North Carolina’s Pediatricians and Family Physicians Join Fight to Reduce Underage Drinking
The North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABC) announced today that the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians (NCAFP) and the North Carolina Pediatric Society (NCPS) have officially endorsed its Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking campaign.
This fall, the North Carolina ABC Commission’s Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking will officially launch a new campaign designed to reduce underage drinking across North Carolina. The campaign will target parents, the people who have the most power to curb underage drinking, but who appear to be the least aware of how substantial an issue it really is in their communities, and most importantly, in their homes.
“Underage drinking is a real and serious problem, and we’re seeing too much of it in North Carolina,” said Dr. Charlie Rhodes, Cabarrus Family Medicine, and Secretary/Treasurer of the NC Academy of Family Physicians. “As family physicians, we know just how important parent-child interaction is when it comes to making good decisions and living healthy lives.”
The NCAFP and NCPS will contribute to the ABC Initiative to Reduce Underage Drinking campaign in several ways, including sharing information with the medical community; distributing information through their communications channels; and most importantly encouraging parents and children to have open, honest, and ongoing conversations about the realities of underage drinking.
“We believe that parents, when equipped with the right resources, can truly make a difference when it comes to reducing underage drinking,” said Dr. Debbie Ainsworth, NC Pediatric Society President. “And we’re proud to join forces with their campaign to help in this critical mission.”
The campaign is based on a recently completed original body of research that was conducted by the ABC Commission throughout the state. The study’s findings are based on the frank answers from middle school children to difficult questions. The staggering results offer a unique and eye-opening insight into this problem as well as potential solutions.
“Pediatricians and family physicians are on the front lines in the battle against underage drinking – they have a unique relationship with parents and children and are in a great position to help spread our message,” said NC ABC Chairman Jim Gardner. “We are honored to have the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians and the North Carolina Pediatric Society on board as the first official endorsers of our new campaign.”
The campaign will officially launch this fall. Visit www.reduceunderagedrinking.com for more information about the Initiative.
ABOUT THE NC ABC COMMISSION
North Carolina is one of 17 states to regulate alcohol through a control system. Since 1937, the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission has provided regulation and control over the sale, purchase, transportation, manufacture, consumption and possession of alcoholic beverages in the state of North Carolina. The Commission oversees permits allowing alcohol sales by more than 18,000 retail outlets across the state. http://abc.nc.gov.
ABOUT THE NC ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS
The North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians is the state’s largest specialty medical association, with a membership of over 3,600 family physicians, Family Medicine residents and medical students. The NCAFP is a federated chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians and was originally chartered in 1948.
ABOUT THE NC PEDIATRIC SOCIETY
Founded in 1931, the North Carolina Pediatric Society (NCPeds) is the state affiliate Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics with nearly 2,000 pediatrician and pediatric health professional members. Its mission is to empower pediatricians and its partners to foster the physical, social, and emotional well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
