Winter 2006

 

Safe Holiday Partying

The holiday season is a great time to throw parties with friends, food, and fellowship … and, for a lot of Ontarians, booze. Serving alcohol or allowing it to be consumed on your premises comes with a variety of responsibilities and can lead to consequences — some very severe. Therefore, it is important to follow some guidelines when hosting a party.

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health unit have developed suggestions to stay safe when attending a party and to keep your guests safe when throwing one. Some of these suggestions include:

• Provide non-alcoholic beverages and serve food.
• Have guests take a cab, stay over night, or have a designated driver.
• Stop serving alcohol a few hours before the end of the party.
• Stay sober and act as bartender.
• Be sure everyone is of legal drinking age.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health recently updated their helpful "Having a Party?" brochure in light of recent court decisions around social liability. This resource will help alleviate confusion among the people of Ontario about the exact conditions and circumstances for which a social host can be held liable for injuries sustained by guests, or third parties that guests harm.

If an alcohol-related injury results from any of the following situations, you could be liable:

• You host a party in your home and provide alcohol to a guest who is obviously intoxicated, and who you know is planning to drive;
• You organize an alcohol-related function, such as a wedding in a rented hall, and fail to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of your guests while they are on the property;
• You organize a company party at which alcohol is provided to employees and guests who are intoxicated;
• You sign a Special Occasion Permit for an event (for example, a licensed street party or dance party), and fail to ensure that: the alcohol is served responsibly; the venue meets fire, building and other legal requirements; the event is properly managed; and, staff and security are adequately trained;
• You knowingly permit your underage child to host a drinking party in your home or elsewhere on your property.

Since injuries from falls, fights, and vehicle crashes increase when someone drinks too much alcohol, planning ahead and serving alcohol responsibly will give you a better chance of keeping your guests and other people in your community safe. It will also reduce your risk of being sued.

In the end, however, the moral obligation may be the strongest reason to seriously consider safeguarding your home for a party. We are all responsible for ourselves, our neighbours, and our communities at large. It’s quite simply, the responsible thing to do.

Alcohol Advertising – Take Action on the Issue

Alcohol promotion and advertising usually presents a fun and problem-free image of drinking. This can influence our attitudes and choices about alcohol, especially among children and youth.

One way to take action on this issue is to let the industry, the advertising control agencies, and decision-makers know of your concerns about alcohol promotion. The key to making your voice heard is to submit an informed letter to the right person or organization.

ARAPO has created a simple 3-step process to successfully submit your concerns about alcohol promotion in Ontario.

To submit your complaint visit: ARAPO Take Action to Reduce Irresponsible Alcohol Promotion and follow the three simple steps.

Also, the new ARAPO Sample Alcohol Promotion Galleries has been created to stimulate discussion about alcohol promotion seen in Ontario.

ARAPO Educational Materials

UPDATED AND REVISED - Under the Influence? Educator’s Toolkit is a resource for educators. It provides teaching aids to discuss the issues of alcohol advertising and media literacy for grades 7 - 10 in an interactive way.

NEW - Booze Buzz Peer Education Project is a resource manual for recruiting young volunteers. Section 1 describes the accomplishments and the obstacles of the "Booze Buzz Peer Education Project", a youth engagement program about alcohol advertising. Section 2 presents a research-based process on recruiting and working with young volunteers.

For detailed information and to order copies, please go to ARAPO's Educational Materials page.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS – The 2007 ARAPO Recognition Award

The ARAPO Recognition Award is presented in recognition of individuals and organizations that have made, and continue to make, outstanding efforts to reduce the effect of alcohol promotion in Ontario. Awards may be given for a wide variety of activities. Among these are:

• Efforts to educate focusing on media literacy and alcohol-related issues;
• Important contributions to the successful implementation of community activities surrounding alcohol advertising issues;
• Significant contributions to creating and/or implementing policies aimed to reduce the exposure of inappropriate alcohol advertising; or
• Socially responsible alcohol promotion or counter-alcohol messages.

Last year, Sarah Sales from Sauble Beach, Ontario was a grade 12 high school student from West Hill Secondary School in Owen Sound and won the award for Top Individual for her commitment and leadership in educating her peers about alcohol advertising. Also, Manny Paiva and Bayshore Broadcasting won the Top Organization award for its support in the development of a radio Public Service Announcement describing the risks of risky alcohol use among youth.

Award recipients will be selected and acknowledged at the 4th Annual "Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity" Forum, hosted by the Alcohol Policy Network/Association to Reduce Alcohol Promotion in Toronto. A modest monetary honorarium will also accompany the award.

Visit our website for more information and to view the Terms of Reference.