Is a public awareness campaign designed to educate parents about the health and safety risks of serving alcohol to teens as well as the legal ramifications in New York of permitting alcohol to be consumed in their home by anyone other than their own child, even with the other parents’ permission.
 
The "Parents Who Host" campaign runs each year from April through June during Prom and Graduation season when underage drinking parties are more prevalent. The intent is to reach parents and other adults with this important message through different methods across the community.
 
The campaign was developed by Drug-Free Action Alliance in 2000. www.drugfreeactionalliance.org  For a recent article about the legal consequences for adults serving liquor to minors, see Teen drinking leads to crackdown on 'cool' parents. A Few Facts about Underage Use of Alcohol:

• 29% of 1,382 parents surveyed and 29% of 812 teens surveyed indicated that they know of parents who host teen alcohol parties. (Source: “Parents Who Host, Lose The Most: Don’t be a party to teenage drinking” Evaluation Report, December 2006)• 25% of 812 teens surveyed indicated that they have attended a party where alcohol is served to underage youth in the past two months, while parents thought the number was closer to 15%; 12% of the youth maintained that they drank alcohol at the party or they would have drunk if they had attended a party. (Source: “Parents Who Host, Lose The Most: Don’t be a party to teenage drinking” Evaluation Report, December 2006)
• 68% of 1,382 parents surveyed and 61% of 812 teens surveyed said that it is generally easy for underage youth to get alcohol. (Source: “Parents Who Host, Lose The Most: Don’t be a party to teenage drinking” Evaluation Report, December 2006)
• Every day, 5,400 young people under 16 have their first drink of alcohol. (Source: Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth with calculations from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health)
• Studies reveal that alcohol consumption by adolescents results in brain damage - possibly permanent -and impairs intellectual development. (Source: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (Volume 24, Number 2 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, February 2000)
• Adolescents drink less and have fewer alcohol-related problems when their parents discipline them consistently and set clear expectations. (Source: Hawkins JD, Graham JW, Maguin E, et al. 1997 Exploring the effects of age of alcohol use initiation and psychosocial risk factors on subsequent alcohol misuse. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 58(3): 280-290
• If drinking is delayed until age 21, a child’s risk of serious alcohol problems is decreased by 70 percent. (Source: Calculated from information contained in: Grant BF, Dawson DA. 1997, Age at onset of alcohol use and its association with DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence. Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. Journal of Substance Abuse 9:103-110.)