AUGUSTA – Great parties, attractive people, getting the guy or girl and being popular were the themes most often remembered by boys and girls, ages 13 to 18, when surveyed about their response to alcohol advertising in the various media.

More than two-thirds of the nearly 500 youth surveyed across Maine believe that the alcohol industry is trying to appeal to underage youth through its advertising. Moreover, according to the Maine Youth Empowerment and Policy group, the survey results indicate that alcohol advertising encourages underage individuals to drink, resulting in legal, social and health problems for Maine youth.

Organized in 2001 to study policy questions regarding substance abuse and youth, the group is composed of 15 high school and college students from across the state. The project was formed by AdCare Educational Institute of Augusta with a grant from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Substance Abuse.

Each year the group selects a new substance abuse related topic that they feel significantly affects Maine youth and requires a youth perspective. The goal is to identify and change factors in the social, legal, economic and political environment that encourage, enable or support underage drinking. The group wants to bring alcohol awareness to the forefront in the hope that communities start to consider youth consumption of alcohol as a serious problem.

The representatives feel that all factors contributing to alcohol abuse need to be examined. Many groups are engaged in research projects designed to approach the issue from a variety of angles.

Young people under 21 years of age can provide a special perspective on the appeal and potential impact of alcohol advertising, based on first-hand experience. That was the purpose of the project.

The full text of the report and previous reports developed by the group are available at www.neias.org/YEP/.