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Standing Tall Against Alcohol
What You Need to Know to Keep Your Preteen Safe
By Gwen Morrison
A report released by the American Medical Association (AMA) dispels the myth that our youth are more resilient than adults to the adverse effects of alcohol on the brain. "Underage drinkers are at higher risk than adults," says Dr. J. Edward Hill, chairman of the AMA. "Actually the opposite is true. The effects are long-term and often permanent."
The report, Harmful Consequences of Alcohol Use on the Brains of Children, Adolescents, and College Students, is a comprehensive compilation of 20 years of research on how alcohol alters the developing brain and causes possible irreversible damage.
It may be surprising to some to learn that, on average, children are now experimenting with alcohol for the first time as young as 12 years old. "Nearly 20 percent of 12- to 20-year-olds report being binge drinkers," says Dr. Hill. (Binge drinking is considered to be having four to five drinks in a row.) "It's not just kids being kids anymore – it's a public health crisis."
Dr. Richard Yoast, AMA's director of the office of alcohol and other drug abuse, says that 80 percent of students have consumed more than a few sips of alcohol by the time they finish high school. "Among youth 12 to 20, an estimated 10.1 million used alcohol," he says. "Of these, 6.8 million were binge drinkers and 2.1 million were heavy drinkers."
Dr. Yoast continues to illustrate the seriousness of the situation by pointing out that alcohol use among young people increased from 2000 to 2001, and the number of deaths due to drinking and driving increased. "Although there hadn't been much change in recent years, this upturn is cause for concern," he says. "Furthermore, the age at which youth first drink has steadily declined since 1965 – it's now about 12 – and the numbers who first drink, ages 12 to 17, has significantly increased from 2.2 million in 1995 to 3.1 million in 2000."
Dr. Yoast feels that we, as a nation, have paid little attention to the seriousness of underage drinking. "There have been no national media campaigns since the 1980s," he says. "We treat alcohol as only one among many drugs in prevention, although it is the most widely used drug by our youth. Many parents let underage drinking slip by as a 'normal' part of growing up. Meanwhile, alcohol advertising targeting youth has greatly increased."