alcohol

In 2016, the US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, MD released the first report dedicated to substance misuse and related disorders entitled, Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health. “Although substance misuse problems and use disorders may occur at any age, adolescence and young adulthood are particularly critical at-risk periods,” Dr. Murthy said.

“Preventing or even simply delaying young people from trying substances is important to reducing the likelihood of a use disorder later in life.” He went on to point out that people who use alcohol before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop an alcohol use disorder later in life compared to those who have their first drink
at age 20 or older. It is not surprising to find that teens who use alcohol are more likely to engage in risky behaviors. Using alcohol or other drugs can lower a teen’s inhibitions and impact their judgement by influencing their ability to assess that a situation is dangerous or even deadly.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s, Division of Adolescent and School Health collects data every year for their Youth Risk Surveillance System which monitors six categories of priority health-risk among adolescents at the national, state, territorial, tribal, and local levels. Their 2016 data showed that 22% of teens who are already sexually active, drank alcohol or used drugs before engaging in sexual intercourse which in turn put the teens at risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Using alcohol or other drugs can lead to serious problems for teens including poor performance at school, loss of friends and becoming alienated from their family. Substance abuse is also related to car crashes, suicides and injuries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 2010 excessive drinking was responsible for more than 4,300 deaths among underage youth and there were approximately 189,000 emergency department visits by persons under 21 for injuries and other conditions linked to alcohol.

Source: Patricia Murphy Warble, LMSW, CPP, Parenting for Prevention June 2017

As a parent, it is important to understand your role in protecting children from the problems associated with underage drinking, and the laws related to this issue.  Underage alcohol use is a serious issue impacting communities across New York State, including the Village of Irvington. Adults play a role when they sell of serve alcohol to youth under the age of 21, when they host parties where young people are drinking, and when they condone underage alcohol use.

Every community member should be concerned about alcohol use by youth under 21 because it is associated with the three most common causes of teenage deaths: accidental deaths, homicides and suicides. In addition, high levels of alcohol use are associated with unplanned or unprotected sexual activity among adolescents, posting increased risk for teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Alcohol use and higher levels of use among adolescents is associated with poor grades, absenteeism and higher school drop-out rates. In addition, children who start drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who  begin drinking at age 21.

The enforcement of the underage drinking laws requires an awareness and commitment from parents, schools, communities, clergy, healthcare and law enforcement professionals. The health and safety of our children, families and communities can not be compromised due to the devastating, and often fatal consequences of underage drinking. Everyone can play a role in reducing the use of alcohol in youth under 21.

Learn more about how you can make a difference as well as laws addressing underage drinking.

My ex-husband was alcoholic, should I be concerned about my kids?

When there is addiction in the family, everyone is effected, and it is important to understand how each family member may be coping with unhealthy family behaviors. In addition, children of alcohol or drug addicted parents are in the highest risk group of all children to become alcohol and drug abusers themselves due to both genetic and family environment factors. So, it’s important to become educated on addiction and codependency, and to talk with children honestly about the dangers of alcohol and drugs and their own risk factors.

Learn more.