An Anti-Bootlegging campaign launched in West Vancouver last year has become a North Shore team effort involving Vancouver Coastal Health, North Vancouver and West Vancouver Schools, RCMP and West Vancouver Police.

The 2010 North Shore Anti-bootlegging campaign kicked-off today with a message to all adults – don’t give alcohol to minors. The campaign’s goal is to reduce alcohol sales and accessibility to minors, especially during high school graduation season and the summer months.

Alcohol kills more teens than any other drug.  Underage drinking can also lead to long-term addiction. In fact, 40 per cent of alcoholics began drinking before the age of 15, while only 10 per cent of alcoholics began drinking at age 21 or after.

At the heart of this year’s anti-bootlegging campaign is a single, sobering fact: 80 per cent of North Shore youth recently surveyed indicated that they obtained their alcohol from an adult.

West Vancouver Police join all campaign partners urging parents or other adults to carefully consider the health and safety risks alcohol poses to minors

and to also bear in mind potential legal consequences.

Supplying liquor to a minor carries with it a fine not less than $500. Minors found in possession of liquor are subject to fines of $230.

The campaign was launched in 2009 as a joint initiative of Vancouver Coastal Health, West Vancouver Schools and West Vancouver Police. West Vancouver Police welcome the Vancouver Coastal Health initiative to take the campaign North Shore wide.

"West Vancouver Police enjoy an effective working relationship with North Vancouver RCMP and share the priority of keeping youth safe and healthy." said WVPD Cpl. Jag Johal,"Teaming up across the North Shore is a good way to build public awareness on an important issue"

The expanded campaign partnership initiative includes Vancouver Coastal Health, West Vancouver Police, North Vancouver RCMP, the North and West Vancouver School Districts, and the North Shore Action on Prevention Task Force. It’s also endorsed by the Bowen Island RCMP and supported by E-Division RCMP Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Services.

This year’s campaign kicked-off today in North Vancouver with a roster of speakers, including a doctor who works in ER and Lions Gate Hospital and law enforcement experts.

The campaign runs through to the end of August, but its messages are applicable all year long.