WINNEBAGO COUNTY COALITION TARGETS DRUGS, ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO

A newly formed community coalition hopes to change the prominent role
alcohol and drugs play in Wisconsin's culture.

The Tobacco-Free and Drug-Free Communities Coalition of Winnebago
County aims to bring together organizations, groups and individuals
from throughout the county to work towards reducing alcohol, drug and
tobacco use among the county's youth.

"We want to put a dent in the culture of drinking and substance abuse
in Winnebago County," said Lisa Brown, the coordinator of the
Drug-Free Communities Coalition.

Funded with federal and state dollars, the coalition wants to tackle
the problems of drinking, drugs and tobacco among young people
through a variety of programs and outreach efforts aimed at teens and
their parents, said Emily Dieringer, the co-coordinator for the
coalition who focuses on tobacco issues.

Many groups in the community are already working on these issues, but
Dieringer said the coalition will help bring all the groups -- and
their ideas -- together in an effort to make changes.

Targeting youth is key, Dieringer said.

In Wisconsin 31.6 percent of teens reported engaging in binge
drinking -- defined as five drinks per occasion for men and four for
women -- at least once per month while the national average is 26
percent, according to the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. In
addition, 20.5 percent of Wisconsin youth reported smoking cigarettes
and 20.3 percent reported smoking marijuana.

"Youth is where to start with rather than the 42-year-old man who is
on his sixth OWI," Dieringer said. "We have issues here and people
aren't stepping up to the plate to deal with them."