Underage Drinking: Why It's Important to Prevent It.
According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 29% of high school students consumed alcohol in the last 30 days. However, in Southwest Connecticut, up to 50% of teens reported alcohol use in the last 30 days.
Why It's Important to Prevent Underage Drinking
Research shows people who start drinking before the age of 15 are 5.6 times more likely to meet the criteria for alcohol dependence at some point in their lives.
According to the CDC, youth who drink alcohol are more likely to experience:
School problems, such as higher rates of absences or lower grades.
Social problems, such as fighting or lack of participation in youth activities.
Legal problems, such as arrest for driving or physically hurting someone while drunk.
Physical problems, such as hangovers or illnesses.
Unwanted, unplanned, and unprotected sexual activity.
Disruption of normal growth or sexual development.
Physical and sexual violence.
Increased risk of suicide and homicide.
Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes and other unintentional injuries, such as burns, falls, or drowning.
Memory problems.
Misuse of other substances.
Changes in brain development that may have life-long effects.
Alcohol poisoning.
Prevention Starts at Home
A parent's attitude towards drinking plays a big role in preventing underage drinking. Research has found those
"whose parents let them drink before they reach the legal age of 21 are, on average, more likely to drink in riskier ways and experience future alcohol-related problems than kids whose parents do not permit any underage drinking."
So how should you talk to your kids about alcohol? Start young and talk often through the years. Instead of having a big talk at some point, have small conversations; they're much less intimidating. Here are some tips to guide the conversation. Here is another guide from Partnership to End Addiction:
As parents, your number one priority is keeping your child safe. When it comes to underage drinking, you may think the safest option is to allow your teen and their friends a safe, supervised place to taste beer for the first time by allowing them to drink in your home. While your intentions may be good, allowing your child to drink in your home could not only lead to drivers license suspensions or the reporting of the incident on your child's transcript or school record, it may also land you in jail. Read the full blog.
The "Our Darien" campaign was designed and released by The Community Fund of Darien in partnership with the Thriving Youth Task Force. This public health initiative is designed to point a laser focus on the hard science of how detrimental teen alcohol abuse really is, and to offer proven tactics towards healthier attitudes and behaviors.
Let’s #MentionPrevention was launched to assist retailers and guardians to keep alcohol out of the hands of minors. It began as a partnership between Milford Prevention Council, Southington’s Town-wide Effort to Promote Success (STEPS), Stratford Partnership for Youth and Families, TPAUD – Trumbull’s Prevention Partnership, and Wolcott Citizens Against Substance Abuse (CASA) Coalition, and has grown to include many other communities across the state including Fairfield, Milford and Greenwich. The towns partnered with local restaurants and liquor establishments to encourage staff to #MentionPrevention when offering to-go alcohol purchases in store, curbside, or delivery. Learn more.
Announcements
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Saturday, April 24th
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
ONDCP Policy Statement on Priorities for Year One of the Biden-Harris Administration
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released its statement of drug policy priorities for the first year of the Biden-Harris Administration. These priorities will save lives and address the multifaceted challenges presented by the opioid and stimulant epidemics. ONDCP’s policy priorities are:
Expanding access to evidence-based treatment;
Advancing racial equity issues in our approach to drug policy;
Enhancing evidence-based harm reduction efforts;
Supporting evidence-based prevention efforts to reduce youth substance use;
Reducing the supply of illicit substances;
Advancing recovery-ready workplaces and expanding the addiction workforce; and
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