ND: North Dakota working to reduce alcohol related deaths
By Aaron Fields
September 24, 2018
30 percent of alcohol related incidents are fatal in the U-S. Here in North Dakota, it’s even higher, at nearly 47 percent according to 24/7 Wall Street.
KX News is Putting North Dakota First by seeing what’s being done to improve alcohol use in the state.
North Dakota is also the number one state in America for binge drinking.
Assistant Director of the Behavioral Health Division, Laura Anderson, says the statistics are high but they have been initiating programs to lower these numbers. Their goal is to create more talk between parents and children by giving them tools to stop underage drinking and substance abuse at a young age. Anderson says they have been applying the resources to do so.
“We fund 20 local public health units across the state and 4 tribes to implement prevention strategies targeting alcohol either underage drinking or adult binge drinking,” says Anderson.
Anderson says the programs have seen strong results for underage drinkers but not as much for adults.
That’s an area they continue to educate the public on.