Policy Brief:
Alcohol Taxation Rates
There has been no increase in Indiana alcohol tax rates since 1981âthe state remains at $0.115, $2.68, and $0.47 per gallon for beer, liquor, and wine, respectively. Alcohol is now relatively more affordable for consumers than it was several decades ago. While there have been several attempts to raise this rate, none have been successful, and Indiana is ranked 42 out of the 50 states in terms of alcoho l tax rate. Low alcohol taxation rates have long been the subject of research aimed at determining the relationship between the price of alcohol, alcohol consumption and related harms. There is currently strong evidence showing that increased alcohol price can reduce levels of consumption and negative health outcomes resulting from over-consumption, including alcohol-related morbidity and mortality, traffic fatalities, and other factors such as violence and sexually transmitted disease. Based on the weight of this and additional available evidence, the Task Force on Community Preventive Services concludes that the price of alcohol per unit should be raised in order to curb excess consumption and alcohol-related harms.
The full article has been posted in the IPRC's Feature Article Section.
Image Source: http://eurocare.org/library/updates/french_beer_tax
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Upcoming Trainings
June 7
SBIRT Provider Training
June 5
Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training
(SAPST)
Visit the Training Portal for descriptions and to register.
While youâre there, take one of our FREE courses. CEUs available.
*Registration available on IPGAP's Training Portal. |
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Resource of the Month
Research indicates that 1 in 17 Hoosiers is living with a serious mental illness (SMI) like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. These disorders can substantially affect the lives of individuals, their families and our communities. These serious disorders can be treatable with psychosocial therapy and medication. There is a problem with major gaps in treatment and support throughout Indiana. While community mental health centers, state facilities, private hospitals and other providers offer assistance, it is estimated that only half of those in Indiana who need treatment are getting it. That is where National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Indiana comes in. NAMI Indiana has a network reaching more than 20 local affiliates across the state, serving more than 4,000 people. NAMI Indiana provides continuing education, support and advocacy services for people living with serious mental illness, their families and their friends.
NAMI Indiana represents the interests of families and those living with serious mental illness by being involved with Indiana legislature and our policymakers. Training is offered to elected officials, and help is offered to shape legislation. As part of a public charity service, NAMI Indiana engages in a limited amount of lobbying and focusing efforts on providing data, commentary and training for volunteers who help our policymakers. NAMI Indiana also works with affiliates across the state on an outreach program aimed to educate faith-based groups about serious mental illness. NAMI Faithnet engages with these faith communities to discuss their important roles in support and referral services, and informing them of NAMI education, support and advocacy programs. NAMI Indiana provides resources to those in need, including support groups and lists of local organizations specializing in particular services for those with serious mental illnesses. NAMI is growing each year and continues to strive to provide support and a voice to those living with serious mental illness. To learn more about NAMI Indiana, go to http://www.namiindiana.org/.
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6 Tips on Working from Home
When working from home, it is not uncommon to blur the lines of work space and time with home space and time. For example, working from home offers the opportunity to do house chores while still contributing to your job. The problem is that at some point it becomes difficult to focus on work, and house chores begin to take over the day. Other things, like wardrobe, may affect how your work day progresses. While working from home affords the opportunity to work in your pajamas, it can become increasingly difficult to begin focusing on work if you are not completely playing the part. It may not be possible to completely separate the two environments, especially if you have children to care for, but with the tips below, you can successfully maintain the two spaces and be productive in both.
Get Dressed: This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but when working from home, it can become enticing to stay in comfortable pajamas instead of dressing as you would for going to the office. By dressing for work, it will help to get you in the mindset for work. Your home needs to be treated as a work environment in order for you to be as productive as possible.
Create and Maintain a Designated Work Space: By having a designated work space, it allows you to focus on work and not have distractions from outside sources. Again, it helps you to get in the mindset of work. Another benefit is that by having a designated work space, it removes work from the other aspects of the home. This means that when you are not working and enjoying your down time that you are not reminded of work in every part of the house. Your work space should reinforce the feeling that you left for work.
Effectively Communicate: When working from home, it can cause a disconnect between the office staff and yourself. Use software that allows communication with your coworkers and try to have phone calls when you can. Also, attending big meetings in person when you can helps with maintaining communication with your work colleagues.
Block Out Your Time: Set priorities or tasks to be completed and finish them. It can be tempting to do home chores while working. The important thing to remember is that work should be the priority when you are working. House chores, such as laundry, should not interfere with projects or tasks you have planned for the day. It can also help with focus when not having to switch between the two tasks.
Move Around: Work can be sedentary, but sitting behind a desk for 8 hours has been shown to be unhealthy in the long term. Just by getting up, stretching and walking for a few minutes can greatly improve your mindset and health.
Learn to Turn Off Your Business: Even for those who do not work from home, todayâs technology has everyone connected almost all of the time. It is important to remember that when the day is over you should step away. Being available at all times creates the expectation that you always available for your coworkers, making the work-life balance impossible. One option to deal with after hour issues is to create a separate email that questions and comments can be sent to and check that email only once after deciding to stop working for the day.
More Details Resource
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Staff Spotlight
Katharine Sadler is Community Prevention Specialist at the IPRC. Her proudest work accomplishment was writing and getting her book, "What Adults Need to Know About Kids and Substance Use" published in 2011; it also was voted a best seller by Library Journal in 2012. Katharine's best work tip is to avoid getting caught up in negativity or gossip, so it does not steal your joy. Never burn a bridge is her motto in life.
