MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - NOVEMBER 2026

Mission

Helping communities reduce underage drinking and alcohol misuse.

Goal

To reduce alcohol use among those who are 12-25 years old in communities throughout Illinois.

HIGH INTENSITY DRINKING

As the holidays approach and “Sober October” is in the past, we must be mindful of high-intensity drinking and the environmental strategies to prevent it. According to NIAAA, high-intensity drinking is defined as consuming alcohol at levels that are two or more times the gender-specific binge drinking thresholds. Compared with people who did not binge drink, people who drank alcohol at twice the gender-specific binge drinking thresholds were 70 times more likely to have an alcohol-related emergency department visit, and those who consumed alcohol at three times the gender-specific binge thresholds were 93 times more likely to have an alcohol-related emergency department visit. Youth are also consuming “Supersized” alcoholic beverages. These beverages have much higher alcohol-by-volume content, so they consume less liquid and more alcohol.

Social media has also spurred high-intensity drinking. Youth and influencers are consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time while filming themselves for likes. Their beverages of choice are low-cost, high-ABV; some containers contain up to 15 standard drinks.

Conducting Alcohol Compliance Checks and providing Responsible Beverage Server training are environmental strategies coalitions can implement to prevent high-intensity drinking. Best practices state that Responsible Beverage Server training be mandatory for both on-premise and off-premise locations. Social norms campaigns can also be used to challenge the misperceptions about youth alcohol use. Most youth are choosing not to drink alcohol. Social host ordinances send a powerful message that hosting underage drinking parties is not acceptable in the community. Publicizing enforcement actions and penalties provides consistent messaging to the community.

The Alcohol Policy Resource Center can assist with analyzing your data, scanning your community, and matching policies and strategies to assessment findings. If you have any questions or need more information, please reach out to Jody Heavilin.

ALCOHOL POLICY SURVEILLANCE PLATFORM

The Alcohol Policy Surveillance Dashboard was developed by the Alcohol Action Network to provide a centralized, interactive platform for examining these regulatory structures across jurisdictions. By standardizing policy and administrative data across three core components, Licensing, Enforcement, Adjudication, and State Profiles that combine all three components into a single view. The platform enables researchers, policymakers, regulators, attorneys, and community advocates to analyze how alcohol regulation operates in practice.

The Alcohol Action Network (AAN) is a project of the American Public Health Association's (APHA) Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug (ATOD) Section. APHA is the largest professional organization for public health practitioners, researchers, and community members with the collective mission of improving the health of the public and achieving equity in health status.

AAN is a nationwide network of alcohol prevention practitioners and researchers engaging in alcohol policy issues in their states or local communities. While AAN was initially established in 2020 to address the shifting alcohol policy landscape at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has grown in its breadth and reach with more than 200 members across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The APRC is a member of the Alcohol Action Network.

APRC ON THE MOVE

Addressing the rapidly evolving alcohol landscape through policy and partnerships

The Alcohol Policy Resource Center is excited to present again at this year's Tall Cop Emerging Drug Trends Conference in Dallas, TX. The conference takes place on November 12 and 13 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. APRC Senior Administrator Jody Heavilin and ILCC Division of Enforcement East Central Region Supervisor Kenneth Williams will speak about how to address the evolving alcohol landscape through partnerships and policy. There's still time to register.

.05 CONTINUED SUCCESS

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released new research on Utah’s .05 BAC law. Extended evaluation of the effects of Utah’s 0.05% BAC per se law on crashes: An update with additional years and regional contrasts. Utah has seen a long-term drop in the number of

alcohol-related crashes after it imposed a stricter BAC per se limit. Utah passed the .05 BAC law in 2018 and remains the only state to do so. Examining 4 full years of the law’s impact, this study shows it had continued benefit, both independently and in contrast to neighboring states, despite the unusual changes in drinking-driving behavior resulting from COVID-19 pandemic disruptions.

Furthermore, another study featured in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine stated that Utah's 0.05 blood alcohol concentration law was associated with meaningful decreases in alcohol-related crash fatalities, strengthening the evidence supporting the public health importance of evidence-based policy and strongly supporting broader adoption of 0.05 blood alcohol concentration limits nationwide.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended that all states, DC, and Puerto Rico establish a per se blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit of .05 g/dL or lower for all drivers. They have developed a .05 BAC Safety Briefing Fact Sheet with data, research, and the positive effects of the .05 law in Utah.

RESOURCES OF THE MONTH

NOTEWORTHY RESEARCH

Triguero Roura M, Mauro PM, Use of Generative AI for Substance-Related Information Among Young Adults (Aged 18-29 Years) in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey

JMIR Form Res 2026;10:e100667 doi: 10.2196/100667

King AC, Noone SM, Atkinson E, Wellendorf CE, Fridberg DJ. Living Up to Their Name: Blackout Rage Gallons (BORGs) Marked by High-Intensity Drinking and Alcohol Consequences in College Students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2026;87(5):930-938. doi:10.15288/jsad.25-00414

Lannoy S, Bjork JM, Davis S, Edwards AC. High Prevalence of Suicidal Behavior in Severe Alcohol Use Disorder Linked to Specific Neurocognitive Deficits: The Cognition, Alcohol, Genes, and Environment Study. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2026;0(ja). doi:10.15288/jsad.26-00011

APRC CLEARINGHOUSE

The APRC's Clearinghouse has been updated to include the Special Events Toolkit and Alcohol & E-Commerce infographic. Requests can be made by downloading the Clearinghouse Form and emailing it to Jody Heavilin. The resources will then be mailed to you. If there is an APRC resource not listed, such as the Environmental Scan Toolkit, it can still be requested by email.

Resources are also available at our Springfield and Chicago offices.

ILLINOIS ALLIANCE ON REDUCING YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE

The Illinois Alliance on Reducing Underage Drinking was formed in early 2020. In September 2022, the Alliance expanded its focus to include youth cannabis use prevention and formally changed its name to the Illinois Alliance on Reducing Youth Substance Use.

The Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Use Prevention

& Recovery leads the charge, which allows stakeholders to:

Share current youth substance use prevention efforts being implemented in Illinois
Share information on best practices to reduce youth substance use
Share data & research on efforts to reduce youth substance use
Review the Illinois STOP ACT report
Unify prevention efforts in the State of Illinois

Currently, the Alliance meets virtually on a quarterly basis. Our FY27 meeting schedule:

Thursday, December 10, 2026
Thursday, March 11, 2027
Thursday, June 10, 2027

All meetings are from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm. Meeting minutes and agendas are housed on the APRC website. If you are interested, please reach out to the APRC - Jody Heavilin.

ILLINOIS COALITIONS WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

The Alcohol Policy Resource Center is more than just downloadable resources. We are available for coalition presentations or to help customize resources or presentations.

The APRC would also like to help spread the news of your good work in Illinois! If you have outcomes you would like highlighted, please reach out to Jody Heavilin at jody.heavilin@prevention.org.

The APRC is committed to creating resources, professional development opportunities, and technical assistance. We would love to hear from you! If there is an Alcohol Policy or Prevention topic on which you would like more information, please let us know.

Funded in whole or in part by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.