The Battle to Reduce Alcohol Use by Underage Drinkers
Despite laws, despite the fact that many parents warn their children against using alcohol when they are underage, the vast majority of our adolescents drink alcohol. You can see exactly how many in this chart from the Surgeon General’s 2007 Call to Action to end underage drinking. You can see how early drinking starts.
Here’s a fact that many parents may not know: Half of the money spent on alcohol in this country is spent by underage drinkers or those who drink to excess. This is according to the Partnership for Drug-Free Children. Underage drinking accounts for 20% of the alcohol sold and excessive drinking accounts for another 30%.
Young people who binge drink even have their definite preferences of what to drink, as reported in the Washington Post. Take a look.
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/06/13/what-underage-drinkers-drink-when-they-binge-drink/
Drug Facts on Facebook Post
There was also this little image on Facebook a few weeks ago.
It’s likely that the majority of parents in this town do not realize that their kids are among those doing the drinking and smoking. But according to this survey, most of them should be making the assumption that they are.
You might ask, what can we learn from all these facts and figures?
1. That there is far more underage drinking that most of us realize.
2. That it will take increased effort and intelligence to raise America’s children to be drug- and alcohol-free.
Being a parent in this century means being constantly vigilant for drug or alcohol abuse. And also taking on the job of making sure your children understand the harm that can come from drinking or using drugs, both immediately and as a result of the progression that occurs for so many to harder and more addictive drugs.
This is why we publish so many different kinds of anti-drug reports and information. We want to help parents keep their children safe.
The following is additional information on the health risks of alcohol: