The word "temperance" may bring to mind the 1920s prohibition era in the United States of America (USA) where the government instituted laws against the sale and consumption of alcohol, but for members of the Seventh-day Adventist church, the practice is still relevant today.

Part of recognizing the addictive and general harmful nature of alcohol and smoking is signing a temperance pledge, church officials say. More than 4,500 people signed the pledge in the Caribbean during the last two weeks of January, says Dr. Peter N. Landless, associate director of Health Ministries for the Adventist world church.

Dr. Landless visited St. Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Trinidad and St. Maarten, speaking to churches and groups about the importance of signing the pledge, which states: "Recognizing the responsibility to both myself and to others, by the grace of God, I pledge to avoid alcohol and tobacco, as well as other harmful substances and practices."

At one gathering the entire room stood and recited the pledge. Landless says he was so moved that he renewed a personal decision to get the message out to more people.

"Research shows that people who sign health contracts do better than those who don't," says Landless. "Some say this is just old-fashioned, but modern science says otherwise."

He added that he was impressed by how open people in the Caribbean were to the pledge. "Many had never heard of it before, but they signed it anyway."

Landless admits that not many young people know of the pledge, but says that growing up in South Africa, he and every Adventist he knew signed the pledge.

In 2003 the Adventist Church reaffirmed the importance of the temperance pledge at the church's spring business meeting with Jan Paulsen, world church president, leading the way when he signed the pledge card.

Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the church, encouraged every church member to sign the pledge. "Temperance is the sacred duty of all," she said.

Landless says that the Caribbean trip is not a first. Health Ministries staff address the issue everywhere they visit.

"It's not just [about] smoking and drinking [alcohol], but there are other serious addictions," he says, adding pornography and drugs as examples.

Drinking is especially harmful to young people, Landless says. Those who start drinking at a very young age are more likely to become alcoholics, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in the United States . About 1,400 students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year in the USA from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, according to the NIAAA.

Landless adds that this is a problem on Adventist campuses as well, and that ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away.

"The bottom line is this is not about a checklist of do's and don'ts. But it is a part of a relationship with Jesus because we belong to him," Dr. Landless says.. [Editor: Taashi Rowe for ANN/APD]