Century Council Blog
Underage drinking linked to future alcohol abuse
An article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution highlights a recent study linking underage drinking to a greater propensity towards future alcohol abuse, especially among those already pre-disposed towards alcohol dependency.
With our Ask. Listen. Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix program, we seek to start a conversation among middle-school students, with each other and with their parents, about the dangers of underage drinking. We also emphasize that this is a dialogue that must extend through high school and on to college.
The Century Council has long believed that parents wield the power to influence their kids to say “yes” to a healthy lifestyle and “no” to underage drinking.
Check out our Ask Listen Learn website for tips on talking with kids about alcohol.
Dr. Wolf: How much should I protect my teen when he screws up?
It's tough not to come to your teen's defence. But you both need to learn that you won't always be there
Alex's mother is at work when she gets the call.
"Mrs. Crestman?"
"Yes?"
"This is Charles Neely, assistant principal at the high school. You are going to have come down to the school and pick up Alex. He has been suspended for the day for fighting with another student."
When she retrieves her teenager, this is the story as described by the school: A teacher on hall duty saw Alex give a hard push to another boy, causing the boy to lose his balance and fall. The other boy said it was unprovoked. Alex would also be suspended for the following day - the automatic penalty for any fighting in school.
Pride survey shows signifcant decline in underage drinking
Similar to other national surveys that track underage drinking, the 2008-09 Pride survey shows significant decreases in drinking among America’s youth.
The annual survey of students in grades 6 to 12 released this month reported one-, five-, and ten-year declines in alcohol consumption among middle school students. Most notable is the significant decline in past year alcohol consumption among students in grades 6 to 8 since the 2003 introduction of The Century Council’s Ask, Listen, Learn program, designed to educate middle school students and their parents about the dangers of underage drinking.
Nearly one in four middle school students (27%) reported consuming alcohol in the past year during the 2008-09 school year, a 22% decrease over the past six years from 34%. Additionally, 65% of middle school students reported that their parents talked to them about the “problems of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use” in the past year.
While The Century Council cannot claim to be the sole influence in these reductions, it is likely The Century Council and it’s Ask, Listen, Learn initiative played a significant role.
New Insurance Institute for Highway Safety poll shows support for advanced technologies to stop drunk driving
Information released from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety today indicate most Americans support the use of advanced technologies that would prevent drivers from starting their vehicles if they were at or above the legal limit.
The Century Council, funded by distillers to fight drunk driving and underage drinking, has long supported the exploration of these advanced technologies if they are moderately priced, absolutely reliable, set at the .08 legal BAC limit, and unobtrusive to the sober driver. In fact, The Century Council’s recent research on public acceptance of advanced technologies to prevent drunk driving also reflects strong support (63%) among Americans for these innovative solutions as a means to eliminate drunk driving.
As the Federal Government and auto manufacturers work toward the development of affordable, reliable solutions that are set at the legal limit, The Century Council continues to strongly support countermeasures that will prevent drunk driving and in particular stop hardcore drunk driving. Hardcore drunk drivers are those who drive with a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15 or above, who do so repeatedly, as demonstrated by having more than one drunk driving arrest, and who are highly resistant to changing their behavior despite previous sanctions, treatment, or education efforts. These hardcore drunk drivers account for the majority of alcohol-impaired fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2007, drivers with a BAC of .15 or above and who have a prior DWI conviction accounted for 77 percent of the alcohol-impaired fatal crashes nationally.
Advanced technology holds tremendous promise for stopping drunk driving. However, it will be a long time before every driver in this country owns or drives a car equipped with the new technology. In the meantime, The Century Council supports comprehensive solutions to the hardcore drunk driving problem that exists in every community across the nation. Among this hard-to-reach population, behavioral change is and for many years will be a critical component to America’s drunk driving countermeasures. The Century Council strongly believes actions must also be taken to stop hardcore drunk driving including swift identification, effective punishment that includes mandatory ignition interlock use, effective treatment with intensive supervision and monitoring, and the expansion of DWI courts. Education for America’s criminal justice professionals is also essential to our nation’s efforts.
Long-term behavior change is essential to our nation’s efforts to fight drunk driving. The Century Council and its criminal justice partners are seeking to improve DWI adjudication and have made recommendations to the United States Congress for the reauthorization of the highway bill. For more information on our Congressional recommendations, visit www.centurycouncil.org.
Brandon Tells His Story in St. Louis
This morning, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster worked with us to bring Brandon Silveria's life-saving message about the dangers of drunk driving and underage drinking to Missouri students. Brandon and his father Tony spoke to students of Clayton High School in St. Louis about the importance of "making the right choice" about alcohol – which means saying NO if you’re underage.
"In 2008, 1,697 youth aged 12-20 were killed in alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities across the country," said Attorney General Koster. "It is important we continue in our efforts to stop drunk driving and underage drinking. We must do more to keep our nation’s roadways safe and alcohol-free. I am proud to have Brandon and Tony Silveria with us today to communicate their life-saving message."
Check out the pictures from the event below!
The Century Council Chairman Susan Molinari applauds underage drinking decline
The recent release of the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration shows that although underage drinking remains a persistent problem among youth, there are strong indications that efforts to fight underage drinking are working.
According to the newly released survey, about 10.1 million Americans between ages 12-20 report current alcohol consumption. This represents 26 percent of this age group for whom alcohol is illegal. The rates of past month alcohol consumption by those aged 12-20 all declined from the previous year. In 2008, 26.4 percent of 12-20 year olds reported drinking alcohol in the past month – a decrease of 5 percent, while 17.4 percent reported that they participated in binge drinking – a decrease of 6.5 percent. Additionally, 5.5 percent of 12-20 year olds used alcohol heavily in the past month, defined as binge drinking five or more days in the past month – a decrease of 8.3 percent. All of these figures represent the largest single year decrease for each respective category.
While the decreases are a positive sign, there is still much more work to do. One such area is among students in college drinking, where the pattern of higher rates of consumption among full-time college students (18-22 year olds) has remained relatively unchanged since 2002.
The Century Council will continue its comprehensive efforts to ensure that underage drinking continues to decline.