REMARKS BY:	Steven  Galson, Acting Surgeon General
PLACE:	Columbus, OH
DATE:	Wednesday, February 27, 2008

"Underage Drinking on Campus: Change is Possible"

 

Remarks as prepared; not a transcript.

RADM Steven K. Galson, M.D., MPH
Acting Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Remarks at "OHIO College Initiative Event” at Denison University

February 27, 2008
Columbus, OH

"Underage Drinking on Campus: Change is Possible"

Thank you, Patricia (Patricia Harmon, Executive Director, Drug-Free Action Alliance), for that gracious introduction.

It is my special pleasure to be with you here today.

I consider America’s Colleges and Universities to be one of this nation’s crown jewels.

In my career as a physician in the US Public Health Service I have traveled overseas on many occasions; and the respect for our institutions of higher education is universal.

You are the guardians of that  - so thank you.

Two of my three children are university students - one in New Hampshire and one in Missouri - so I feel today as though I am doing double-duty.

First I am your Surgeon General, but a good part of my family’s earnings is being invested in higher education…so I am really working FOR YOU in more ways than one.

It is always fantastic to come back to Ohio, even if it is snowing. I lived in Cincinnati in the early part of my career and they were very good years

Not sure I’ve ever recovered from the shock of the difference between the Midwest and our nation’s capital.

..….

I know you take seriously your responsibilities to ensure that the college experience:

enables young people to make sound decisions…realize their full potential…provides lifelong skills that give them the greatest chance for professional success.

I am here today to tell you that underage drinking imperils that process and imperils your chance of institutional success

Colleges should be safe places where students can thrive academically, grow personally, and mature socially without peer pressure to use alcohol.

We know that too often, colleges can be settings where underage alcohol use is facilitated, inadvertently or otherwise - and even openly accepted as a rite of passage actively encouraged by some students and organizations.

In fact, some parents and administrators appear to benignly accept a culture of drinking as an integral part of the college experience.

This worries me greatly.

The consequences of underage drinking are serious.

That’s why projects like the Ohio College Initiative that I’ve been hearing about - are so important.

From its beginning, the focus of the Ohio College Initiative has been on forming campus/community coalitions that work to change the alcohol-related culture surrounding college students. 

I know that it emphasizes the need for campuses to bring people and resources together in order to influence the culture that ultimately influences the decisions that students make about alcohol use. 

This initiative could serve as a model for other states to follow.

I want to take a moment to share with you the data that confirms the negative consequences of underage drinking.

You know that underage drinking begins well before a student enters college.

Alcohol is the most widely used and abused substance among our Nation's youth: a higher percentage of young people between the ages of 12 and 20 use alcohol than use tobacco or illicit drugs.

The 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimated that the rate of current alcohol use among youths aged 12 to 17 was approximately 17 percent in 2006.

In 2006, about 11 million persons aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the 30 days prior to the survey.  Approximately 7 million were binge drinkers, and 2 million were heavy drinkers.

Findings like these are one reason we released the "Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking" last year. 

The Science

Alcohol use during adolescence is pervasive and it ramps up dramatically between the ages of 12 and 21.

Science confirms that the brain continues to develop well beyond childhood - and through adolescence.

This raises concerns that underage drinking may affect short-term and long-term cognitive functioning, and may even affect the brain in ways that could contribute lead to future alcohol dependence.

Research also shows that young people who start drinking before age 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life.

Two critical questions are: 

• Why does alcohol have such a strong appeal to so many youth?
• Are young people more vulnerable to alcohol’s effects?

To answer these questions we need to take a step back and consider what is happening during the period of adolescence and why.

Scientists once believed that the brain finished developing at a very early age.

Not so.

We now know that the brain continues to mature throughout adolescence and into a person’s twenties.

This protracted development of the brain has significant implications both for decision-making -- including decisions about alcohol -- and for vulnerability to consequences from alcohol use.

Other changes during adolescence include hormonal changes that influence everything from the timing of maturation of various brain functions to outward physical appearance, and from mood to an increase in sexuality.

In adolescents we also see an increase in risk taking, sensation seeking and impulsivity.

Neuroscientists tell us that what we know to be typical teenage behavior actually has its roots in developmental of the brain - that different parts of the brain may mature on different

These changes may be responsible for the shift in thrill-seeking behavior we see in teenagers.

Neuroscientist think that the part of the brain  prefrontal cortex, is responsible for self-regulation, planning and so-called executive functions, and that this develops much more gradually during adolescence - as a function of age and experience. It continues to mature into a person’s twenties.

So there is a temporal gap between the system driving emotions and the not fully mature self-regulatory system.

