KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - King County Board of Health members passed a Resolution (#00-301) on Friday to pursue a culturally-competent, comprehensive strategy to reduce underage alcohol use in King County. Alcohol drinking among children and youth is closely associated with a host of problems including traffic crashes, violent crime, drowning, and suicide. Every year in the U.S., at least 6,000 young people die in an event linked to alcohol, according to a national advocacy group called Join Together.
The resolution supports the creation of an ongoing, broad-based King County Task Force to Reduce Underage Drinking and recommends that the Task Force develop and implement a far-reaching strategy to decrease alcohol consumption among minors.
Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County, commended the Committee's work and the Board's action: "Passage of this resolution is an enormous victory for community advocates, government, public health practitioners, and youth. It is the culmination of a year-long examination of issues related to underage drinking and what we can do to help our youth lead healthier lives".
Alcohol is the number one illegal drug problem facing King County youth, according to the 1998 Washington State Survey of Adolescent Health Behaviors. Furthermore, alcohol is easily accessible by youth in King County based upon their self-reports as well as data from the Seattle Police Department and Liquor Control Board.
An August 1998 Public Health report on The Health of King County showed that alcohol is a major risk factor in the three leading causes of death among adolescents: (1) motor vehicle crashes; (2) homicides; and (3) suicides. Problems associated with underage drinking in Washington State - including traffic crashes, violent crime, drowning, and suicide - cost $1.18 billion (in 1998 dollars), according to a 1999 study by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.
"It's clear from our year-long reasearch efforts, that much more can be done -- and should be done -- to eliminate the dangerous and unhealthy activity of underage drinking", said Seattle City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck.
Other priorities for the Task Force to Reduce Underage Drinking include ensuring that King County alcohol licensees (such as grocery stores, restaurants and bars) are in compliance with all alcohol laws and that youth and the general public are educated about relevant these laws. The Task Force will also consider fourteen other action items, ranging from legislative changes and media literacy efforts to public awareness campaigns.
The resolution was adopted as a result of a report by the KCBOH Ad Hoc Committee on Underage Drinking to the Board at its November 1999 meeting. The Committee included local representatives from Public Health - Seattle & King County, Metropolitan King County Council, Seattle City Council, King County Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Administrative Board, King County Community Organizing Program, and King County Youth 'n Action Program.
Representatives from several state agencies also participated including the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse; Liquor Control Board; and Traffic Safety Commission. Others in attendance included stakeholders from the alcohol industry, neighborhood stores association, and outdoor advertising media.
