The Tragedy of Alcohol Use by Young People
The month of April is designated
Alcohol Awareness Month as founded by The National Council on Alcohol and Drug
Dependence (NCADD) in 1987.
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Since the beginning years of this
month-long event, many other organizations have joined with NCADD in a
collaborative effort to stem the tide of underage drinking, and adult alcohol
abuse, through preventative education and awareness events; to bring about
further awareness of this most serious and pressing problem within our nation.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
The National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism (NIAA), Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD), the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors
(NAADAC), and many other organizations have joined in this effort over the past
27 years to bring about awareness and prevention of the use of alcohol by
youth, and abuse of alcohol by adults.Alcohol Awareness Month.
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Alcohol Awareness Month empathizes, in
the words of the founders, "Increased public awareness and understanding,
to reduce stigma, and encourages local communities to focus on alcohol use,
alcohol abuse, and alcoholism and alcohol related issues." This year,
above all other past year's events, "highlights the important public
health issue of underage drinking, a problem with devastating individual,
family, and community consequences."
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We have learned over the years that
Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous, both to themselves and our
communities. It is directly associated with traffic deaths, suicide, other
directed violent acts, school failure and dropouts, alcohol overdose (alcohol
poisoning), unsafe sexual practices, and behavioral problems. Highway
statistics tell us that annually over 6,500 individuals under the age of 21 die
from alcohol-related accidents and many thousands are injured.
Read more at http://www.valleymorningstar.com/life/article_e0ff8d88-c1da-11e3-a0e1-0017a43b2370.html
Talk to you kids and younger friends and let them know that while most of the adult world still takes a drink now and then, we are trying to avoid the binge drinking or over indulging. There is plenty of time after you are 21 to experiment with liquors, wait until you are not surrounded by so much peer pressure to be stupid. ;o)
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