We don’t have to know neuroanatomy though, to know that young adults may be at increased risk from alcohol abuse.

We don’t have all the answers but we know enough to raise concern.

The college environment itself) may contribute to college students’ risk of alcohol-related harm.

And you, as leaders of universities are all too familiar with the consequences of underage drinking.

Researchers found that although college-bound high school students drink less than their peers, their alcohol consumption surpasses that of their non-college peers during the college years - only to decrease again after they finish college.

What all these   observations tell us is that, drinking among college students deserves special attention.

Effects

In people under age 21, alcohol is a leading contributor to "death from injuries" - the main cause of death in that age group.

Alcohol also plays a significant role in risky sexual behavior including unwanted, unintended and unprotected sexual activity.

It increases the risks of physical and sexual assault.

• Approximately 600,000 students are unintentionally injured while under the influence of   alcohol (Hingson et al. 2005).

• An estimated 700,000 students are assaulted by other students who have been drinking (Hingson et al. 2005).

• About 100,000 students are victims of alcohol- related sexual assault or date rape (Hingson et al. 2005).

The data are evidence-based and science-driven.

They confirm that underage drinking is not a harmless “rite of passage.” 

The reality is our young people - students at every level - are being harmed by underage drinking.

The Surgeon General’s Call to Action articulates the Federal commitment to the underage drinking issue and outlines the need for action on the state and community level. 

So, what can universities do?

The Call to Action identifies efforts that campus communites can become involved such as:

• Community-based efforts to hold accountable university and campus groups that encourage and engage in underage drinking;

• Efforts to reduce easy access to alcohol around college campuses, and

• Efforts to restrict drinking in public places.

Collaboration

A perception exists that young people, adolescents, will as a matter of routine drink alcohol - “no matter what.”

But that perception is wrong.

Remember: when the American people rejected the use of tobacco as a culturally acceptable behavior, the use of those substances declined, and the culture of acceptance shifted to disapproval.

The same change is possible with underage drinking.

In urging you to fully embrace the idea that cultural and attitudinal changes need to take place regarding underage college students and alcohol, I am well aware that you cannot and should not  try to make decisions for your students.

Neither you nor I have any desire to “take the fun out of tailgating” at the Ohio State University or any other campus.

Everyone working to reduce and prevent underage drinking and its consequences is of like mind: we want young people, students to attain all the success possible. 

We are following the evidence where it leads.  And it points the dangers of drinking for young people. 

Changing the Environment

The good news is that you can build appropriate support structures around your underage students.

How can you systematically foster a culture in which alcohol does not play a central role in college life or the college experience?

One way to start is by recognizing that that the early part of one’s freshman year is a time of increased risk for alcohol use.

YOU CAN provide appealing, alcohol-free locations (e.g., coffeehouses and food courts) where students can gather with their friends to socialize or study.

YOU CAN Identify ways to routinely expand opportunities for students to make spontaneous social choices that do not include alcohol (e.g., by providing frequent alcohol free late night events, extending hours of student centers and athletics facilities, and increasing public service opportunities).

YOU CAN offer alcohol free dormitories that promote healthy lifestyles.

YOU CAN provide easy access to information about alcohol’s effects, the risks of using alcohol, and the school’s alcohol policies.

Lastly, you can provide ready referral and access to brief motivational counseling and treatment for alcohol and mental health problems as appropriate.

I urge you to be aware…be pro-active…and be creative.

I also want you to think about some additional steps:

If you haven’t already - establish, review, and enforce rules against underage alcohol use.

Consequences should be developmentally appropriate and sufficient to ensure compliance.

This will confirm the seriousness with which your institution views underage alcohol use by its students.

Think about eliminating alcohol sponsorship of athletic events and other campus social activities, and

Restricting the sale of alcoholic beverages on campus or at campus facilities, such as football stadiums and concert halls.

I know that holding  student groups on campus, including fraternities, sororities, athletics teams, and student clubs and organizations, strictly accountable for underage alcohol use at their facilities and during functions that they sponsor is not easy.

And I know that eliminating alcohol advertising in college publications may have serious budgetary consequences

I also encourage you to educate parents, instructors, students, and administrators - about the consequences of underage drinking on college campuses, including second hand effects that range from interference with studying to being the victim of an alcohol-related assault or date rape; enlist their support in changing any culture that currently supports alcohol use by underage students.

In closing, know that the pace of cultural and environmental change is deliberate in the best of circumstances.

And the process of making the kind of change we seek may not be glamorous and is certainty difficult.

I know that working together we can do this.

We can change attitudes and the culture around underage alcohol use.

Let us work together to make it happen.

Thank you.

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Last revised: March 23, 2009