Don't Turn Your Back, ACT!

This week, we are launching a new program – Don’t Turn Your Back, ACT! There are two parts to this program.  Both use powerful images to illustrate our message that individuals can make a difference. We are implementing Don’t Turn Your Back, ACT! in central Ohio first. If the response is positive, we will move to other areas of the state.

Do you know where your drink is?

This is a message to remind bar and restaurant patrons that it only takes a second for someone to tamper with their drink. We want people, both men and women, to think about what could happen next. Sexual assault, kidnapping or robbery—each scenario is possible unless someone intervenes, grabs the drink and calls the authorities.

Taking action is the right thing to do. Remember to keep an eye on your drink and don’t drink it if you think someone has tampered with it. And, if another person is adamant that you take a drink, don’t do it. We also want people to remember this advice when attending house parties.

If you believe you could be a victim of drugged drinks, please report it. Tell a trusted person, get medical attention as soon as possible and call the police.

Your bar, your responsibility.

This is a message to reinforce to bar and restaurant staff members that it is their responsibility to make sure patrons are safe. Whether the patron has been at the bar all night or just got there, if a customer is intoxicated, he or she should not be served more alcohol. Bar and restaurant staff members also have a responsibility to make sure that customers get home safely and have someone to watch over them.

Bar staff should take note of sudden changes in customers’ behavior. If a patron, who has been coherent in the last 20 – 30 minutes, is suddenly disoriented, confused, suffering from memory loss, dizziness, drowsiness or nausea, contact the authorities, attempt to keep the individual from leaving and, if possible, secure the person’s drink.