Acting Surgeon General Issues National Call to
Action on Underage Drinking
In its first Call to Action against underage drinking, the U.S.
Surgeon General's Office appealed today to Americans to do more
to stop America's 11 million current underage drinkers from using
alcohol, and to keep other young people from starting.
Acting Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., laid out
recommendations for government and school officials, parents, other
adults and the young people.
"Too many Americans consider underage drinking a rite of passage
to adulthood," said Dr. Moritsugu. "Research shows that
young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times
more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life. New
research also indicates that alcohol may harm the developing adolescent
brain. The availability of this research provides more reasons than
ever before for parents and other adults to protect the health and
safety of our nation's children."
Although there has been a significant decline in tobacco and illicit
drug use among teens, underage drinking has remained at consistently
high levels. The 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates
there are 11 million underage drinkers in the United States. Nearly
7.2 million are considered binge drinkers, typically meaning they
drank more than five drinks on occasion, and more than two million
are classified as heavy drinkers.
Developed in collaboration with the National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Call to Action identifies
six goals:
- Foster changes in society that facilitate healthy adolescent
development and that help prevent and reduce underage drinking.
- Engage parents, schools, communities, all levels of government,
all social systems that interface with youth, and youth themselves
in a coordinated national effort to prevent and reduce underage
drinking and its consequences.
- Promote an understanding of underage alcohol consumption in
the context of human development and maturation that takes into
account individual adolescent characteristics as well as environmental,
ethnic, cultural, and gender differences.
- Conduct additional research on adolescent alcohol use and its
relationship to development.
- Work to improve public health surveillance on underage drinking
and on population-based risk factors for this behavior.
- Work to ensure that policies at all levels are consistent with
the national goal of preventing and reducing underage alcohol
consumption.
"Alcohol remains the most heavily abused substance by America's
youth," said Dr. Moritsugu. "This Call to Action is attempting
to change the culture and attitudes toward drinking in America.
We can no longer ignore what alcohol is doing to our children."
Copies of The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce
Underage Drinking and other related materials are available at www.surgeongeneral.gov
or by calling the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information
at 1-800-729-6686.
"Acting Surgeon General Issues National Call to Action on
Underage Drinking
", March 6, 2007
Contact: HHS Press Office, (202) 690-6343
http://www.hhs.gov
<http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2007pres/20070306.html>
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