Underage Drinking Research and Related Articles

Letter to the Editor: Town Hall Meetings (4-06)
Report on Underage Drinking in the United States (4-06)
Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking (4-06)

Letter to the Editor - Proms and Graduations

On March 28th, 2006 a nationwide effort of Town Hall meetings were held that included 27 Town Hall meetings throughout Kansas. The Town Hall meetings were an effort to educate parents, our youth, and the communities on underage drinking and the consequences. The Town Hall meeting was a great avenue for people to learn the facts about underage drinking issues, express concerns, and ask questions. Proms and graduations are fast approaching and celebrations dramatically increase the likelihood of alcohol being present.

On July 1st, 2004 the Kansas hosting law, KSA 21-3610c went into effect. This law makes it illegal to permit a person’s residence, land, building, structure or room owned, occupied, or procured by such person to be used by an invitee of such person or an invitee of such person’s ward, in a manner that results in the possession or consumption therein of alcoholic liquor or cereal malt beverages by persons under the age of 18. This means that if you allow your property (residence or pastureland) or rented property (a motel room) to be used for underage drinking you can be charged with hosting the party. This is a class B misdemeanor with a minimum fine of $200.00. You could also be liable for civil or criminal actions. Hosting is not the only underage drinking law. Some others are:

furnishing alcoholic liquor or cereal malt beverage to a minor
furnishing alcoholic beverages to a minor for illicit purposes
permitting consumption or possession on the licensed premise by a minor
purchase or consumption by a minor
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs

We appreciate businesses who are vigilant in checking identifications when selling alcohol and encourage them to continue. Report to your local law enforcement anyone attempting to buy alcohol who is underage or anyone buying alcohol for someone else. If we all work together we can make a difference. It doesn’t take alcohol to celebrate.

If you would like information or training in your community on underage drinking issues or would like to start your own coalition to work together, feel free to contact me at the following address:

Joe Garman
Enforcement Coordinator
Kansas Department of Revenue
Alcoholic Beverage Control

Underage Drinking 2005: Girls Bingeing More
Nation's biggest youth drug problem stays big

Washington, DC - Binge drinking among girls is growing at a faster rate than boys, according to a new status report on underage drinking in the United States released today by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University. Underage Drinking in the United States, 2005: A Status Report summarizes the most up-to-date, relevant research and data on underage drinking. Highlights from CAMY's report include:

According to all three federal surveys, girls are binge drinking more, while boys are bingeing less or increasing their bingeing at a slower rate than their female peers.
Twelfth-grade female drinkers and binge drinkers are now more likely to drink distilled spirits than beer.
Long-term studies now show a direct link between alcohol advertising and youth drinking. Young people who see and hear more alcohol ads are more likely to drink (and in many cases drink more heavily) then their peers.
Every day, 5,400 young people under 16 take their first drink of alcohol.

"Underage drinking costs the United States more than $62 billion each year. At this crucial time when research shows that girls are binge drinking with alarming regularity, more must be done to reduce youth access to alcohol, and the appeal of alcohol to our youth," said David Jernigan, CAMY's executive director.

Youth are more likely to drink alcohol than smoke tobacco or use other illegal drugs. In the most recent national household survey, more than 7 million underage youth reported binge drinking – having five or more drinks on a single occasion – at least once in the past 30 days.

Every day three teens die from drinking and driving, and at least six more die from other alcohol-related causes, such as homicide, suicide and drowning. Heavy alcohol use in adolescence may interfere with brain development, causing loss of memory and other skills.
Underage youth continue to find alcohol easily accessible, according to federal surveys. At the same time, alcohol's appeal to young people is substantial: between 2001 and 2004, for instance, the number of television alcohol ads seen by youth ages 12 to 20 increased by more than 30 percent.

Research has found that the more difficult it is for youth to obtain alcohol, the less likely they are to drink. Policies that reduce youth access include beer keg registration, sales to minors compliance checks and penalties, and commercial and social host liability. Policies that counter the link between youth exposure to alcohol advertising and the greater likelihood of youth drinking include stronger self-regulation by alcohol companies, for instance tightening advertising placement standards to reduce the number of alcohol ads that youth will be more likely to see than adults.

"At the end of the day we know how to reduce and prevent underage drinking," said Jernigan. "What is lacking is the will to put what we know to work on behalf of our youth."

Source: http://camy.org/press/release.php?ReleaseID=34

Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking

Stephen W. Long,
Executive Officer, NIAAA, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E6–2513 Filed 2–21–06; 8:45 am

Source: http://camy.org/washington/files/sgcalltoaction.pdf

April 27, 2006
The Century Council and the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Players Association Launch Girl Talk: Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking on Capitol Hill.

Nearly half of all mothers think underage drinking is acceptable in different circumstances. Results from a recent survey, commissioned by The Century Council, a national not-for-profit organization funded by America's leading distilled spirits producers, found that mothers of teenage daughters underestimate the occurrence of underage drinking among their own daughters and misjudge the seriousness of the issue.

In cooperation with Representative Ginny Brown-Waite and Representative Hilda L. Solis, co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, The Century Council brought their latest program, Girl Talk: Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking, to Capitol Hill today. The Council developed Girl Talk and will distribute the program in partnership with the Society for Women’s Health Research, the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, and the US National Women’s Soccer Team Players Association. Girl Talk provides moms and daughters with the tools to address this gap in knowledge and understanding of the prevalence of underage drinking, much of which is based on lack of effective communication between mothers and their teenage daughters.

Significant survey findings include the following:

Mothers significantly underestimate daughter’s experience with alcohol
16% of 13-15 year old girls say they drink with friends, only 5% of their mothers think their daughters are drinking;
30% of 16-18 year old girls say they drink with friends, only 9% of their mothers think their daughters are drinking;
51% of 19-21 year old girls say they drink with friends and only 32% of their mothers thought they were drinking.

Alarmingly, mothers say underage drinking is acceptable

Nearly half (49%) of mothers of teenage girls say it is okay for their daughters to drink;
38% of mothers say it is okay for their daughters to drink on special occasions;

21% of mothers say it is okay to drink under parental supervision at home;
20% of mothers say drinking alcohol is a natural part of growing up.

“The Century Council is proud to bring our Girl Talk program to Capitol Hill today and we are proud to stand alongside the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues to fight underage drinking among our nation's girls. Our survey data shows that mothers start out viewing underage alcohol consumption as a serious problem, yet as their daughters grow older mothers switch their message from “don't do it” to “be safe”; this illustrates a disturbing misperception among moms about the seriousness of problems associated with alcohol consumption by their teenage daughters,” said Century Council Chairman, Susan Molinari.

71% of Girls Think Health Consequences Serious
“It is heartening to know that young women recognize and appreciate some of the very significant and unique health consequences associated with underage drinking, but disheartening that so many still continue to drink,” said Phyllis Greenberger, MSW, President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research. “These data allow us to teach and inform our young women with the added knowledge of understanding what will most discourage them from drinking from a health consequences perspective. The bottom line however is that it isn’t enough to know the consequences — you have to act on them and that is what we are here to help young women do.”

When asked how serious they thought health risks were for teens that drink, 71% of the girls polled stated that they believe the health risks associated with drinking are serious. Putting a finer point on their concerns, the research also uncovered “the five strongest health-consequences that would keep teens from drinking alcohol” according to survey responses of teenage girls ages 13-18. Among the health consequences they identified are the following:

Alcohol poisoning/overdose 64%
Rape 63%
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)/HIV-AIDS 52%
Unsafe/unplanned sex 52%
Harm to mental development 39%
Hangover 37%
Pregnancy 45%
Suicide 35%
Harm to physical development 27%
Vomiting 28%
Weight gain or weight loss 28%

Girl Talk: Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking
In the face of these data, The Century Council developed a new public awareness campaign entitled, Girl Talk: Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking, to improve dialogue among mothers and daughters. Released in December 2005, the campaign aims to empower mothers to initiate and sustain conversations about alcohol.

“Daughters report these conversations should continue through high school when, as the data show, underage consumption of alcohol increases. Sadly, many mothers appear not to be initiating these conversations, all of the groups represented here today are working to address that problem,” said Molinari.

Girl Talk utilizes the data gleaned from the survey including those health consequences of most concern to the girls. Girl Talk also highlights the daughters’ advice to their moms regarding talking about underage drinking.

Girls participating in the survey responded that:

Moms must be approachable, able to keep an open mind and must not lecture or overreact — “just because I am asking about alcohol does not mean I am drinking alcohol.”
Moms: Keep the conversation real and personal by telling about your own personal and real-life experiences, choices and consequences, and if you don’t want to talk about yourself, share the experiences of people you know.
Be my parent, not my friend. Share your values and set the rules and discuss the social risks of underage drinking beyond just drunk driving.

The Century Council has developed a comprehensive program tailored specifically for mothers and daughters including:

A website, www.girlsanddrinking.org, for mothers and daughters with additional information on how to have the underage drinking conversation and links to additional national and local resources related to underage drinking.
Booklets for mothers, detailing how to begin the conversation, sustain the conversation and have an impact as well as information explaining the facts about alcohol, and addressing issues such as peer pressure and creative ways to say “no” to alcohol.
A Blog, hosted by the Society for Women’s Health, for moms and daughters to discuss their experiences and connect with others on this issue. The Blog will be available very soon.

Additionally, the US Women’s National Soccer Team Players Association will partner with The Century Council on this initiative. The National Soccer Team Players Association will endorse Girl Talk through personal appearances at functions and schools, in print and online media, public service announcements and other integrated marketing initiatives. Through its official fan club alone, The Ponytail Posse, the US Women’s National Soccer Team Players Association has the potential to reach millions of girls around the world.

“Girls need to be informed of the toll that underage drinking can take not only on their health but also on their grades and reputations. The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Players Association wants all of the young girls out there who look up to soccer players as role models to know that underage drinking is wrong and it’s something they need to talk about with their mothers,” says Julie Foudy, Olympic gold medalist.

About the Surveys
The Century Council commissioned Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU) to conduct a comprehensive research project to better understand the dynamics of underage drinking among mothers and daughters. TRU fielded a study April 2005 among a national on-line sample - a total of 875 respondents (496 daughters and 379 mothers, 322 of the matching) completed the questionnaire. Quotas were set to ensure that a representative number of daughters (and mothers) from each of the following age segments completed the survey: 13-15 year olds, 16-18 year olds, and 19-20 years olds. The mother-daughter results presented here reflect the matched mother and daughter data collected. TRU conducted an additional self-administered online omnibus survey, OmnibuzzTM, among 802 13 to 18 year olds in August 2005. The data were weighted for key demographic variables (gender, age, ethnicity, parent education, region and community-type of place of school) to reflect the national population. The margin of error for both survey samples at the 95 percent confidence level is + 3 percentage points. That is, if this survey were to be replicated 100 times, in 95 instances the results would be within three percentage points of the data reported here.

Source: http://www.centurycouncil.org/press/2006/pr2006-04-27.html