Alcohol is the leading cause of death for Louisiana Youth
- Alcohol is
involved in roughly 50% of all homicides, suicides, and fatal
traffic crashes
- More
undergraduates will die from alcohol-related causes than will
receive advanced degrees
What are the consequences of underage drinking?
Fatalities:
In 1994, underage drinking killed an estimated 6,350 youth
ages 12-20, more than 6 times the fatalities resulting from
other illicit drug use (980). [Miller & Covington, 1999]
Alcohol-involved traffic fatalities: One-third of all
deaths for people ages 15-20 result from motor vehicle
crashes. In 1997, more than one-third of these motor vehicle
fatalities involved alcohol. [NHTSA, 1998]
BAC levels of
alcohol-involved traffic fatalities: More 18- and 19-year
olds died in low BAC (between .01 and .09) alcohol-related
crashes than any other ages. In fact, 17-, 18-, 19-, 20-, and
21-year olds are the top five ages of people that die in low
BAC crashes. [NHTSA, 1998] This statistic shows that even low
levels of alcohol are dangerous for young people.
Rate of death
for licensed drivers: For every 100,000 licensed drivers,
young drinking drivers are involved in fatal crashes at
approximately twice the rate of drivers aged 21 and older. [NHTSA,
1998]
Economic costs
attributable to underage drinking: Costs of underage
drinking from new costs paper [miller paper, 1999]
Future alcohol
disorder problems: People who begin drinking before age 15
are four times as likely to develop alcohol dependence and
more than twice as likely to develop alcohol abuse than those
who delay drinking until age 21. [Grant & Dawson, 1997]
Academic
problems: A clear relationship exists between alcohol use
and grade-point average among college students: students
receiving grades of D or F drink three times as much as those
who earn As. [Presley & Meilman, 1996]
Risk of
physical violence: A national survey of college students
found that binge drinkers were 3.5 times more likely than
their non-bingeing counterparts to have been a victim of
physical violence. [Presley et al., 1997]
Risk of sexual
victimization: Three-fourths of college students who were
victims of unwanted sexual intercourse said they were drinking
or using other drugs when they were victimized. [Presley, et
al., 1997]
Young Minds
- The available
evidence suggests that adolescents are more vulnerable than
adults to the effects of alcohol on learning and memory. (White,
2001)
- Alcohol
affects all parts of the brain, which also affects the heart
rate, coordination, speech, and destruction of brain cells.
(Narcotic
Educational Foundation of America, 2002)
- It has become
clear over recent years that alcohol impacts both behavior
and brain function differently in adolescents and adults. (White,
2001)
- The brain does
not finish developing until a person is around 20 years old,
and one of the last regions to mature is intimately involved
with the ability to plan and make complex judgments. (Swartzwelder,
1998)
- Alcohol may
encourage aggression by disrupting normal brain mechanisms
that normally restrain impulsive behavior such as
aggression. (Hingson
et al, October 2001)
- The brain
continues to grow through the age of 20. (Giedd
et al, 1999)
- Heavy drinking
over many years may result in serious mental disorders or
permanent, irreversible damage to the brain or peripheral
nervous system. (Narcotic
Educational Foundation of America, 2002)
- Recent
research indicates that, in contrast to previous
assumptions, the brain continues to undergo a tremendous
amount of development through adolescence and into young
adulthood. (White,
2001)
Underage Drinking
- Each year,
college students spend approximately $5.5 billion on
alcohol- more than they spend on soft drinks, milk, juice,
tea, coffee and books combined. (Drug
Strategies, 1999)
- Teenagers
are not well informed about alcohol's effects. Nearly
one-third of the teens responding to a 1998 American
Academy of Pediatrics survey mistakenly believed that a
12-ounce can of beer contains less alcohol than a standard
shot of distilled sprits. (Drug
Strategies, 1999)
- Beer is the
most popular alcoholic beverage among young people. (Grossman
et al, 1994)
- Binge
drinking has been defined as at least five drinks in a row
for men and four drinks in a row for women. (Weschsler
et al, 2002)
- A College
Alcohol Survey of four colleges indicated that
binge-drinking levels are associated with ease of access
to alcohol, price, special promotions, and outlet density
in college communities. (Weschsler
et al, 2002)
- Parents'
drinking behavior and favorable attitudes about drinking
have been positively associated with adolescents'
initiating and continuing drinking. (NIAAA,
1997)
- Youth who
drink before age 15 are four times more likely to develop
alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age
21. (NIAAA,
1997)
AMA Facts on value of Mandatory Legal Drinking Age (MLDA)
alcohol-related deaths and injuries among youth. When the
MLDA has been lowered, injury and death rates increase, and
when the MLDA is increased, death and injury rates decline (Wagenaar,
1993).
- A higher MLDA results in fewer alcohol-related
problems among youth, and the 21-year-old MLDA saves the
lives of well over 1,000 youth each year (Jones et al,
1992; NHTSA, 1989). Conversely, when the MLDA is lowered,
motor vehicle crashes and deaths among youth increase. At
least 50 studies have evaluated this correlation (Wagenaar,
1993).
- A common argument among opponents of a higher MLDA is
that because many minors still drink and purchase alcohol,
the policy doesn't work. The evidence shows, however, that
although many youth still consume alcohol, they drink less
and experience fewer alcohol-related injuries and deaths (Wagenaar,
1993).
- Research shows that when the MLDA is 21, people under
age 21 drink less overall and continue to do so through
their early twenties (O'Malley & Wagenaar, 1991).
- The effect of the higher MLDA occurs with little or no
enforcement. Historically, enforcement has focused
primarily on penalizing underage drinkers for illegal
alcohol possession and/or consumption. For every 1,000
minors arrested for alcohol possession, only 130 merchants
have actions taken against them, and only 88 adults who
supply alcohol to minors face criminal penalties (Wagenaar
& Wolfson, 1995).
- Researchers conducted an in-depth review of
enforcement actions in 295 counties in Kentucky, Michigan,
Montana, and Oregon. The review showed that in a
three-year period, 27 percent of the counties took no
action against licensed establishments that sold alcohol
to minors, and 41 percent of those counties made no
arrests of adults who supplied alcohol to minors. Although
the majority of the counties took at least one action
against alcohol establishments and/or adults who provided
alcohol to minors, many did not take such actions
frequently (Wagenaar & Wolfson, 1995).
- Regarding Europeans and alcohol use among youth,
research confirms that Europeans have rates of
alcohol-related diseases (such as cirrhosis of the liver)
similar to or higher than those in the U.S. population
(Single, 1984). However, drinking and driving among youth
may not be as great a problem in Europe as in the U.S.
Compared to their American counterparts, European youth
must be older to obtain their drivers' licenses, are less
likely to have a car, and are more inclined to use public
transportation (Wagenaar, 1993).
AMA/RWJ based Prevention in Louisiana,
working with
HopeNetworks, to assist in providing information and
education in the Prevention section we are in the
process of building.
Sharon Ayres
see profile
Louisiana Alliance to Prevent Underage Drinking
5700 Florida Boulevard, Ste. 604
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
PO Box 65242
225-216-0910 – Office
225-926-3842 – Fax
Email:
lacoalition@yahoo.com
Resource for Kids
on Alcohol:
Tips for Teens
CSAP's Model Programs
The Leadership to
Keep Children Alcohol Free - A
site where you can find some short- and long-term effects of
alcohol, some quick tips on how to say NO to alcohol.
http://www.alcoholfreechildren.org/en/audiences/youth.cfm
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