U.S. retailer Linens 'n Things has removed drinking games from its stores and website, Join Together has learned. The move late Thursday came in response to a national letter-writing campaign organized by Join Together and other groups.

In an email to Join Together staff Friday morning, Linens 'n Things spokesperson Toni Vardiman wrote, "As of this morning, all stores have complied and the product is no longer available on the website. Thank you for creating such awareness and bringing this matter to our attention."

Letter-writing campaigns resulted in Target announcing this week that it is no longer selling games like Drinko in its stores or on its website. Kohl's made a similar decision prior to Christmas. Each store received thousands of emails from customers across the U.S.

The campaign against the drinking games, which expressly promote drinking at unsafe levels, has garnered media attention from scores of local newspapers, local television and radio reports, and national press. Statewide and local coalitions joined national groups such as Join Together, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in creating mounting pressure on the retailers.

Join Together spokesman Eric Helmuth said, "We commend Linens 'n Things, Target, and Kohl's for their responsiveness to the concerns and values of their customers. These companies have demonstrated good corporate citizenship by choosing not to make money from products whose sole purpose is to encourage unsafe levels of alcohol consumption for people at any age."

Many of the games targeted by the campaign, such as "Shots and Ladders" and "Beer Pong," are commercially-produced versions of drinking games already popular on many college campuses and among high school students, Helmuth said. Extra-curricular "rules" for adapting the children's board game Shoots and Ladders to a drinking game are commonly available on the Internet, he noted. "For a manufacturer or retailer to claim that these boxed games are meant only to appeal to over-21 adults is simply disingenuous," said Helmuth.

Join Together credits the resounding success of the campaign to the passionate letters sent to retailers by thousands of concerned citizens, as well as community organizing and media advocacy efforts by several local coalitions. Playing a key part in the web of national media attention were local and state groups such as the Oregon Partnership, Georgia's Council on Alcohol and Drugs, New Jersey's Prevention First, and the Kentucky Crime Prevention Coalition.

Join Together is a project of the Boston University School of Public Health. Primary funding is from a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For more information, log on to www.JoinTogether.org.