Utah's Underage Drinking Campaign Working, Surveys Suggest

Supporters of a Utah campaign to cut underage drinking say surveys show it is working, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Sept. 9.

Surveys performed in 2007 and 2009 found 5,500 fewer school children reported using alcohol during the past 30 days, and 2,600 fewer reported binge drinking over the same time period.

Gov. Gary Herbert said that data show that the state’s media and education campaign, ParentsEmpowered.org, is successful.

Another survey found that the campaign has reached over 125,000 parents, said Art Brown, president of Mother’s Against Drunk Driving Utah.

In 2009, the state legislature reversed a $500,000 cut to the program proposed by the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC). The legislature also mandated that the DABC could not “tinker” with the program’s funding in the future.