LEXINGTON, Va. – With high school graduations just around the corner, Rockbridge County is getting a jumpstart on combating underage drinking.
Their weapon is just a simple sticker.
As more students flip their tassel in celebration, Rockbridge County is warning them to not crack open a bottle of beer.
Recently, the county’s prevention coalition placed warning stickers on 960 cases of beer in grocery stores, breweries, and convenience stores.
Each warning sticker reads “wait” and talks about the punishment people can face if they use fake IDs to buy alcohol or if adults purchase alcoholic beverages for minors.
The franchisee of the 7/11 in Lexington, Jason Harris, joins the effort every year since the store is not too far from a high school.
“Such a simple thing can maybe prevent something catastrophic from happening,” Harris said.
Rockbridge County Prevention Coalition Facilitator Leyna Hansley said underage drinking in the county is showing a steady decline for the past few years.
She hopes these stickers will help encourage store owners to maybe reorganize alcohol beverages away from the door.
“We want to see if maybe we can push this to the back of the store and see those environmental situations,” she said.
To reach more people, the coalition for the first time printed some decals in Spanish.
“People are experts in their own experiences and I want to make sure we are creating cultural confident programing,” Hansley said.
She said students who drink under the age of 21 have a 25% chance of becoming addicted.
That’s why Harris said being aware now can help graduates as they head into college.
“Alcohol is a vice and just because you are under a certain age doesn’t mean you are not desirous of that vice,” Harris said.
Rockbridge County schools are currently surveying eight, tenth and twelfth graders to determine what the trend is looking like this year, especially after the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey results will come out in August.