Alcohol use by young people is dangerous, not only because of the risks associated with acute impairment, but also because of the threat to their long-term development and well-being.

Wrecks are perhaps the most visible of these dangers with alcohol being implicated in nearly one-third of youth traffic fatalities. These crashes are the greatest single cause of death for ages 16 to 28 years.

MADD and Newberry Drug Free County Coalition want to make everyone more aware of the dangers of impaired activity during the period of proms and graduation. The social cost of underage drinking has been estimated at $53 billion including $19 billion from wrecks and $29 billion from violent crimes. More youth drink than smoke or use illegal drugs.

Fifty-six percent of students in grades five through 12 say that alcohol advertising encourages them to drink while 2.6 million teenagers did not know you could die from overdose. Of the 20 million junior high school students in America, half drink monthly.

Although a majority of parents believe peer pressure to be the primary reason teenagers drink or use drugs, teens say being drunk feels good (79 percent); helps forget problems (67 percent); and nothing else to do (47 percent). A study of ninth-grade students from four urban schools showed that the best predictor of risky sexual activity was alcohol and/or drug use.

Approximately two-thirds of teenagers who drink report they can buy their own alcohol. Thirty-five percent of the children in the fourth grade report having been pressured by their classmates to drink. By the time they reach sixth, 49 percent have been pressured.

Alcohol and tobacco together kill more than 50 times the number of people killed by cocaine, heroin, and every other drug combined. Of the nearly 200,000 students surveyed, 33 percent said their parents often do not set clear rules, and half said they are not disciplined routinely when they break the rules.

MADD’s and DFC Coalition’s goal is to prevent some of these senseless deaths and injuries that occur, and to make parents and citizens aware of the simple precautions that can be taken to prevent their families from becoming innocent victims of alcohol-related crashes.

Tom Perry

Coordinator

Newberry Drug Free County Coalition