Each April since 1987, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) sponsors Alcohol Awareness Month to increase public awareness and understanding, reduce stigma and encourage local communities to focus on alcoholism and alcohol-related issues. With this year’s theme, “Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow,” NCADD highlights the huge public health issue of underage drinking, a problem with devastating consequences which costs the nation an estimated $62 billion annually.

Despite all the research and evidence we have showing that, even in physically healthy kids, excessive early drinking can cause impairment to adolescent brain development (sometimes long term), alcohol remains the number one drug of choice for America’s youth, including children 10 years of age and younger.

Each day, 7,000 kids in the United States under the age of 16 take their first drink and those who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin at age 21. Annually, over 6,500 people under the age of 21 die from alcohol-related injuries and thousands more are injured.

Locally, Healthy Lincoln County’s CASA (Communities Against Substance Abuse) coalition is promoting National Alcohol Awareness Month by distributing underage drinking materials at community gathering locations across the county. HLC literature provides tips for parents on monitoring their children and reviewing their own attitudes and practices around alcohol, plus resources for seeking help for family alcohol-related problems.

Responsible beverage-seller training

Additionally, Healthy Lincoln County, in partnership with area police departments and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, is offering a Responsible Beverage Seller training, open to all county retail liquor licensees, free of charge. The training, facilitated by Frank Lyons, 23-year veteran of the Maine Liquor Bureau, will be held on Tuesday, April 23 at the Damariscotta Baptist Church from 12:30-5 p.m.

The program (covering everything from false ID detection and carding policies to instruction on the drug alcohol and the disease of alcoholism) is State of Maine approved. Those successfully completing the program receive a certificate and will be registered with the Maine Department of Public Safety Liquor Licensing for a period of five years.

For more information about NCADD, underage drinking, NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month visit the NCADD website at www.ncadd.org/.

To register for the April 23 RBS Training (or for more information on alcohol, treatment & recovery support) contact Healthy Lincoln County at 207-563-6123 or email Joyce Steel at casa@healthylincolncounty.org/.