Transcript What is the Problem?
Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free
• Address the issues surrounding childhood and underage drinking.
• 34 Governor’s spouses • 11 Emeritus Governor’s spouses
When Children Drink…
• ALCOHOL is the #1 drug of choice with kids.
• Each year, five times as many teens die from alcohol overdose as from any other drug, legal or illegal.
America Loses…
• In a survey of 18 to 24 year old current drinkers who failed to complete high school, nearly 60% had begun to drink before age 16.
When Children in Idaho Drink…
• 17% of 6 th graders and 38% of 8 th graders report some alcohol use.
• By 12 th grade that figure is 63%, with 23% of students reporting moderate or heavy use of alcohol.
2002 Idaho School Climate Survey
When Children in Idaho Drink…
Overall, fewer of our kids are using alcohol than they were in 1996.
• But…the numbers of 6 th grade students who have used alcohol has jumped from
13.9%
in 2000 to
17.2%
in 2002.
When Children in Idaho Drink…
• The average age of beginning to drink in Idaho is now
12.9
years old.
When Children in Idaho Drink…
• About 1/3 rd of high school seniors reported having engaged in binge drinking within the previous 30 days.
• Binge drinking refers to consuming 5 or more drinks at a single sitting.
When Children in Idaho Drink…
Binge Drinking Episodes in the Past 30 Days, by Grade, YRBS, 2001
6 4 2 0 12 10 8 1 day 2 days 3-5 days 6-9 days 10 days 9th grade 10th grade 11th grade 12th grade
When Children in Idaho Drink…
• Our numbers of kids using drugs has jumped from 5.7 to 7.0% of 6 th graders • And from 28.1% to 34.9% of 10 th graders.
When Children Drink…
• Studies support that alcohol is still the preferred drug of choice for teens and a “gateway” drug to other illegal drugs
How Entrenched Is The Problem?
Major changes have occurred in the advertising field with regard to brand marketing • before the age of 15 will develop alcohol marketed previously.
How Entrenched Is The Problem?
Major changes have occurred in the • marketing addicted for life within 6 to 18 months – 3 times faster than adult drinkers. These changes reflect a noticeable (Partnership for Drug Free Communities) difference in how alcohol had been marketed previously.
How Entrenched is the Problem?
• Delaying alcohol use from age 15 to 21 decreases the risk of alcohol problems by 70%.
How Entrenched is the Problem?
• The annual cost of underage drinking in the U.S. is $58 billion – almost equal to the Department of Education’s budget for 2003
Alcohol Consequences
• Young drinkers are four times as likely to become alcoholics as those who wait until 21 to drink. • In addition, those who begin drinking before age 14 are 12 times more likely to be injured after drinking
Alcohol Consequences
• 7 times more likely to be in a motor vehicle crash • And 11 times more likely to be in a physical fight.
Alcohol Consequences
• Among 12 to 17 year old current drinkers, 31% had extreme levels of psychological distress • 39% exhibited serious behavioral problems.
• 28% of the suicides by children ages 9 to 15 could be attributed to alcohol.
Alcohol and the Developing Brain
• Our brain is not fully developed at birth.
• It develops in stages on a schedule.
Plasticity = Potential for “encoding” or “programming”
Is our brain’s capacity or ability to change in response to experience.
Is necessary in order for our brain to develop itself.
Makes it possible for our brain to build skills and knowledge and recall them for our use .
Alcohol and the Developing Brain
It takes a minimum of 21 years for the human brain to: Encode…program… wire…connect and develop it’s basic capacities.
Birth 5 years 15 years 20 years The brain is at risk throughout development, but it is at INCREASED RISK in the womb, first 5 years and during adolescence.
During adolescence the plasticity of the frontal lobe increases.
Judgment Memory Planning Problem Solving Impulse Inhibition Concentration
Alcohol Disrupts Plasticity
• Impacting the brain’s basic encoding…programming…wiring process.
• Alcohol impairs learning.
• Alcohol impairs memory.
• Alcohol impairs development.
During adolescence the plasticity of the hippocampus increases.
Formation of new Memories …facts, figures, names experiences
Alcohol Turns Off the Brain
• The brain is the part of a preteen or teen’s body most severely affected by alcohol.
Alcohol Turns Off the Brain
30 20 10 0 70 60 50 40 A B C Average Mark (grade) D or less Non drinkers Current drinkers Binge drinkers
Alcohol Turns Off the Brain
• AMA reports explain that the brain goes through dynamic change during adolescence, and alcohol can seriously damage both long and short term growth processes.
Alcohol Turns Off the Brain
• Even short-term or moderate drinking impairs learning and memory far more in youth than adults.
• Adolescents need only drink half as much to suffer the same negative effects.
Alcohol Turns Off the Brain
• A University of Pittsburgh study showed that MRI scans of youth who drank heavily had a 10% shrinkage of their brains.
• And it doesn’t rebound.
Parents and Teens
A national study shows that a wide gap exists between parents' perceptions of their teens' drinking habits and those habits reported by teens themselves.
• The largest gap is between 15-to 16-year olds and their parents.
Parents and Teens
Only
31%
of parents of teens in this group say that their teen probably or definitely has consumed an alcoholic beverage in the last year, as compared with
60%
of teens in this age group who report having done this.
Why is There a Problem?
• Social acceptance of alcohol as a “rite of passage.” • Lack of knowledge about the effects of alcohol on children.
• Ready availability of alcohol, even to children.
• Lack of adequate enforcement of existing laws.
• Alcohol marketing with an appeal to youth.
Advertising, Alcohol and Youth
• Young people ages 12-20 saw more television advertising for beer and ale in 2001 than for fruit juices and fruit-flavored drinks; gum; skin care products; cookies and crackers; chips, nuts, popcorn and pretzels; sneakers; non-carbonated soft drinks; or sportswear jeans.
Advertising, Alcohol and Youth
• In 2001, alcohol advertising on television reached
89%
of young people
12-20
, who saw an average of
245
alcohol ads each.
Advertising, Alcohol and Youth
• The
30%
of young people ages
12-20
who were most likely to see alcohol advertising on television saw at least
780
alcohol TV ads in 2001.
Changes in Advertising
• Major changes have occurred in the advertising field with regard to brand marketing since the early 1980’s.
• These changes reflect a noticeable difference in how alcohol had been marketed previously.
Ads Then . . .
Magazine:
LOOK
Date:
April 4, 1967
Page 46
Advertising, Alcohol and Youth
• DISCUS code – To help ensure that individuals in beverage alcohol ads are and appear to be above the legal purchase age, models and actors employed should be a minimum of 25 years old.
Good News
• 83% of our 6 th graders and 62% of our 10 th graders DO NOT drink.
How Do We Help?
• • • • • Kids want us to help and to stay involved in their lives.
Educate yourself to challenges the kids face.
Teach them decision making skills.
Talk to your kids.
Listen to your kids.
How Do We Help?
• In their youngest years, we can control their environment, values and role models.
• As they grow older, set boundaries and enforce them with consistency and appropriate consequences.
How Do We Help?
• • • • Supervise your teens.
Trust…then verify!
Set the example Do not encourage experimentation to “prepare” them for future drinking
How Do We Help?
• Support all parents to host alcohol free parties.
• Work in your communities to make alcohol difficult or impossible for youth to obtain.
• Help to build community assets that steer kids away from alcohol and drugs.
Remember
• • • • There is no such thing as responsible
Remember —
Underage drinking is against the law
Alcohol is
It harms our children, families and
not a kid’s drink
ALCOHOL IS NOT A KID’S DRINK!