Too Smart To Start: Localization of a National Public Health Education Campaign to Prevent Underage Drinking

Too Smart To Start (TSTS) is a public education campaign that provides professionals and volunteers at the local level with message, materials, and strategies to help them conduct an underage drinking prevention campaign in their community. TSTS has three objectives: 1) To increase the number of conversations between parents/caregivers and their 9- to 13-year-old children about the harms of underage alcohol use; 2) To increase the percentage of 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents/caregivers who see underage alcohol use as harmful; and, 3) To increase public disapproval of underage alcohol use.

This workshop will focus on selected communities that received funding support through the SAMHSA TSTS campaign. It will explore effective approaches that these TSTS sites have used to help raise awareness among targeted populations and prevent underage drinking. Participants in this workshop will learn how selected TSTS sites used information on the alcohol use behaviors of 9 to 13 year olds, a consistent message, and basic materials and strategies to deliver core behavioral messages to help meet their program objectives. Best practices and lessons learned from the experiences will also be shared.