Underage drinking is a community issue that needs a community solution

By: Lauren Barnes Northeast Texas Coalition Against Substance Abuse

Underage drinking is a widespread and persistent public health and safety problem in the United States. It causes serious personal, social and economic consequences for youth, their families, local community and the Nation. Alcohol is the drug of choice among America’s youth, used by more young people than tobacco or illicit drugs. The local data reinforces that there is a serious issue in our community. In East Texas, 50 percent of teens have drank alcohol in their lifetime and one in three teens have drank in the past 30 days, according to the 2014 Texas School Survey. What’s more shocking is that of the students who have drank alcohol in the past 30 days, 86 percent of them report that they are binge drinking, drinking five or more drinks of alcohol at a time, according to the TSS. Underage youth who engage in binge drinking are approximately 11 times more likely than other underage drinkers to engage in additional risky behaviors, such as tobacco and other drug use, physical violence, and unsafe sexual behaviors, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services administration. Another shocking point is that the average age of first use of alcohol in East Texas is 12.9 years old. This means that 38 percent of East Texas kids began drinking alcohol before the age of 13. Research shows that children who begin drinking at age 13 have a 45 percent chance of becoming alcohol- dependent. A person who starts drinking at the legal age of 21 only has a seven percent chance of becoming addicted, according to SAMHSA. The brain doesn’t finish developing until the midtwenties and exposing the developing brain to alcohol has serious effects on memory, learning and personality development. In addition to the personal consequences of underage drinking, there are negative community effects as well. In 2013, underage drinking cost citizens of the United States $5.5 billion. Some of the specific problems associated with underage drinking include homicide, suicide, violent crime, property crime, high-risk sex, fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol poisoning and the need for alcohol treatment. Each of these problems has a financial cost. These are just a few of the consequences of underage drinking, but they show the severity of the issue and how we must work together, as the strong community that we are, to prevent underage drinking in Daingerfield. Our coalition, the Northeast Texas Coalition Against Substance Abuse, works to make changes at the environmental level to create safer community in Dangerfield and decrease the chance for underage drinking, but we can’t do it alone. Preventing underage drinking needs to start in the home. Teens report that their parents are the number one influence on their decision about alcohol. Although their friends and the media also play a role, studies consistently show that parents are the key, and kids pay attention to what they say and do. Opportunities and pressure to drink are constant in their young lives. The most important steps parents can take are to have early, consistent conversations with about alcohol, lock up their alcohol, never provide it to minors, continue guiding healthy choices with your teens and college students and give them the facts about the consequences. Outside of the home, we must work together to make it less likely that minors will have access to alcohol. Never serve a minor alcohol and hold other adults accountable as well. Business owners that serve or sell alcohol need to make sure their staff is properly trained on how to check id’s, what to look for in a fake id and ensuring they don’t sell alcohol to minors. To continue reading this article, purchase the January 7th edition of the Steel Country Bee, or go to our online e-edition at: http://www.etypeservices.com/Daingerfield%20BeeID312/default.aspx