To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking

Transcription

1 The Srgeon General s Call to Action To Prevent and Redce Underage Drinking What It Means to YOU A Gide to Action for Families

2 Abot This Srgeon General s Call to Action The Srgeon General is the Nation s top doctor and pblic health officer. The President of the United States appoints the Srgeon General to help protect and promote the health of the Nation. The Srgeon General lets people across the contry know the latest news on how to get healthy and stay healthy. He explains how to avoid illness and injry. When a health topic needs special attention, the Srgeon General isses a national call to action to everyone in America. The Srgeon General s Call to Action To Prevent and Redce Underage Drinking explains why nderage alcohol se is a major pblic health and safety isse. It asks everyone to take action. Abot This Gide to Action for Families When it comes to tackling pblic health problems, knowledge is power. When people have the facts and the right tools, they can take action. This gide gives yo the knowledge and tools yo need to take action against nderage drinking. It tells yo abot nderage alcohol se and the damage it can do. And, it sggests ways yo can end nderage drinking in yor home, family, commnity, and across the contry. Sggested Citation: U.S. Department of Health and Hman Services. The Srgeon General s Call to Action To Prevent and Redce Underage Drinking: A Gide to Action for Families. U.S. Department of Health and Hman Services, Office of the Srgeon General, All material in this report is in the pblic domain and may be reprodced or copied withot permission from the Federal government. Citation of the sorce is appreciated.

3 TODAY, NEARLY 10.8 MILLION YOUTH, AGES 12-20, ARE UNDERAGE DRINKERS Drinking alcohol can harm the growing body and brain. That s why it s important for yong people to grow p alcohol-free. And it takes everyone to help yong people choose not to drink alcohol. It takes yo. What Is Underage Drinking? When anyone nder age 21 drinks alcohol, we call it nderage drinking. And nderage drinking is against the law, except in special cases, sch as when it is part of a religios ceremony. Underage drinking is also dangeros. It can harm the mind and body of a growing teen in ways many people don t realize. Yet, children and teens still drink, even thogh it can harm them. Underage drinking is a serios problem, with roots deep in or cltre. It is time to change that pictre. It s time to take action. It s time to stop looking the other way. It s time to tell children and teens that nderage drinking is not okay. It will take a lot of work over time to change how people think abot nderage drinking. It s a long-term project for parents, schools, local grops, commnity leaders, and other concerned adlts. And it s a project that shold start when children are yong and contine throgh the teen years. In any month, more yoth are drinking than are smoking cigarettes or sing marijana. Past Month Sbstance Use by Grade Percent More teens drink alcohol than smoke or se drgs th 10th 12th Grade Alcohol Cigarettes Marijana Johnston, et al Monitoring the Ftre National Srvey Reslts on Drg Use.

4 THE FACTS As they grow older, the chance that yong people will se alcohol grows. Approximately 10% of 12-year-olds say they have sed alcohol at least once. By age 13 that nmber dobles. And by age 15, approximately 50% have had at least one drink. Alcohol dependence is a term doctors se when people have troble controlling their drinking, and when their consmption of, or preoccpation with, alcohol occrs to the extent that it interferes with normal personal, family, social, or work life. Alcohol dependence rates are highest among yong people between ages 18 and 20. And they re not even old enogh to drink legally. Did Yo Know? The greatest inflence on yong people s decisions to begin drinking is the world they live in, which incldes their families, friends, schools, the larger commnity, and society as a whole. Alcohol se by yong people often is made possible by adlts. After all, teens can t legally get alcohol on their own. FAST FACT Most yong people who start drinking before age 21 do so when they are abot years old. That s why it s important to start talking early and keep talking abot nderage drinking. And that s why ALL adlts working with yong people shold send the same message that nderage drinking is not okay. 2

5 WHAT IS A DRINK, ANYWAY? A drink can come in many forms. It can be a shot of hard liqor or a mixed drink containing vodka, rm, teqila, gin, scotch, etc. It can also be wine, a wine cooler, beer, or malt liqor. A standard drink is any drink that contains abot 14 grams of pre alcohol (abot 0.6 flid onces or 1.2 tablespoons). This is the amont of alcohol sally fond in One 12-once beer One 4- to 5-once glass of wine One 1.5-once shot of 80 proof liqor What s a Standard Drink? Bt not all drinks are standard drinks. In fact, different drinks often have different amonts of alcohol. Mixed drinks may contain more than one shot of liqor, and different beers or wines may not have the same amont of alcohol in them, even when the drinks are the same size. For example, some beers and beer prodcts, like ice beers, and malt liqors, and some wines, have more alcohol than others. Remember, the legal drinking age is 21 and nderage drinking can be a threat to health and development.

