Youth Leaders Survey Local Stores

— from Julie Pinardi, Orcas Island School District Youth Leader —

Students from Circle and Point Blank at Orcas Schools conduct a survey of local stores that sell alcohol.

The 8th grade girls leadership group called “Circle” and the high school group “Point Blank” find local stores in our area care about their business’ appearance and how they are perceived by our community. This is based on information the group collected while conducting a Community Assessment of Neighborhood Stores (CANS).

Over the past several weeks, the youth involved have been surveying stores as part of the statewide effort to prevent underage alcohol use. On Orcas there are five retailers that sell alcohol. Of the five that were surveyed, they found that:

• 5 out of 5 stores do not use their store front windows to market alcohol and tobacco products
• 5 out of 5 owners were mindful of product placement and avoid placing alcohol and tobacco products next to youth items and away from the exits
• 5 out of 5 store owners encouraged the youth to survey their store, were eager to know results and open to positive suggestions for change.

In conclusion all five stores did extremely well and focus on a family-friendly environment.

“We know that greater exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in drinking among underage youth,” said leadership advisor Julie Pinardi. “A 2006 study found that the more alcohol ads young people see, the more likely they are to drink. Visiting these stores gives us much needed information about our community and what we can do to supporting youth in making healthy choices and avoiding alcohol.”

The stores were surveyed as part of a statewide campaign to engage adults and youth in taking action to reduce underage drinking. The campaign, entitled “Let’s Draw the Line Between Youth and Alcohol” is sponsored by the Washington State Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking. The CANS is a simple, two-page form that community groups can use to gauge the availability of and marketing of alcohol and tobacco at local stores. The form also collects information about healthy foods.

“While we were conducting the CANS Surveys we were happy to find that most of the questions on the survey were positive,” said Joanne Mietzner a member of Circle.

“After reviewing the CANS surveys we realized how lucky we were to grow up in a kid friendly town,” said Joie Zier a member of Circle.

“We’re drawing the line because alcohol is especially harmful to the still-developing teen brain,” said Julie Pinardi. “Teens who drink are more likely to experience school failure, assaults, unprotected sex, alcohol poisoning and car crashes. They are also more likely to develop alcohol problems, compared to those who wait until they are 21 to drink.”

For more information about the Let’s Draw the Line campaign, email LDTL@dshs.wa.gov. For questions about the CANS survey, contact Paul Davis at Paul.Davis@doh.wa.gov. Information and tips for parents for preventing underage drinking can be found at www.StartTalkingNow.org.