Help Prevent Underage Drinking

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hosts National Prevention Week each May so schools can participate in prevention-themed activities before summer, when substance misuse escalates. The Youth Council of the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County is participating by writing blog posts this week. The NPW week focus for Tuesday, May 17 is Prevention of Underage Drinking and Alcohol Abuse.

Don't let alcohol destroy your life!

For Cathy, alcohol addiction began with a single can of beer at a neighborhood social gathering when she was 15. But one drink led to another and another, and before she knew it, the negative consequences started piling on. Cathy skipped class to drink so often that she dropped out of high school. She once cut herself with a razor while drunk at a party.

Once in college, she drank even more, and failed or dropped all but one of her classes due to being hungover all the time. Soon, she began to experience blackouts, and would wake up the morning after a party not knowing how she had gotten home. She lost several jobs for drinking at work, lost her boyfriend, was hospitalized multiple times for the serious toll alcohol had taken on her body, and even considered suicide. Her life had simply spiraled out of control.

Cathy’s story is by no means a unique one. With 17.6 million people in the United States, or one in 12 adults, addicted or dependent on alcohol, chances are that every one of us has been touched by the negative effects of alcoholism, whether it be personally, through a friend, or even a friend of a friend. Here are the statistics, courtesy of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA):

• Children who begin drinking by the age of 13 are 38 percent more likely to develop alcohol dependence later in life
• Alcohol is responsible for more than 80,000 deaths annually, including over 10,000 driving fatalities, making it the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States
• Around 40 percent of college students reported engaging in binge drinking, according to a 2012 survey
• More than 10 percent of American children grow up in a household with a parent with drinking problems
• Alcohol misuse problems cost Americans $223.5 billion in just one year (2006)

Beyond the astounding numbers, however, the true impact of alcoholism is the damage it can do to a single person -- somebody who lost a friend to drunk driving, somebody who grew up never knowing the care of a loving parent, or somebody like Cathy who saw their own life consumed by their addiction. Alcohol has the power to ruin bright futures, rip friends and families apart, and leave permanent scars. And in the end, not only one person pays the price, but an entire community.

This is the reason why it is so essential to fight alcohol addiction. The goal of the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence is to reduce the stigma associated with alcoholism. This will be achieved by getting information about alcohol into the community to prevent addiction and help those in recovery. Here are some ideas from healthfinder.gov about what you can do to help the cause:

• Share tips with parents to help them talk with their kids about the risks of alcohol use
• Encourage friends or family members suffering from alcoholism to make small changes, like keeping track of their drinking and setting drinking limits
• Ask doctors and nurses to talk to their patients about the benefits of drinking less or quitting

It is essential to keep in mind that alcoholism is a disease that is preventable and treatable -- an estimated 20 million Americans are currently living in recovery, and Cathy is one of them. But equally importantly, recovering from an alcohol addiction requires the support of many others. As cliché as it sounds, if we all fight together, we can win the battle against alcoholism.

For more information on Alcohol Awareness Month, click here.

For more information on Cathy’s story, click here.

The author is a junior at Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology and a member of the Youth Council of the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County.

The Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County is a nonprofit organization with more than 60 community partners working together to keep youth and young adults safe and drug-free. Visit www.unifiedpreventioncoalition.org and www.facebook.com/unifiedpreventioncoalition. Follow the group on Twitter at www.twitter.com/keepyouthsafe.