6 Why Is Underage Drinking A Problem? So many yong people drink. Many more yong people se alcohol than tobacco or illegal drgs. By age 18, more than 70% of teens have had at least one drink. Percent of Yoth Who Have Used Alcohol by Age and Gender When yong people drink, they drink a lot at one time. Teens drink less often than adlts. Bt when teens do drink, they drink more than adlts. On average, yong people have abot 5 drinks on a single occasion. This is called binge drinking, a very dangeros way of drinking that can lead to serios problems and even death. Percent Age Early drinking can case later alcohol problems. Of adlts who started drinking before age 15, arond 40% say they have the signs of alcohol dependence. That rate is for times higher than for adlts who didn t drink ntil they were age 21. male female SAMHSA, 2005 National Srvey on Drg Use & Health (NSDUH) FAST FACT Rates of death and injry nearly triple between the early teen years and early adlt life. Dangeros activities like nderage drinking play a large role. That s why ending teen alcohol se can help save lives. Alcohol may have a special appeal for yong people. The teen years are a time of adventre, challenges, and taking risks. Alcohol is often one of the risks yong people take. Bt most people don t know how alcohol affects a teen s body and behavior. They don t realize that alcohol can affect yong people in different ways from adlts. And they don t realize that nderage drinkers can also harm people other than themselves.

7 The reslts of nderage drinking can be grave Many people don t know that nderage alcohol se Is a major case of death from injries among yong people. Each year, approximately 5,000 people nder the age of 21 die as a reslt of nderage drinking; this incldes abot 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a reslt of homicides, 300 from sicide, as well as hndreds from other injries sch as falls, brns, and drownings. Increases the risk of carrying ot, or being a victim of, a physical or sexal assalt. Can affect the body in many ways. The effects of alcohol range from hangovers to death from alcohol poisoning. Can lead to other problems. These may inclde bad grades in school, rn-ins with the law, and drg se. Affects how well a yong person jdges risk and makes sond decisions. For example, after drinking, a teen may see nothing wrong with driving a car or riding with a driver who has been drinking. Plays a role in risky sexal activity. This can increase the chance of teen pregnancy and sexally transmitted diseases (STDs), inclding HIV, the virs that cases AIDS. Can harm the growing brain, especially when teens drink a lot. Today we know that the brain contines to develop from birth throgh the teen years into the mid-20s.

8 The Teen Years Are a Time of Many Changes Boys physically become yong men and girls become yong women. Yong people move from elementary to middle to high school. Responsibilities increase. For example, teens learn to drive, may get a job, and have more chores and more homework. Teens spend less time with their parents. They spend more time alone or with friends. They also like to stay p later and sleep in. Teens search for who they really are and who they want to be. They worry abot friendships and social grops. And they have growing romantic and sexal interests. The desire for adventre, excitement, and action increases. That s why many yong people want to take more chances, try new things, and be more independent. These changes are important steps on the road to adlt life. However, these changes also increase the chance that some yong people may trn to alcohol. Did Yo Know? The different worlds teens live in can have a big effect on their drinking. Some yong people are more involved with family than others. Others trn to their friends first. Still others trn to social grops like sports teams and clbs, faith-based grops, or grops of like-minded yoth. The Internet, media, msic, and videos are also an important part of the world of most teens. All of these affect a yong person s choices abot sing alcohol. FAST FACT Factors in an adolescent s environment affect both the appeal of alcohol and its availability. Among these factors are the social systems within which teens fnction and with which they interact. Examples of these social systems are parents, friends, family, schools, and the commnity. The media and the larger social cltre, inclding how alcohol is marketed and portrayed, also contribte to alcohol s appeal to yong people.

9 Why Teens May Choose to Drink Many things affect a yong person s decisions abot drinking The different worlds in which teens live, inclding family, friends, school, and commnity A greater desire to take risks Less connection to parents and more independence More time spent with friends and by themselves Increased stress Greater attention to what teens see and hear abot alcohol Did Yo Know? Teens with behavior or family problems are at higher risk for alcohol se. And if anyone in the family has a drinking problem, it can affect the entire family. It also may affect a teen s choices abot drinking. FAST FACT Yoth with histories of behavior problems (for example, delinqent activity, implsive actions, and difficlty controlling responses) are more likely to se alcohol than are other yong people. The same is tre for yoth who have an nsally strong desire for new experiences and sensations, and for those with histories of family conflict and stress, and/or alcohol problems. 7

