"It is essential that every single college have access to this educational tool, designed to help students make safe and responsible  decisions about alcohol" — Susan Molinari

Washington, D.C. — The Century Council announced today, the creation of a dynamic interactive CD-ROM program designed to help college students stop the misuse of alcohol on campus. Set on a "virtual campus," Alcohol 101 Plus™ specifically targets at-risk populations of the student body: Freshmen, Greeks, student-athletes, and judicial policy offenders. Through interactive video scenarios users have an opportunity to make "virtual" decisions for "virtual" characters.

For example, users can visit a first-year dorm and choose whether or not the freshman character takes a drink, or visit the off-campus bar and decide whether the basketball star should take a drink only days before "the big game." When the wrong decision is chosen on the virtual campus, students are presented with the consequences of their bad decision.

	Century Council Chair Susan Molinari at the national launch of Alcohol 101 Plus  enlarge photo Dr. David Anderson, a developer of Alcohol 101 Plus, describes the program  enlarge  photo See more photos from the recent Capitol Hill event to launch Alcohol 101 Plus

Developed by The Century Council, a national not-for-profit organization funded by America's leading distillers — Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine North America, Bacardi U.S.A., Inc., Brown-Forman, DIAGEO, Future Brands LLC, and Pernod Ricard USA — Alcohol 101 Plus is available free of charge to colleges and universities across the country.

"It is essential that every single college have access to this educational tool, designed to help students make safe and responsible decisions about alcohol," said Susan Molinari, Chairman of The Century Council. "The fact that 80% of freshman report that they have consumed alcohol in the past year, consuming nearly 6 drinks a week, is a fact of college life that must be countered with effective education. By systematically incorporating this CD in orientation programs, fraternity gatherings and athletic programs, we hope to have a significant influence on students' ability to make safe and responsible decisions about alcohol."

Representing an over million dollars investment, the creation of Alcohol 101 Plus brought about the broadest alcohol industry-government partnership designed to prevent the misuse of alcohol on college campuses, including the U.S. Department of Education; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Also involved were more than 50 on-campus practitioners and student focus groups, in addition to representatives from: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and The BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network.

Alcohol 101 Plus is designed to be user friendly, entertaining and informative. In addition to video scenarios and "pop-up" messages, the CD includes an interactive game developed by SONY, b4udrink, which tests a user's knowledge about how alcohol affects the body, friends and school, sex, and the truths and consequences of college drinking. The CD-ROM also includes a "Virtual Bar," where a user can "virtually" drink and obtain personalized information on the impact of alcohol on their individual blood alcohol concentration and a "Virtual Brain," which conveys information about the physical and mental affects of alcohol.

A reporter interviews a University of Maryland student at the Alcohol 101+ press conference  enlarge photo University of Maryland students examine the Alcohol 101 Plus program  enlarge photo Melissa Stark, ABC's NFL "Monday Night Football" reporter praises Alcohol 101 Plus  enlarge photo Century Council President and CEO Ralph Blackman  enlarge  photo See more photos from the recent Capitol Hill event to launch Alcohol 101 Plus

"While the percentage of students who reported daily drinking has declined by 31% over the past 21 years, we must continue to develop new tools to make sure that students do not misuse alcohol on our nation's campuses. Cutting edge education tools, like Alcohol 101 Plus, can help coaches, teachers, and administrators help prevent underage drinking among college students," said Jim Bareuther, President of Brown-Forman Spirits Americas.

"College administrators know that confronting alcohol abuse on campus is one of our top priorities. Alcohol 101 Plus is an important tool that will help us address this significant problem of alcohol abuse on campus. Alcohol 101 Plus enables us to have a workable strategy to help shape behaviors," said Constantine 'Deno' Curris, President, American Association of State Colleges and Universities and former President of Clemson University. "I know college Presidents and other college administrators will embrace Alcohol 101 Plus and include it in their alcohol education efforts."

Speaking on behalf of college coaches, former Georgetown University basketball coach John Thompson stated, "This program recognizes that student-athletes are under special pressures and effectively delivers messages that target athletes as a unique campus population — alcohol's effect on physical performance, alcohol's effect on the brain, and the message that often a personal decision can impact an entire team."

The Century Council's mission is to promote responsible decision-making regarding drinking or non-drinking of beverage alcohol and to discourage all forms of irresponsible consumption through education, communications, research, law enforcement, and other programs. Recognizing over twelve years of progress, America's leading distillers have promoted The Council's mission by investing close to $130 million in its programs to fight drunk driving and underage drinking. For more information about Alcohol 101 Plus or The Century Council, or to order a copy of the program free-of-charge, please visit http://www.alcohol101plus.org or http://www.centurycouncil.org.

Launched in 1991, The Century Council is funded by America's leading distillers. The Council's mission is to promote responsible decision-making regarding drinking or non-drinking of beverage alcohol and discourage all forms of irresponsible consumption through education, communications, research, law enforcement and other programs. For more information on The Council, log onto http://www.centurycouncil.org.

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