The Health Alliance on Alcohol Releases First in Series of Educational Booklets to Attack Underage Drinking

Contact:
David Bray

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(212) 367-6824
Email: david.bray@eurorscg.com

New York, NY-November 10, 2005-The Health Alliance on Alcohol (HAA), a national education initiative designed to attack the problem of underage consumption of alcohol through parent child communications, today announced the publication of "Talking to Teens: Underage Drinking." This first booklet of a nine part series called "Facts & Conversations" focuses on underage drinking and parents connecting with kids on the issue through fact-based conversation. The HAA is comprised of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian and White Plains Hospital Center and is funded by a three-year, $600,000 grant from Heineken USA.

Facts & Conversations - "Talking to Teens: Underage Drinking" outlines the effects alcohol has on the body and arms parents with the information they need to initiate a conversation and engage their children in a constructive and ongoing dialogue about drinking and in a manner that is appropriate for their child's stage of development.

"Underage drinking is a serious, and too often critical, problem in communities across the country. The Health Alliance on Alcohol is an important initiative that was established to attack the problem and we believe this booklet is a vital tool for parents. 'Talking to Teens: Underage Drinking' will arm them with the information and the proper techniques to initiate these necessary-and often difficult-conversations with their children," said Karen Soren, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and author of the booklet. "This first booklet underscores a fundamental aspect of preventing underage consumption, which is open communication. By keeping up an ongoing dialogue with their children, parents can positively influence the decisions their children make."

Booklets in the series will be distributed through several different channels. White Plains Hospital Center will make Facts & Conversations available in hospital waiting rooms, lobbies and reception areas. New York Presbyterian will similarly offer the booklets to all hospitals in their organization. Additionally, College Parents of America will offer the booklets to their appropriate audience in a circulation of more than 60,000 parents. A website is also under construction that will make the brochures available through download or order. The brochures can be read online and downloaded at both www.EnjoyHeinekenResponsibly.com and www.HealthAllianceonAlcohol.com. There will be no cost for download or order of the brochure.

Health Alliance on Alcohol
The Health Alliance on Alcohol is a national education initiative on underage consumption of alcohol through parent/child communications that includes partner members Heineken USA; the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System, the largest secular not-for-profit non-governmental healthcare system in the U.S.; and White Plains Hospital Center, a voluntary, not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of offering high-quality, acute health care and preventative medical care to people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. Please visit www.HealthAllianceonAlcohol.com.

The NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System

The NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System, the largest secular not-for-profit non-governmental health care system in the U.S., is committed to providing high-quality, cost-effective, and accessible care to communities throughout the greater New York Metropolitan region. The System, made up of 34 acute care hospitals, 100 ambulatory sites, 7 residential health care facilities, three specialty institutions, and more than 13,000 affiliated physicians, serves one in four patients in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area. System members are affiliates of the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University or Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. During 2004, System institutions discharged more than 500,000 inpatient cases and provided more than 5,000,000 outpatient visits. For additional information, visit www.nyp.org.

White Plains Hospital Center
White Plains Hospital Center is a voluntary, not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of offering high quality, acute health care and preventative medical care in a compassionate manner to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. The Hospital has the busiest Emergency Department in Westchester County treating approximately 42,000 patients in 2004. Its "Centers of Excellence" include cardiology, emergency medicine, endoscopy, minimally invasive surgery, oncology, orthopedics, neonatal and maternity and radiology. The Hospital has won the National Research Corporation "Consumer Choice Award" for Westchester County for times, most recently in 2004. WPHC is an affiliate of the New York- Presbyterian Healthcare System and a member of Stellaris Health Network, Inc. and Voluntary Hospitals of America, Inc. For further information, please call 914-681-1119 or log onto our website at www.wphospital.org.

Heineken USA
Heineken USA Inc., the nation's largest beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International (Netherlands), which is the world's most international brewer. The Company and its affiliates are firmly committed to promoting responsible consumption of beverage alcohol. Among other distinctions, Heineken was the first brewer in the world to place a responsibility message on all of its bottles and cans. Heineken was also the first alcohol company to place a responsibility message on all of its television, radio and print advertising. Please visit www.EnjoyHeinekenResponsibly.com.