Growing up with messages against drinking and driving is keeping teenagers and young adults much safer than in generations past, says a Red Deer high school student.
Julia Maksymetz, fellow student Mairi Anderson and Grade 12 vice-principal Curt Baker, all from Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School, were among a crowd of about 20 people who gathered for lunch on Wednesday to celebrate Safe Communities Day, hosted by Safe Communities Central Alberta.
A recent survey by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse indicates that between 41 and 52 per cent of senior high school students had consumed at least five drinks in a single occasion during the previous month.
Those findings are probably fairly consistent from one generation to the next, said Baker, who graduated from high school in 1969.
What’s different is that young adults now in high school and university are much less likely to get behind the wheel when they have been drinking than they would have been 30 or 40 years ago, he said.
Maksymetz explained that societal views have shifted so that, for her generation, drinking and driving is not as acceptable as it was when Baker was her age.
Changing viewpoints is just one of the tools available in the effort to reduce the risks associated with consuming alcohol, said social worker Eric Baich from the Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission in his presentation to the group.
Baich manages the liquor side of the ALGC’s Social Responsibility program, formed about three years ago.
While the ALGC does not attempt to discourage people from buying beer, wine or spirits, it puts considerable resources into ensuring that consumers understand and avoid the risks, he said.
There will always be people at either extreme of the spectrum, including those who disregard the risks at one end and those who refuse to have anything to do with liquor at the other, said Baich.
ALGC’s Social Responsibility program is geared toward majority of people in an attempt to help them find the right balance, he said.
Among its endeavours, the ALGC has created the Best Bar None program, modelled after a project that was first developed in Manchester, England.
Started a year ago in Edmonton, Best Bar None awards participating bars, pubs and night clubs that show the strongest adherence to provincial laws and standards prescribed for their industry. For example, one club was eliminated because it had already been sanctioned after a server was caught toasting the New Year with patrons.
Best Bar None is being started in Calgary with an altered model being developed for smaller cities and rural areas, said Baich.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com