our teenagers and young adults. The problem seems too big and our resources too limited. But parents and communities are not helpless. As those involved with Project Northland have discovered, proactive alcohol prevention efforts do work.

Project Northland is a community-based prevention program that began in 1990 as a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) research project at the University of Minnesota. It is the largest randomized community trial ever conducted for the prevention of adolescent alcohol use. Since its inception, Project Northland has reached more than 10,000 teens all across the country.

Project Northland involves students sixth-grade and older, teachers, parents, community members and organizations in a concerted and long-term effort to change the way people think about and deal with alcohol. In addition to classroom activities and lessons contained in the projects curriculum, students are empowered to work within their schools and communities to implement changes. Together, young and old work for prevention efforts such as stiffer penalties for those who provide alcohol to underage youth, alcohol-free areas at community events, and supervised and safe school dances and activities. Children and their parents are also taught how to communicate effectively about the dangers of alcohol, and many parents pledge to use alcohol responsibly or not at all in the presence of minors.

"At the end of the first phase of Project Northland, we saw significantly reduced alcohol use at the end of eighth grade," said Cheryl Perry, co-creator of Project Northland and a professor in the Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. "Monthly drinking was about 20 percent lower, and weekly drinking was about 30 percent lower than the control group."

The second phase of the project measures alcohol use among 11th and 12th-graders (students who have participated in the program since sixth grade). Perry said the initial results show a significant decline in the use of alcohol among the students versus the control group. After the examination of the second phase is completed, Perry said they hope to replicate the entire project in a large urban area.

In the meantime, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) offers these prevention tips to parents as part of Alcohol Awareness Month in April:

• Teach your child that abstinence from alcohol is an acceptable lifelong decision and that they have a right to stand up for a safe academic environment.
• Teach your child that drinking can be risky and to intervene when they see that their classmates are in trouble.
• If you drink, be sure to set a healthy example regarding adult alcohol use and never brag about your use of alcohol or other drugs during your youth.
• Before selecting a college for your child, read Alcohol, Other Drugs and College: A Parents Guide or order a printed copy from the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention (800-676-1730). The guide includes questions to ask admissions officers and administrators, students, faculty and campus security officers.

"Many people who try to quit smoking or give up drinking say, 'If only I didn't start,'" said Perry. Starting to smoke or drink is the biggest predictor of continuing to smoke or drink, and the earlier one starts the more likely they are to develop serious substance abuse problems. Prevention programs such as Project Northland provide an opportunity for young people to develop healthfully without being limited --physically, socially or spiritually -- by their involvement in substance use.

NCADD offers a list of prevention strategies for all components of the community, including students, parents, middle and high schools, colleges, religious groups, the media, and civic groups. For more information, visit NCADD's Web site at http://www.ncadd.org/.

--Published April 23, 2001