Alcohol

2015 Stats: Hillsborough County reported 66 alcohol crash fatalities up from 56 in 2014 (17.86% increase) This is the highest number of fatalities in the state. #2 Orange and Duval both 55, #3 Miami Dade 53

Hillsborough also #1 in alcohol-related injuries: 993 and #1 alcohol related-crashes: 1,469

2017 Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Central Breath Testing Data
 4,077 DUI arrests countywide
 1,798 Tampa Police Department DUI arrests
 1,740 HCSO DUI arrests
 .143 Average BAC and 42.19% breath test refusal rate

Alcohol is a major part of the culture of the United States. In 2014, alcohol sales—which include beer, wine, liquor, and other alcoholic beverages—totaled nearly $225 billion. The following year, more than 15 million Americans over the age of 18 reported having Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), known more commonly as alcoholism. That number reaches even higher among people who haven’t reported the disease or have yet to see a doctor for a diagnosis.

Infographic and information on signs of abuse

Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix empowers kids to say “YES” to a healthy lifestyle and “NO” to underage drinking.

The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), a national not-for-profit dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking, developed Ask, Listen, Learn alongside a team of educators and organizations specializing in middle school-aged students. This multimedia program continues Responsibility.org’s longstanding commitment to American youth, and provides kids with the necessary tools to make healthy lifestyle choices while also teaching them about the dangers of underage drinking.

Ask, Listen, Learn provides youth ages 9-12, their parents and educators with information about the dangers of underage drinking. In 2016, Ask, Listen, Learn launched science-based digital resources – including seven animated videos and lesson plans – that take kids on a journey through the developing brain, teaching them what the brain does, what alcohol does to it, and what that does to you. Teachers and parents can now feel equipped with the facts and tools to have a substantive and powerful conversation about the dangers of underage drinking.

“A lot of people my age didn't realize I had a problem. Because I wasn't using certain drugs, because I wasn't drinking early in the morning or doing the 'typical' alcoholic stereotypes,” said Pollard.

The Campaign for a Healthy Alcohol Marketplace was born from the realization of a former alcohol regulator, Pamela Erickson, that we could lose a good regulatory system out of ignorance.