About Us
Rethink the Drink is an initiative of the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division. Our goal is to decrease excessive drinking and the harm it causes individuals, families and communities throughout our state.
Why are we doing this? It’s not because we’re Prohibitionists. We aren’t asking people not to drink. We recognize the value of Oregon’s beer, wine and alcohol producers and businesses to our state’s economy, culture and identity.
That said, excessive alcohol consumption is a leading cause of preventable death among Oregonians, responsible for more than 2,000 deaths each year. While people of all education and income levels drink excessively, certain populations experience higher rates of alcohol-related diseases. Due to systemic racism, oppression and lack of access to resources, this includes Black and American Indian and Alaska Native communities, as well as people with lower incomes and less education.22
Yet the conversations we have across our state about alcohol are increasingly out of step with this reality. We can do more as a state to reduce the unnecessary death, disease and suffering that results from excessive drinking.
Rethink the Drink aligns with the goals and strategies of Oregon’s Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission (ADPC) and those of Healthier Together Oregon, the state’s five-year planning tool for ensuring that all Oregonians have the opportunity to live a long, healthy life. HTO places special emphasis on groups who face significant barriers to good health that arise from social inequities. These groups include people of color, people with lower incomes, people who identify as LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and people who live in rural areas of the state.
The mission of the Public Health Division of the Oregon Health Authority is to promote health and prevent the leading causes of death, disease and injury in our state. We do this by creating environments, policies and systems that support healthy communities and wellness for everyone, including access to healthy food, physical activity, immunizations, safe water and clean air. Our efforts to decrease excessive drinking and the harms it causes are among the ways we carry out that mission.
For more information, please visit the Public Health Division website.
If you have questions or comments, are looking for ways to get more involved, or would just like to send a note, you can reach us at info@rethinkthedrink.com.