Alcohol Poisoning

Kids at risk, and the dangers of drinking-
Researchers find three chromosomal areas with links to alcoholism vulnerability  

Who enforces underage drinking laws in your state?

Parents are worried alcohol ads impact their ability to educate their kids on risks

HopeNetworks encourages you to get involved!  Contact Louisiana Alliance to Prevent Underage Drinking.

Youth Alcohol, Information and Facts
CASA Report on Underage Drinking

Teen Tipplers: America's Underage Drinking Epidemic, a report from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) reports the following (taken from the CASA Website):

Key Findings About Underage Drinking:

Underage drinkers are a critical segment of the alcohol beverage market. Since most heavy and problem drinkers begin drinking before they reach age 21, underage drinking is key to the profitability of the alcohol industry.

• 87 percent of adults who drink had their first drink of alcohol before age 21.  
• Individuals who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become alcohol dependent than those who begin drinking at age 21.  
• The prevalence of lifetime alcohol abuse is greatest for those who begin drinking at age 14. 
• Underage drinkers and adult heavy drinkers combined consume 61 percent of the alcohol sold in the U.S.

Teens have easy access to alcohol. Parents are too often unwitting co-conspirators who see underage drinking and occasional bingeing as a rite of passage, rather than a deadly round of Russian roulette.

• One third of sixth and ninth graders obtain alcohol from their own homes.  
• Children cite other people's homes as the most common setting for drinking.

The pervasive influence of the entertainment industry has glamorized and sexualized alcohol and rarely shows the ill effects of abuse.

• Out of 81 G-rated animated films, nearly 50 percent showed characters using alcohol, often without consequence (34 % equated alcohol with wealth and affluence; 19 percent with sexual activity).  
• Alcohol advertising often uses images that appeal to kids (e.g., Budweiser's talking lizards, Budweiser's Spuds MacKenzie dog).  
• 41 percent of teens have tried a new breed of sweet-tasting, colorfully packaged alcoholic beverages (e.g., Tequiza, Smirnoff Ice, Skyy Blue).  
• GE subsidiary NBC has begun airing liquor advertisements, ending a 50-year voluntary ban by the networks and the liquor industry.

A CASA Checklist for Parents: 

• Set rules and expectations and enforce consequences.  
• Eat dinner together.  
• Monitor TV, internet use and CD purchases.  
• Know your children's friends and where they go.  
• Send clear messages about alcohol use.  
• Discuss negative consequences of drinking.  
• Give your children perspective on media messages.  
• Don't show your child that it takes a drink to relax.  
• Don't accept underage drinking as a rite of passage.  
• When your child needs help, get treatment - fast!

• Hold parents legally responsible for their children's alcohol use.  
• Step up enforcement of underage drinking laws for children and teens who drink and the individuals and establishments that provide alcohol to them.  
• End all alcohol ads, including beer, on television.  
• Require prominent warning labels on all alcohol advertising.  
• Broaden the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy mandate to include alcohol in its media campaigns and other activities.  
• Fund additional treatment programs for adolescents.  
• Increase research to improve treatment effectiveness.  
• Increase alcohol taxes and dedicate proceeds to prevention and treatment.  
• Create an independent foundation financed by the alcohol industry to campaign against underage drinking