Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention

In the United States and many other countries, the consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use are staggering. Substance abuse takes an incalculable emotional toll on individuals and families and exacts a huge financial cost – up to $300 billion annually in the U.S. alone – on society as a whole. The impact of substance abuse is not limited solely to alcohol and other drug use: by 2020, the global burden of diseases attributable to tobacco is expected to outweigh that of any other disease.

HHD is committed to preventing substance abuse, with particular focus on youth substance abuse prevention. HHD's work in substance abuse prevention hinges on the philosophy that any successful effort must be comprehensive, multifaceted, and based on changing the environment in which substance abuse thrives. With a broad but strategic focus, we work with diverse groups, including state and local elected officials, federal agency directors, college presidents, community and business leaders, the media, youth, and parents.

Substance abuse prevention projects in HHD include four large resource centers serving thousands of communities in the United States and around the world:

• Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies
  The Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT), one of five regional centers funded by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, works with state and local agencies to prevent alcohol and drug abuse  across all age groups. The CAPT encourages practitioners to use evidence-based substance abuse prevention strategies through training and on-going technical assistance.  The CAPT serves the New England states, as well as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. The Northeast CAPT, with funding from the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation, has also created a smaller resource center for communities in the MetroWest region of Boston. The Northeast CAPT also offers a number of online courses to bring the best of prevention knowledge and skills to state- and community level practitioners. Courses include:
  • Effective Strategies: Building Blocks of Prevention (.pdf)
  • Locating, Hiring and Managing an Evaluator (.pdf)
  • Data Collection Methods: Getting Down to Basics (.pdf)
  • What Now? Effective and Useful Data Presentation (.pdf)
  • Social Marketing (.pdf)
  • Linking Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention to Academic Success (.pdf)
  • Involving Youth in Your Substance Abuse Prevention Program (.pdf)
  • Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover: Using Feasibility Assessment to Select Prevention Programs (.pdf)

• Center for College Health and Safety
  The Center for College Health and Safety assists colleges and universities in developing, implementing, and evaluating prevention policies and programs to address health and safety issues at institutions of higher education, with a focus on substance abuse prevention. The center conducts research to expand current knowledge about effective strategies in promoting health and preventing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. The center’s services include professional development, technical assistance, publications, and a broad array of electronic communication resources. The center’s projects include:
  • U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention
  • Campus Health and Safety Online Resource
  • Campus Alcohol Prevention and Intervention Project
  • College Tobacco Prevention Resource
  • Presidents Leadership Group
  • Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students
  • Statewide Initiatives for Campus Alcohol Prevention
  • Pennsylvania Campus-Community Responsible Retailing Project
  • The UMADD Evaluation

• Center for Research on High Risk Behaviors
  The Center for Research on High Risk Behaviors at EDC works to better understand why people engage in risky behaviors, including substance abuse, and what can be done to reduce risk-taking and promote health. The center develops, evaluates, and disseminates theoretically-sound, empirically-informed interventions for reducing health risks related to high-risk behaviors such as alcohol and other substance use. Two projects in particular deal with adolescent substance abuse:

• Reducing Alcohol and Risks among Young Adolescent Females
• The MetroWest Youth Risk Behavior Survey Project

• HHD Global Programs
  HHD Global Programs collaborates with country partners to share the most effective health promotion strategies with health workers, teachers, and political leaders. Many of HHD Global’s projects work to address and prevent alcohol, drug, and tobacco use across the globe:
  • Youth Tobacco Control Initiative in Latin America
  • Model School Health Tobacco Control Intervention
  • Health-Promoting Schools Project
  • The FRESH School Health Toolkit
  • Curriculum Framework for Health and Family Life Education in the Caribbean 

Our Publications and Products

HHD’s centers and projects that are focused on alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention provide a wide array of practical and informative publications and products to assist our constituencies in their prevention efforts.

HHD research findings and publications on alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs:

• Environmental Management: A Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Alcohol and Other Drug Use on College Campuses (.pdf)
• Alcohol and Other Drugs on Campus—The Scope of the Problem (.pdf)
• Safe Lanes on Campus: A Guide for Preventing Impaired Driving and Underage Drinking (.pdf)
• Catalyst
• Be Vocal, Be Visible, Be Visionary: Recommendations for College and University Presidents on Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention (.pdf)
• The Smoke-free Cost Analysis Project Final Report (.pdf)
• The Higher Education Center publications
• Adolescent Substance Use: Risk and Protection
• Summary Document of UNICEF’s Participation at the 14th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug-Related Harm (.pdf)

HHD products including websites, curricula, videos, and presentation materials on alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use:

Curricula:

• The FRESH School Health Tool Kit (First edition - TEST VERSION)
• Skills for Health: Skills-based health education including Life Skills

Presentation materials:

• Presentations delivered at Alcohol Policy 13
• Strategic Prevention Framework

Websites:

• CSAP's Northeast CAPT
• Northeast CAPT online courses
• U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention
• Campus Health and Safety Online Resource
• College Tobacco Prevention Resource
• Presidents Leadership Group

Videos:

• "Getting Media Attention for Prevention Efforts" (requires Windows Media Player - free download)
• Presidents Leadership Group Video