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About 600 residents in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, St.
Tammany and
Plaquemines parishes were interviewed in February and March
for the
survey, the fourth annual study released by the Council on
Alcohol and Drug Abuse for
Greater New Orleans and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.
The results were presented during a Tuesday meeting of the
Association of
Substance Abuse Programs and Professionals, an umbrella organization
that
includes the council, a United Way agency.
According to the survey, presented by council President
John King, 78
percent of those polled say alcohol and drug addiction is
the area's main health
problem, almost mirroring the percentage of residents who
thought the
addictions are the nation's leading health problem.
King said certain "cultural traditions" and businesses
in Louisiana, such
as Mardi Gras and drive-through daiquiri shops, contribute
to the problem,
especially with underage drinkers. Underage drinking topped
public
intoxication, public nudity and litter as the top Carnival-related
concern
of surveyed residents.
"It's a culture that not only accepts drinking, but
almost encourages it,"
King said.
He said 15- to 20-year olds represent 9 percent of drivers
in the state,
yet they are involved in 16 percent of fatal, alcohol-related
car accidents.
"This is a devastating trend," King said.
Survey respondents from St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes
had the most
family members cited for drunken driving in the past year,
the survey
showed.
Law enforcement officials in both parishes said they were
hesitant to
comment on the report because they were not familiar with
how the survey was
conducted and had not researched their own statistics
Overwhelmingly, residents supported an alcohol tax that
would be
designated solely for treatment and prevention services. Seventy-seven
percent
favored the measure, and 83 percent of residents surveyed
who had been charged with
drunken driving also supported it.
"This is not something that is lightly supported by
the public," King
said, adding that the Legislature is scheduled to consider
a similar bill this
year.
The survey also found that the public was critical of the
state's decision
last year to delay lowering the legal blood alcohol limit
for driving from .10
to .08 until September 2003.
That will allow the state to just make the federal deadline
of October
2003 to change the limit or risk losing millions in federal
highway money.
Nearly 60 percent of residents said the limit should have
been lowered
immediately, and that the decision reflected the influence
of the alcohol
industry.
"The question is how many people will lose their lives
between now and
then," King said about the deadline.
The delay has cost the state about $12 million to $14 million
in incentive
money from the federal government that would have gone toward
DWI
prevention programs, said Phil Jones, a spokesman for the
highway safety commission.
"We were very disappointed because it would have meant
a tremendous saving
of lives," he said.
Several substance abuse workers who attended the meeting
said they were
most frustrated that, in light of such disturbing statistics,
financing for
services to combat drug and alcohol addiction remained low
on city, parish and
state levels.
"If it wasn't for the federal government, we wouldn't
have anything," said
Veronica
Umrani, a coordinator with the Tulane-Xavier Welfare to
Work program.
Officials estimate that Louisiana serves only 8 percent
of residents with
addictions, well short of the national average of 21 percent.
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New Orleans Government
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Nearly 80 percent of New Orleans
area residents say alcohol and drug