Efforts To Stop Underage Drinking
By Rebecca A. Clay
Part 1 Nearly 29 percent of young people age 12 to 20 say they're
already drinking, according to SAMHSA's 2004 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health. Almost 20 percent are
binge drinkers, downing five or more drinks at a time.
These young people are putting themselves at immediate risk of
car crashes, educational failure, unwanted pregnancy, violence,
and other problems. They're also jeopardizing their futures: Young
people who begin drinking before they're 15 are a whopping five
times more likely to develop alcohol problems later in life than
those who wait until they're 21.
Now the Federal Government has launched an unprecedented collaboration
focused on keeping kids from taking that first drink.
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Conference presenters included
(from left to right) NIAAA Director Ting-Kai Li; Hope Taft, First
Lady, Ohio; Nancy Freudenthal, First Lady, Wyoming; HHS Secretary
Mike Leavitt; Patricia Kempthorne, First Lady, Idaho; and SAMHSA
Administrator Charles Curie. |
The Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage
Drinking (ICCPUD), chaired by SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie,
M.A., A.C.S.W., comprises representatives from several Government
agencies (see Interagency Coordinating Committee
Members).
Together they developed a comprehensive plan for combating underage
drinking. Among other activities, the committee and its members
have already brought together teams of senior state officials. They
received the U.S. Surgeon General's commitment to issue a call to
action.
"Over the years, we've made great progress in reducing tobacco
and illicit drug use among our Nation's young people," said
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt. "Underage
alcohol use has been a tougher and more persistent problem. However,
the solutions are well within our grasp."
ICCPUD's plan centers on three objectives: strengthening the Nation's
commitment to fighting underage drinking, reducing the demand for
and availability of alcohol among youth, and using research to improve
the effectiveness of prevention efforts.
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Strengthening Commitment
In the fall, SAMHSA and ICCPUD sponsored a national meeting bringing
together teams from nearly every state, territory, and the District
of Columbia. (States in the Gulf region will meet later.)
Composed of senior state officials and professionals in the prevention,
health, alcohol control, education, enforcement, and highway safety
fields, these state teams received the latest information about
the scope of underage drinking, its consequences, and evidence-based
strategies for addressing the problem. They had a chance to discuss
their state's current efforts and ways of strengthening those efforts.
And they brainstormed about how their states will participate in
a series of town hall meetings in the spring.
"Alcohol is the most widely used substance of abuse among
America's youth," Mr. Curie told conference participants. "For
too long, underage drinking has been accepted as a rite of passage.
Far too many young people, their friends, and families have paid
the price. I encourage you to use every means available to help
more and more Americans understand the consequences of underage
alcohol use."
A highlight of the 2-day event was the announcement by Surgeon
General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., that he would issue a
call to action on underage drinking.
"The health of our children is in jeopardy," Vice Admiral
Carmona said via video hookup. "I will work with all of you
and with my partners at SAMHSA, the National Institute of Mental
Health, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA) to develop and release the first Surgeon General's call
to action on the issue of underage drinking, so that every single
person in this country understands the negative health, social,
and family consequences of underage drinking."
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Interagency
Coordinating Committee Members
The Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention
of Underage Drinking consists of representatives from several
Government agencies:
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Office of the Surgeon General
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
U.S. Department of Treasury
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Federal Trade Commission (ex officio)
Bureau of Consumer Protection.
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