10 Underage Drinking Is Everyone s Problem Underage drinking can affect anyone, inclding people who don t drink. Underage alcohol se can lead to dangeros behavior, property damage, and violence. The reslts can be injry and even death for the drinker, and for other people nearby. Abot 45% of people who die in car crashes involving a drinking driver nder age 21 are people other than the driver. The effects of nderage drinking can be felt by everyone. That makes nderage alcohol se everyone s problem. FAST FACT Most 6-year-olds know that alcohol is only for adlts. Between ages 9 and 13, yoth begin to think that alcohol se is okay. That s why it s never too early to start talking with yong people abot the dangers of nderage drinking. Teens say that they rely on adlts in their lives more than anyone else to help them make togh decisions and to provide good advice. 8

11 Ending nderage drinking is everyone s job There is a role for everyone. Everyone can work together to create a commnity where yong people can grow p and feel good abot themselves withot drinking. Everyone in the commnity shold deliver the message that nderage drinking is not okay. The message shold be the same whether yoth hear it in school, at home, in places of worship, on the sports field, in yoth programs, or in other places where yong people gather. It is important for families to pay attention to what s happening with their teens. Yong people can learn abot the dangers of alcohol se. They can change how they and others think abot drinking. It s time to change how we all think, talk, and act when it comes to nderage drinking. We need to stop accepting it and to start discoraging it. It s time to help yong people nderstand that it is not okay for them to drink alcohol. The discssion needs to start long before yoth start thinking abot drinking. 9

12 What families can do abot nderage alcohol se While many teens drink alcohol, nderage alcohol se is not inevitable. Families are not helpless to prevent it. Focs yor efforts on the factors that protect teens from alcohol se. At the same time, yo can work to redce the factors that increase the chance that they will drink. Spport yor teens and give them space to grow. Be involved in yor teens lives. Be loving and caring. Encorage yor teens growing independence, bt set appropriate limits. Make it easy for yor teens to share information abot their lives. Know where yor teens are, what they re doing, who they re with, and who their friends are. Find ways for yor teens to be involved in family life, sch as doing chores or caring for a yonger brother or sister. Set clear rles, inclding rles abot alcohol se. Enforce the rles yo set. Talk with yor teens abot alcohol se. When yo talk with yor teens abot drinking, listen to them and respect what they say. Make clear yor expectation that yor teens will not drink. Teach yor children abot the dangers of nderage drinking. Discss laws abot nderage drinking, inclding the age 21 law. Help yor teens make good decisions abot alcohol. Help yor teens know how to resist alcohol. Help them find ways to have fn withot alcohol. Do not give alcohol to yor teens. Tell them that any alcohol in yor home is off limits to them and to their friends. Don t let yor teens attend parties where alcohol is served. Make sre alcohol isn t available at teen parties in yor own home. Set clear rles abot not drinking and enforce them consistently. Help yor teens avoid dangeros sitations sch as riding in a car driven by someone who has been drinking. Help yor teens get professional help if yo re worried abot their involvement with alcohol. 10

13 Be aware of factors that may increase the risk of teen alcohol se. Significant social transitions sch as gradating to middle or high school, or getting a driver s license A history of condct problems Depression and other serios emotional problems A family history of alcoholism Contact with peers involved in deviant activities Be a positive adlt role model. If yo drink yorself, drink responsibly. That means not drinking too mch or too often. Stay away from alcohol in high-risk sitations. For example, don t drive or go boating when yo ve been drinking. Get help if yo think yo have an alcohol-related problem. Work with others. No matter how close yo and yor teens are, it may not be enogh to prevent them from drinking. It s hard for families to do this alone. It s important to reach ot to schools, commnities, and government. Yo can help protect teens from nderage alcohol se by working to see to it that Schools and the commnity spport and reward yong people s decisions not to drink. Rles abot nderage drinking are in place at home, at school, and in yor commnity. Penalties for breaking the rles are well known. Rles are enforced the same way for everyone. All laws abot nderage alcohol se are well known and enforced. Parties and social events at home and elsewhere don t permit nderage drinking. 11

