FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE             Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
August 17, 2017                                     Contact:  Diana Lejardi 
                                                               (860) 418-6967
                                                               (860) 558-0024 (cell) 

(Hartford, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) today announced the launch of a new website and two videos to highlight the dangers and potential consequences of underage drinking. The website contains information on the consequences of underage drinking as well as information and resources on how parents can help prevent underage drinking.

Alcohol is the most commonly used and misused drug among youth in the US. The 2015 Connecticut School Health Survey found that nearly one in three (30.2%) of Connecticut high school students currently use alcohol (reported having at least one drink of alcohol during the past month). Of the high school students who used alcohol within the past month, almost half (48.3%) reported engaging in binge drinking which is the consumption of five or more drinks of alcohol in a row at least once during the past month.

“It’s important that parents take the time to talk to adolescents and young adults about the dangers of underage drinking,” said DMHAS Commissioner Miriam Delphin-Rittmon. “Parents play a vital role in preventing their children from engaging in underage drinking and other risky behaviors. A close connection to a caring adult helps to keep them healthy and safe, both physically and emotionally.”

The Connecticut School Health Survey also found that teens who reported having meals at home with family, feeling love and support from parents, and having parents who asked about their whereabouts when not at home showed the lowest prevalence of risky behaviors including alcohol and drug use, motor vehicle safety and risky sexual behaviors.

The two new videos feature DMHAS Commissioner Miriam Delphin-Rittmon as well as Dr. C. Steven Wolf, Chairman of Emergency Medicine of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, and Trooper Kate Cummings of Troop I of the Connecticut State Police who discuss the dangers and consequences of underage drinking as well as what parents can do to prevent it.

To visit the new website, go to www.ct.gov/dmhas/underagedrinking. The videos are also available on the DMHAS Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ctdmhas) and DMHAS YouTube page (www.youtube.com/ctdmhas).

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