Posted on 02/26/2002 1:06:45 PM PST by Stand Watch Listen
(CNSNews.com) - A group that advocates federal regulation of the alcohol industry says underage drinking has reached "epidemic proportions" in America, with teens drinking 25 percent of all alcohol consumed in this country. But the alcohol industry was quick to condemn the report's findings as "flat-out wrong."
In a report released Tuesday ("Teen Tipplers: America's Underage Drinking Epidemic"), the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University said that 31 percent of high school students - more than 5 million of them -- go on drinking binges at least once a month.
"Parents are too often unwitting co-conspirators who tend to see drinking and occasional bingeing as a rite of passage," said Joseph Califano, the president of the National Center on Addiction and Drug Abuse (CASA).
The CASA report is based on data from various drug-abuse surveys. It also includes a survey of 900 adults, 74 percent of whom said they support restrictions on alcohol advertising. Another 76 percent of those polled said parents should be held legally responsible for their children's underage drinking. And 54 percent said they support a tax hike on alcohol.
The National Center on Addiction and Drug Abuse also supports the restrictions mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
"Alcohol is far and away the top drug of abuse for American kids" said Susan Foster, the CASA vice president. "The college binge drinking problem starts with children and teens, and that's where our prevention and education efforts must be focused," she said.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University says it wants the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to include alcohol in its anti-drug media campaigns.
'Blatantly flawed'
The Distilled Spirits Council on Tuesday challenged the CASA report as "blatantly flawed.
"Under CASA's flawed interpretation, each American teenager and young adult who illegally drinks alcohol would have to consume 120 drinks per month, a massive error in fact and the wrong conclusion," said DSC Senior Vice President Frank Coleman.
The DSC says CASA made a "major error" in interpreting the data. That's dangerous, said Coleman, "because it could lead [underage kids] to believe their peers are drinking more and thus to emulate them."
According to Coleman, CASA has a habit of misinterpreting data. "Former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala sharply criticized CASA in 1994 for similarly misstating data," he said.
Coleman wanted to make his point very clear: "We decry any under-21 alcohol consumption," he said. "In fact, he said the distilled spirits industry has led the fight against underage drinking, spending over $120 million in the last ten years on what he called "real programs to help stop underage drinking."
Familiar ring
Some of the findings contained in CASA's underage drinking report have a familiar ring to them. They echo criticisms of the tobacco industry, which settled a huge lawsuit with the states in 1998.
For instance, the CASA underage drinking report notes that most heavy drinkers and problem drinkers began drinking before the age of 21. That makes underage drinking "the key to the profitability of the alcohol industry," the CASA report claims.
Tobacco foes also accused the tobacco industry of trying to hook children on cigarettes to ensure future profits.
According to the underage drinking report, "Alcohol advertising often uses images that appeal to kids (e.g., Budweiser's talking lizards, Budweiser's Spuds MacKenzie dog)." Likewise, the tobacco industry was blasted for using Joe Camel to lure kids.
The Columbia report noted, "41 percent of teens have tried a new breed of sweet-tasting, colorfully packaged alcoholic beverages (e.g., Tequiza, Smirnoff Ice, Skyy Blue)." Likewise, anti-smoking groups have viewed with alarm the appearance of flavored "bidi" cigarettes, although those cigarettes are not produced by major tobacco manufacturers.
The CASA report recommended the creation of an "independent foundation financed by the alcohol industry to campaign against underage drinking." The tobacco settlement produced something similar to spread the message about underage smoking.
According to Joseph Califano, the CASA report "is a clarion call for a national mobilization to curb underage drinking."
According to the DSC's Frank Coleman, the report is the work of "shameless self-promoters" and "serial statistics abusers" who did not adjust their research data for oversampling.
There is no way in hell that every single high school kid averages 120 drinks per month.
This basically proves to me that they are born liars, and I wouldn't trust their word as far as I could throw them.
Let teenagers have some fun, anyway. Alcohol is no big deal, and nothing to get so uptight over. Sheesh!
Like the lady says in the song,
Who wants to look back on their years and wonder,
Where those years have gone...
Or something along those lines. There was a thread about this the other day-- The Sober Student-- some college kid getting up and pretty much rubbing it in the face about how he does the goody-goody and abstains. And feels superior about not going out and getting hammered like his comrades. Well good for him. Whatever floats his little boat. Some of us know the difference between moderate drinking and getting hammered. (Some of us choose to ignore it. ;)
Are you sure it wasn't only 9? 9 Coronas?
How often have I heard THAT one, hahaha...
For instance, the CASA underage drinking report notes that most heavy drinkers and problem drinkers began drinking before the age of 21. That makes underage drinking "the key to the profitability of the alcohol industry," the CASA report claims.
THERE IT IS!!!!! THAT'S WHATS UP!!! THE NEXT INDUSTRY TO BE ATTACKED! It's all soooo clear to me now....
Mortality among 16- and 17-year-old criminals is significant, though the number of deaths is much higher if one includes "teenagers" [anyone under 20] or if one defines "children" to include anyone the nanny state considers too young to drink or own a handgun.
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