Px2010 & Px2011 Initiatives
Press conference unveiling Px20 billboard Underage Drinking Could Cost You.
Underage drinking (i.e., drinking by persons under the age of 21) was identified as the initial focus for the group, based on evidence of the magnitude of the problem and its demonstrated linkages to current health, criminal justice, traffic safety, violence, other drug use, mental health, and alcohol use disorders, including current diagnoses as well as increased risk for addiction later in life.
The tagline, “It’s everybody’s problem!”, was selected because it puts a “face” on the problem in a manner that reduces, and may eliminate, the response in the general population that underage drinking is not a relevant issue to them specifically.
Furthermore, the “It’s everybody’s problem!” approach is envisioned as being the foundation for a series of prevention initiatives (e.g., marijuana, other illicit drugs, prescription drug misuse, and mental health—Everybody has mental health!) so that the impact of prevention can be expanded and enhanced over the long term in Erie County.
The concept is to initiate this approach locally and to potentially expand it regionally, statewide, and nationally over time.
We began implementing the initiative in January 2010 as Px2010 and are continuing this initiative, maintaining the focus on underage drinking prevention, in this new year as the Px2011.