Blog: Concerns about underage drinking
Health officials offer important articles pertaining to various mental health concerns. Gail Ripka, member of a task force on underage drinking, states, "Alcohol is the drug of choice among youth. Many young people are experiencing the consequences of drinking too much, at too early an age. As a result, underage drinking is a leading public health problem in this country, and even in our county."
Health officials offer important articles pertaining to various mental health concerns. Gail Ripka, member of a task force on underage drinking, states, "Alcohol is the drug of choice among youth. Many young people are experiencing the consequences of drinking too much, at too early an age. As a result, underage drinking is a leading public health problem in this country, and even in our county."
Some facts about underage drinking include:
* Those who begin drinking before the age 15 are 4 times more likely
to develop alcoholism than those who begin at the age 21.
* Each day, 7,000 kids in the United States under the age of 16 take
their first drink.
* People aged 12 to 20 years drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the
United States.
* Alcohol is deadliest drug for America's teenagers: a 16 year old is
more likely to die from an alcohol-related problem than any other cause.
* And, underage alcohol use costs the nation an estimated $62 billion
annually!
In addition, the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys found that 42% of
high school students drank alcohol, while in Stark County that figure jumps
to 62%. Nationally 24% of students reported binge drinking; 40% of Stark
County students reported binge drinking. 13% of students have driven a
vehicle after drinking and 32% have ridden in a vehicle with a driver who
had been drinking alcohol.
Why do some adolescents drink? As children move from adolescence to
young adulthood, they encounter dramatic physical, emotional and life-style
changes. Developmental transitions, such as puberty and increasing
independence, have been associated with alcohol use. And when youth drink
they tend to drink intensively, often consuming four to five drinks at one
time.
Environmental factors, such as the influence of parents and peers, also
play a role in alcohol use. For example, being a child of an alcoholic or
having several alcoholic family members places a person at greater risk of
alcohol problems.
Regrettably, too many dismiss underage drinking as a "youthful
indiscretion" or a rite of passage from adolescence into adulthood, and many
underage drinkers are often first presented with alcohol in their own dining
rooms, living rooms and kitchens. Alcohol is aggressively marketed to
underage drinkers and associated with athletic and social events popular
with high school and college students. And, too many bars and clubs
knowingly serve underage drinkers, often with a wink and a nod to fake
identification.
Ripka concludes, "Today, alcohol is widely available and aggressively
promoted throughout our society. And alcohol use continues to be regarded,
by many people, as a normal part of growing up. Yet underage drinking is
dangerous, not only for the drinker but also for the community in which they
live, as evident by the number of alcohol-involved motor vehicle crashes,
homicides, suicides and other injuries."