More existing precedents

When researching existing information relating to drinking culture in New Zealand I also came across some things that weren't campaigns as such so thought they were worth taking note of.

http://www.alcohol.org.nz/resources-research/alcohol-resources/ebooks-and-guidelines/say-now-guidelines-toolbox

SAY NOW is a collaborative education awareness approach to reducing alcohol-related harm through sports clubs. This programme encourages decision makers within sports clubs to foster environments that model responsible drinking behaviours.
Three components of the SAY NOW model:
- Development of responsible attitudes and behaviors towards drinking
- Creation of safer drinking environments
- Demonstration of positive youth development.

http://www.alcohol.org.nz/sites/default/files/field/file_attachment/HPA%27s%20AlcoholNZ-June-2016.pdf
The June 2016 edition of the Alcohol NZ mag was focused on "young people".

It touched on a few really good points - one being the recognition of some of the reasons young people drink:
• are just out for a good time – and how do we have a good time in Kiwi culture? We get drunk
• are bored and there is nothing else to do but go out with mates and get drunk
• are very shy and find it difficult to make friends – alcohol is a great help for that
• have bad memories of being abused sexually, physically or emotionally and are trying to drown out the pain
• are ill and have anxiety or depression and are trying to treat themselves with alcohol.

Another being this piece from pg21:
The adolescent brain is not just a young version of an adult brain – it is biologically different. It is going through an important period of change which makes it more vulnerable to the toxic effects of alcohol – and all other psychoactive drugs. In New Zealand the most common form of problematic substance use in adolescents is binge drinking of alcohol (Fleming, Lee, Moselen, Clark & Dixon, 2014).
This makes me think I might need to define my age bracket more and look at the physiological effects of alcohol on the body.

From pg 24 were some interesting gender points:
Adverse effects can happen in a gender-specific way, which may reflect the fact that the brains of boys and girls mature at different rates. Differences have been observed in both brain structure and brain function. For example, in terms of brain structure, the prefrontal cortex volumes of adolescent females with alcohol use disorders were shown to be smaller than controls and those of males larger than controls (Caldwell et al., 2005).
In terms of gender differences in brain function, in females more drinking days in the year were correlated with worsening visuospatial functioning. In males, more severe hangover symptoms in the preceding year were correlated with worsening sustained attention (Squeglia, Schweinsburg, Pulido & Tapert, 2011).

Pg 28 detailed some interesting statistics around WHAT students drink:
The 2012 Youth2000 Survey found that the types of alcoholic drinks that secondary school students usually consumed were RTDs (ready-to-drink mixes) (53%), beer (28%), spirits (9%), wine (5%) and other (4%). Females were more likely to consume RTDs (71%) than males (32%), and males (51.9%) were more likely to consume beer than females (9%) (Adolescent Health Research Group, 2013).

The Alcohol NZ magazine then led me to find out about a programme called Red Frogs.
http://nz.redfrogs.com/

Red Frogs originated in Australia in 1997 when Andy Gourley and his mates volunteered to work with young people in a hotel at the infamous Schoolies Week on the Gold Coast. They saw a massive need for support for the many young people who were partying there. They used Allen’s Red Frogs lollies as ice breakers to initiate conversations and became known as the Red Frogs crew. Red Frogs is now a global youth support programme working in several countries, and began in NZ in 2007. Their vision to see a radical change in the drinking and party culture in New Zealand. The focus is mostly on young people aged 15 to 25 years, as this is a stage of life when people are being exposed to environments where alcohol is present and they are starting to go to parties.