At the Irkutsk College of Economics, Service and Tourism, more than 50 students watched the anti alcohol film Alcohol and Health, where doctors explain the harm of alcohol to the brain, heart, liver and kidneys. Young people said such videos can make people think, but believe teenage drinking is better fought by tightening alcohol sales and punishing sales to minors. The material also discusses the psychological traits of college students and further prevention measures planned in district schools.

More than 50 students from the Irkutsk College of Economics, Service and Tourism became a focus group in evaluating anti-alcohol advertising. The video film “Alcohol and Health” was made as part of a campaign to prevent socially negative phenomena, commissioned by the Center for Drug Prevention. The twenty-minute video includes about a dozen speeches by doctors of various specialties, who talk about the effects of alcohol on the brain, heart, liver, and kidneys. The event was organized by the Commission on Juvenile Affairs and the Protection of Their Rights of the Sverdlovsky District and the Youth Policy Department of the Irkutsk city administration.
To test the social advertising, teachers selected three groups of students studying in the following specialties: hairdresser, tourism manager, and archival studies. In the opinion of the young people, frightening videos can make a person think about the harm of alcohol; however, in the fight against youth drunkenness, it is more effective to tighten the conditions for alcohol sales and the penalties for entrepreneurs who sell alcohol to minors.
More than 600 students aged 15 to 18 study at the Irkutsk College of Economics, Service and Tourism, 52 of whom are orphans and 9 are under the guardianship of their grandparents. Every second student is from the Irkutsk region and lives in a dormitory. This year, psychological testing showed that the current generation of students is much more prone to mood swings than first-year students who enrolled several years ago.
Educational psychologist Anna Rubtsova also noted the low capacity for empathy among first-year students and the predominance of masculine behavior in many girls. According to the teacher, most teenagers living in the dormitory spend a lot of time on social networks and are often late for classes because of lack of sleep, which from a psychological point of view indicates a person’s loneliness.
The Commission on Juvenile Affairs and the Protection of Their Rights of the Sverdlovsky District will continue preventive work with students from eleven secondary specialized educational institutions located within the Sverdlovsky District. In 2014, events aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle are planned for schoolchildren and students.