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(9:48) Dr. Robert Gold, Dean of the School of Public Health, just gave his opening remarks. He said that the current approach to alcohol in our society leads to "absolutely ridiculous and painful" situations, especially as the laws vary from state to state. For example, in the state of Missouri, a person under the age of 21 can be arrested for possession of alcohol for taking out the trash if it contains an empty container of alcohol.
One of the more interesting points during Dean Gold's introduction was his thoughts on the complexity of the issue. While we know that underage people are drinking and that drinking can lead to dangerous behaviors (accidents, sexual behavior, etc.), you don't often hear about the underage people that consume alcohol in a safe and responsible manner.
It's an issue that requires more than just a change of law, but a comprehensive change in society's approach to dealing with alcohol and young people. Research is being done by many within the School of Public Health from a variety of perspectives, from research into dangerous behavior patterns by those within the Dept of Public and Community Health to how alcohol consumption affects family life by the Dept of Family Science.
Eric Wish of CESAR is speaking now. Back with more soon...
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All these statistics are available from CESAR in their studies and research, so for more information, visit their Web site.
What I just learned...
- Students are starting young: About half of 12th grade alcohol users began drinking by age 15, and the earlier that they began drinking, the more likely they were to have engaged in problem alcohol and other drug behaviors (driving, binge drinking, etc.). Early starters are also more likely to develop a dependency later in life.
- Drinking and Driving is a Significant Problem: About 22% of all high school drinkers have engaged in drinking and driving, and binge drinkers are 2 to 4 times more likely than non-bingers to drink and drive (as well as use tobacco or other drugs).
- Your Drinking Patters Don't Change: Most college students who use alcohol, cigarettes or other drugs started using before college, and most students maintain similar drinking patterns through college (whether light, moderate, or heavy).
- Abuse Goes Up: What's more, while alcohol dependence stays roughly the same throughout college, the percentage of students who abuse alcohol doubles from 18 to 22, leading to almost half of students either abusing or being dependent on alcohol by age 21.
- College Makes a Difference: Young people (ages 18-22) who are full time university students are at a greater risk of being heavy drinkers than other people of the same age.
- Risky Behaviors: The 24% of the students labeled as heavy drinkers in the College Life Study (on which many of the above statistics were based) were responsible for an alarmingly high rate of the dangerous behaviors. These include 46% of the arrests, 46% of the emergency room visits, and 36% of academic dismissals.
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(11:53) James C. Fell, M.S., is the Senior Program Director of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, and provided some more startling statistics on the implications of the current drinking age (by the way, if you're a fan of startling statistics, then this Alcohol Summit is right up your alley).
Fell gave an effective argument against lowering the drinking age to 18 or otherwise, first by giving a history of the MLDA law (Minimum Legal Drinking Age). After the the law passed in 1984, the nation saw a reduction in both alcohol consumption and drunk-driving crashes. Notably, when controlling for other factors, one study found an 11.2% decrease in underage drinking drivers involved in fatal crashes, and overall, 900 lives are estimated to be saved per year by MLDA laws.
Fell also sought to debunk some of the conventional wisdom and arguments surrounding MLDA laws. The myth that Europeans countries have less problems with alcohol (because they are introduced to it earlier) is false, as European countries with lower drinking ages experience higher rates of youth intoxication and heavy episodic drinking. He argued against the "if they can vote, they can drink" argument by saying that there are many ages of initiation in life (e.g., you have to be 25 to rent a car). He also argued against the notion that a lower drinking age will allow people to learn responsible drinking out in the open, noting that 79% of licensed establishments have sold alcohol to obviously intoxicated people.
Suffice to say, Fell does not believe that lowering the drinking age would have a positive effective on the health and safety of young people, and put forth other ideas that he believes could reduce binge drinking among young people. Foremost among them is reducing the social acceptability of binge drinking by giving more authority to law enforcement to crack down on the problem. Only 26 states require keg registration, and only 37 states require that young people convicted of alcohol related crimes lose their driver's license. Fell argued that these laws have proven to be more effective and should be expanded to other states.
What I've learned this morning is that the challenges presented by underage drinking are complex, and there's really no easy way to solve them. These problems are serious; drinking and driving, alcohol poisoning, and other risky behaviors are preventable, and while many may disagree on the best way to prevent these problems, all agree that we must take an earnest and comprehensive look at how we approach these issues.
I'm closing the open thread now, but the Summit will continue until 3:30 this afternoon. In particular, Robin Sawyer, Professor in the Department of Public and Community Health, wil be presenting on the "Effects of Alcohol on College Student Sexual Behavior" at 1:30 p.m.
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A quick note: thanks to Daniel Kessler for the pictures in this post. That's me, in the red shirt, blogging.
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