14 Advancing the call to action The Srgeon General s Call to Action To Prevent and Redce Underage Drinking was written to improve pblic knowledge abot nderage drinking. It encorages action by people and grops nationwide. Each person in America has a role to play to help prevent and redce nderage alcohol se. This Call to Action helps adlts across the contry rethink nderage drinking as we know it today. It provides the tools to get the word ot in discssions arond the dinner table, in school or camps-based programs, and in commnities. It can also inform local, Tribal, State, and national programs and policies. By learning more abot how nderage drinking affects a teen s growing body and brain, family and other adlts in the commnity can better help protect yoth from the dangers of nderage drinking. Family and caring adlts in the commnity can help teens choose not to drink. Finally, commnities can help create a safer environment for yong people by working together with parents and with schools, health care professionals, local organizations, and policymakers to prevent and redce nderage drinking. This Call To Action is exactly that. It calls on every adlt in the contry to join with the Srgeon General in a national effort to address nderage drinking early and often. Underage alcohol se is everyone s problem and its soltions are everyone s responsibility. References for A Gide to Action for Families The data, facts, and sggestions presented here come primarily from the Srgeon General s Call to Action To Prevent and Redce Underage Drinking, cited on the inside front cover. Other sorces of some data presented in this docment inclde: Grant BF, Dawson DA, Stinson FS, Cho SP, Dfor MC, Pickering RP. The 12-month prevalence and trends in DSM-IV alcohol abse and dependence: United States, and Drg and Alcohol Dependence 74: , Johnston LD, O Malley PM, Bachman JG, Schlenberg JE. (December 21, 2006). Teen drg se contines down in 2006, particlarly among older teens; bt se of prescription-type drgs remains high. University of Michigan News and Information Services: Ann Arbor, MI. [On-line]. Available: accessed 01/03/07. Sbstance Abse and Mental Health Services Administration. Reslts from the 2005 National Srvey on Drg Use and Health: National Findings. Rockville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Hman Services, Sbstance Abse and Mental Health Services Administration; Available: accessed 01/03/07. 12

15 Acknowledgements This pblic docment was prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Hman Services (DHHS) nder the direction of the Office of the Srgeon General. Its prpose is to make information contained in the Srgeon General s Call to Action To Prevent and Redce Underage Drinking available in a brief, accessible format to improve pblic knowledge on this topic. Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsg, M.D., M.P.H., Acting Srgeon General, U.S. Pblic Health Service, Office of the Srgeon General, Office of the Secretary, DHHS, Washington, D.C. Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., former Srgeon General, U.S. Pblic Health Service, Office of the Srgeon General, Office of the Secretary, DHHS, Washington, D.C. Commander Karen A. Near, M.D., M.S., Senior Science Advisor, Office of the Srgeon General, U.S. Pblic Health Service, Office of the Secretary, DHHS, Washington, D.C. Ron Schoenfeld, Ph.D., former Senior Science Advisor, Office of the Srgeon General, U.S. Pblic Health Service, Office of the Secretary, DHHS, Washington, D.C. Ting-Kai Li, M.D., Director, National Institte on Alcohol Abse and Alcoholism, DHHS, Bethesda, MD. Rear Admiral Eric B. Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H., Acting Depty Administrator, Assistant Srgeon General, Sbstance Abse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHHS, Rockville, MD. Editors and Writers Patricia A. Powell, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Editor, Acting Chief, Science Policy Branch, Office of Science Policy and Commnications, National Institte on Alcohol Abse and Alcoholism, DHHS, Bethesda, MD. Vivian B. Faden, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Editor, Depty Director, Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, National Institte on Alcohol Abse and Alcoholism, DHHS, Bethesda, MD. Stephen Wing, M.S.W., Associate Administrator for Alcohol Policy, Sbstance Abse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHHS, Rockville, MD. Science Writers Hamilton Beazley, Ph.D. Scholar-in-Residence, St. Edward s University, Astin, TX. Theodora Fine, M.A., A.B.D., Exective Officer, Fine WordCrafters: Commnications and Editing Alchemy, Ellicott City, MD. 13

16 for more information Underage drinking is a pblic health and safety problem that reslts in serios personal, social, and economic conseqences for adolescents, their families, commnities, and the Nation as a whole. Yor involvement can make a difference. Many free sorces of information are available to help yo take action to prevent and redce nderage drinking. Some of the materials can help better edcate yoth and their families, yor colleages, and yor commnity abot the dangers of nderage drinking and how to help stop it before it starts. To read the entire Srgeon General s Call to Action To Prevent and Redce Underage Drinking, be sre to log on to the Srgeon General s Web site at For more information abot ways yo can help to prevent and redce nderage drinking in yor commnity, please check ot a comprehensive portal of Federal resorces for information on nderage drinking and ideas for combating the problem. Another excellent sorce of information is the Web site of the National Institte on Alcohol Abse and Alcoholism at General information abot nderage drinking, its effects on adolescents, families and commnities, and what yo can do to help stop nderage drinking is available throgh the National Clearinghose on Alcohol and Drg Information (NCADI), on the Internet at or by calling (800) The words and images in this Gide to Action were designed to reach a broad adience. Copies of this booklet and the Srgeon General s Call to Action To Prevent and Redce Underage Drinking can be downloaded from both of the Web sites noted. To order copies by mail, please contact the National Clearinghose on Alcohol and Drg Information (NCADI) or by calling (800)