State ABC board chairman discusses Talk It Out campaign
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on August 7, 2016 1:45 AM
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News-Argus/DENNIS HILL
Jim Gardner talks about the Talk It Out campaign on a visit to Goldsboro last week.
Jim Gardner, the chairman of the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, visited Goldsboro Thursday to discuss the third phase of the state's anti-underage drinking initiative, the Talk It Out campaign.
The third phase of the campaign launched on July 28 and is targeted at getting parents to talk to their children about the dangers and consequences of consuming alcohol before turning 21 years old.
Gardner said children now begin drinking as early as age 13, according to research conducted by the ABC Commission and a private firm on 500 adults and 300 middle schoolers.
"The average kid starts drinking just under 13 years old. That blew my mind," Gardner said. "Number two, they are really tuned in into where they can get alcohol, how they can get it and who's involved. We also found out the parents basically didn't have a clue. It was yes, maybe we've heard something about it -- however, not my kid. Mine's not involved in it. They found out a little bit later they were, unfortunately."
Gardner said one child per week dies in North Carolina as a result of the consequences of underage drinking.
In an effort to curb the problem, the ABC Commission released a new round of advertisements on television, Pandora Internet Radio and other digital media outlets that focus primarily on alcohol and death.
Gardner said the advertisements are serving their purpose in opening parents' and children's eyes to the dangers and problems of underage drinking, and the ABC Commission supplements the advertisements with providing online resources to coach parents on how to talk to their kids about underage drinking, hence the campaign's name of Talk It Out.
"We asked the question of these young people, 'When you have a problem, who do you want to talk to?' It wasn't a school teacher, it wasn't a coach, it was 'my parents,'" Gardner said. "We asked the parents the same question, 'Who do you think your children would like to talk to?' (Parents said) everybody but them. They didn't think the children wanted to talk to them."
Gardner said this illustrated the skewed perceptions between parents and children about discussing difficult issues, and cemented the campaign's need to close the gap and get parents and children talking about issues that can become matters of life and death.
"The dangers are very real," Gardner said. "You can lose your child in a heart beat."
Gardner said the ABC Commission does not have statistics on how many people in North Carolina under the age of 21 are consuming alcohol on an annual basis, but that by looking at alcohol-related violations and other areas, the commission saw the problem was on the rise.
Gardner said the primary way children get their hands on alcohol is either through the use of a fake identification card, or from their parents.
"We've carried some (fake IDs) over to DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), and they basically could not tell the difference," Gardner said.
The Talk It Out campaign costs $3.2 million to operate, Gardner said, and it is funded internally in its entirety by the ABC Commission and does not use funds allocated from the state government.
The main goal of the Talk It Out campaign is to educate parents and children about the consequences of underage drinking. Gardner said children must now be reached to educate them on the dangers of alcohol as early as age 11 and 12.
The main resource provided by the ABC Commission to help educate parents and children about the consequences of underage drinking outside of the advertisements is www.TalkItOutNC.org.
On the site, parents and children alike can find medically-backed research about the effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain, which is paramount in understanding how alcohol damages the brain if consumed at a young age.
"The toughest thing of all is that I don't think we adults realize it's as tough as it is, until something happens," Gardner said. "If we will stay on the course and make a commitment to fund this and keep it out in front of the public and keep working, I'm convinced we will see a reduction in underage drinking."