Q: Are new congressional efforts to curb underage drinking on the right track? YES: Illegal underage drinking is a national health crisis, and Congress must enact a national strategy to fight it effectively

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Oct 27, 2003

Byline: Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

My prior work for alcohol and drug programs has made me acutely aware of the terrible effects alcohol dependence has on individuals, families and particularly children. For that reason, I have had a longstanding interest in addressing underage drinking. In spite of the fact that drinking under the age of 21 is illegal in all 50 states, more than 10 million kids in the United States consume alcohol illegally. In the last two weeks, the average high-school senior has had five drinks.

Just kids being kids?

Perhaps many think so. But the truth is underage drinking is causing enormous harm to our children and to American society at an estimated cost of $53 billion a year.

The consequences and health effects underage drinking have on our youth are devastating even when compared to the impact that illegal drugs have on kids. You may be stunned to learn, for example, that underage drinking kills six times more youth than all illegal-drug use combined. The American Medical Association says alcohol is a contributing factor in the deaths of nearly 40,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who die each year from one of the four leading causes of death among youth accidents, vehicle deaths, homicides and suicides. Teen-age drinkers, in fact, are involved in fatal crashes at twice the rate of adult drivers. Research also has found that underage drinking has a strong correlation with violence, risky sexual behavior, teen-age pregnancy and poor school performance.

There also is an enormous difference between kids who start drinking early and those who wait until the legal age of 21. For example, research by the National Institutes of Health found that kids who begin drinking before the age of 15 quadruple their chance of becoming alcoholics. Studies also link long-term alcohol use by children to brain damage and diminished function. A study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University also found that underage drinkers are 22 times more likely to use marijuana and 50 times more likely to try cocaine than kids who do not drink.

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse has found that the average age kids take their first drink is 14, with a significant number starting at a younger age. This is a drop of nearly two years in the last 35 years. Although binge drinking and its problems on college campuses are well-known, binge drinking is not just a college phenomenon. Almost one-half of the 12-year-olds who reported alcohol use said they had drunk heavily in the last 30 days. In general, youth drink more heavily than adults, averaging nearly five drinks at a time compared with fewer than three for adults.

The National Academy of Sciences' (NAS) Institute of Medicine's report, Reducing Underage Drinking A Collective Responsibility, validates the many years of research on underage drinking and offers a comprehensive, commonsense strategy of 31 major recommendations on how to reduce underage drinking. In short, the NAS report found underage drinking to be a national crisis that must be addressed.

The recently issued report was a result of a congressional order to examine underage drinking and make recommendations on how to reduce it. Congress often relies on prestigious organizations such as the NAS to report on controversial topics because of their known independence, objectivity and science-based approach to questions posed by Congress.

The fight against underage drinking is truly a national bipartisan effort that will be enhanced by adopting the comprehensive list of recommendations by the NAS. Among the recommendations are advertising restraints, suggestions for the entertainment industry, increased alcohol excise taxes and a collective effort through the creation of a partnership between parents, communities, all levels of government and the alcohol industry. Central to the recommendations is the development of a national media campaign. What is noteworthy about this recommendation is that the institute focuses on educating adults, primarily parents, about the risks of underage drinking. This recommendation attests to the important role parents play in the lives of their children and the need for them to have information about the risks of underage drinking.

The value of focusing on adults and parents was made clear by recently released statistics by the national distillers' Century Council, which indicate that 65 percent of kids who drink obtain alcohol from family and friends. The need to inform adults also was highlighted by the NAS's finding that many parents are unaware of the prevalence of underage drinking or the risks to their own children. For example, less than one-third of parents knew of their teen-ager's drinking. In addition, parents believed that more than one-quarter of the youth who drank heavily were nondrinkers. The report's findings tell us that if we educate parents about the dangers of underage alcohol use and its consequences, they can play a key role in limiting underage drinking.