Outside of her work life, Katharine keeps busy with her 20 grandchildren and enjoys spending much of her time with them. She also likes cultivating her flower beds and making derby hats. Katharine is also talented in dance, as she can tap, ballet, and jazz dance. A fun fact about her is that she was a manager of a puppet theater - what a fun time that would have been! To Katharine, the greatest invention of all time was the printing press because it allowed for information and stories to travel between people and communities.
âShe is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."
âProverbs 31:25
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Community Corner
Prevention efforts are most effective when a multi-level approach and evidence based programming are utilized. The Coalition for a Drug-Free Batesville provides an excellent example of this approach within their community of Batesville, Indiana. Their efforts focus on promoting and supporting all ages, particularly the youth, in making healthy, responsible and legal choices around substance use. Some of their current campaigns include a partnership with Margaret Mary Health, which addresses unsecured medications in the home. This campaign includes providing families with a lock box in which the family can secure their medications to prevent medications from ending up in the wrong hands. Another campaign of theirs is implemented during the spring time, specifically for those high school students attending prom and/or graduating. This campaign, named Parents Who Host, Lose The Most (PWH), educates the parents on the consequences of hosting an event with alcohol supplied to minors. This campaign is completed with advertising throughout the community, including banners, radio public service announcements, billboards, and bottled water with labels displaying the PWH message dispensed at gradation.
Additionally, the Coalition for Drug-Free Batesville recently hosted a discussion panel addressing the heroin epidemic. This event aimed to draw attention to the prevalence of heroin abuse among the adult population, as heroin addiction is sometimes thought to be an issue for only younger populations. It also was able to draw attention to the consequences of adults engaging in use of heroin when they are caregivers to children. Heroin abuse in adults, particularly those with families, can have unintended but very serious implications and consequences for the children living within the household. This particular event is of importance as it is known that children living in a household where their primary caregivers engage in heroin use are exposed to higher levels of risk factors (Adverse Childhood Conditions) that can impact their own health and well-being. This relationship can put the child at greater risk for substance abuse and other behavioral issues. The discussion and training were completed over a two-hour period, and panelists included representatives from varying sectors within the community, including the judicial system, child services and community advocacy organizations. Each panelist addressed what their specific agency was experiencing related to the heroin epidemic and what they provide to the children. The expectation is that by educating and creating increased awareness of the impact of heroin use in families and those implications for the children living in those environments, the community can understand the risk factors that these children are exposed to and aim to improve their safety, health and well-being.
Thank you to the great efforts of Kim Linkel and others in the Batesville community!
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Examining Behavioral Health
Media Portrayal of Mental Illness
Netflixâs new series, which is based on and named for the teen novel Thirteen Reasons Why, has created quite a bit of buzz. Nevertheless, many critics are concerned with the showâs portrayal of teen suicide. According to critics of Thirteen Reasons Why, particularly mental health professionals and educators, the show focuses on teen drama while downplaying mental illness and glorifying suicide. Although portrayal of mental illness and death by suicide in popular media is essential to addressing stigma, it is still important to tread carefully when determining how these subjects should be portrayed.
Mental health is a complex issue to address, with components of its portrayal that are perpetuated by individualsâ attitudes and actions and societal norms and ideas. This is why mediums such as television and movies have been deemed such a powerful resource in depicting sensitive topics. Media not only reflects cultural norms, but reaches members of the population on an individual level. Media can act as a mirror of societal beliefs, reflecting attitudes and possibly even influencing or reinforcing the worldview of its viewers. The influence of media on the behavior of a group of people is called âbehavior contagion.â This phenomenon has been observed in shows and real-life reported deaths by suicide, called âsuicide contagionâ or âThe Werther Effect.â There is a weak, but still present, association between reports or portrayal of suicide and incidence of imitative suicides when factors such as family member suicide are properly controlled for.
Nevertheless, there are other ways in which media contributes to mental health stigma. By not addressing the heightened risk of suicide in people with mental illness and excluding help-seeking behaviors from the narrative, media may be modeling behaviors that perpetuate mental health stigma. Depression is the most common risk factor for death by suicide, with 30% to 70% of those who have completed suicide suffering from major depression or bipolar disorder. According to Mental Health America, 1 in 5 young adults reportedly suffer from clinical depression. This is probably under-reported as well, since some symptoms of depression such as fatigue, anhedonia, and moodiness are usually dismissed as regular teen behavior. In addition, suicide was the third leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 14, and the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 15 and 34 in 2015. With such a large population of young adults living with depression and other mental illnesses, the way in which these risk factors are depicted in the media and seen by society may have a large impact on how young adults choose to address mental illness. It is very important to not sweep narratives that address mental illness and suicide under the rug. It is very likely that at-risk youth will leave mental health issues unaddressed and may choose to complete suicide if recognizing and properly addressing mental health issues is not portrayed as the social norm. In addition, popular media commonly excludes help-seeking narratives in favor of promoting the dramatization of suicide and its aftermath. In this way, media misses the opportunity to actively participate in suicide prevention by choosing to depict completed suicide as the only way in which to deal with adversity and mental illness. In conclusion, popular media still has a long way to go in carefully and mindfully addressing how the portrayal of teen suicide may contribute to or help lessen stigma.
Resource Resource 2 Resource 3 Research Article Research Article 2
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Risk and Protective Factors
A total of 8,059 students 18-25 years
of age from 23 Indiana colleges participated in the Indiana College Substance Use Survey conducted in Spring 2021.
