In The NewsWSATF Urges Parents To Make Alcohol Access Tougher
Originally printed in The Westerly Sun
Saturday February 28, 2009
Westerly Sun Letters to the EditorWSATF urges parents to make alcohol access tougher
The Westerly Substance Abuse Task Force is grateful for The Sun's informed understanding of the dangers associated with underage drinking and its support for the efforts of the WSATF and Westerly Police as stated in its powerful and cautionary Feb. 19 editorial titled "Fight back against underage drinking."
What's important to underscore is that the issue is about youth access to alcohol - be it from the fridge or the 12-packs stored in the garage during winter, from an older acquaintance or using a fake ID to purchase at a store, or from an older friend, sibling or even a parent - the problem is it's just too easy for kids to get their hands on beer and other alcoholic beverages.
That's the issue.
Since we know that underage drinking kills our kids, prevention makes sense; educate people (for example, on average, kids take their first drink at age 12), have families show strong support for the kids that choose not to drink or use, and enforce the laws against underage drinking.
We know this topic is difficult for some to swallow. Some believe teen drinking is a "right of passage," and others believe that when supervised, it's fine. And then there's the cultural issue - from the way folks have been raised to the popular culture that glorifies drinking with slick ads aimed at young people.
Just look at what surveyed Westerly kids reported in 2007: 90 percent of tenth-graders and 75 percent of eighth-graders said that alcohol is "fairly easy" or "very easy" to get with three-quarters of 7th-graders saying they obtain it from their parents - with or without their knowledge - and almost 65 percent of the students who drink buy their own alcoholic beverages. But here's the part that we think is most illuminating: 70 percent of parents of 15- and 16-year-olds say they would be "very worried" if their child had been drunk and only 10 percent believe that their kids have ever been drunk. Yet more than 35 percent of kids 15 and 16 say they have been drunk. This is what we're battling.
We're glad The Sun "gets it." That's an important endorsement for the WSATF and the current federallyfunded underage drinking campaign we've embarked on, including billboards and TV public service announcements, newspaper and TV stories and Web advertising, as well as parent and youth forums and workshops.
The WSATF and local law enforcement will continue to work together to educate people on the dangers associated with the illegal - and potentially deadly - practice of teen drinking and enforce the law to keep kids alive. Remember, on average, federal highway safety statistics say, eight teens die in the U.S. every day in alcoholrelated car crashes and nine of 10 teen car accidents involved alcohol use.
We'd like to invite the community to share with us its concerns, ideas or criticisms by e-mailing us at info@westerlysatf.org, drop us a line at WSATF P.O. Box 1261, Westerly, RI 02891 or better yet, drop by a meeting - second Tuesday of every month at Westerly Town Hall. And we're on the Web at westerlysatf.org.
Mary Lou Serra, coordinator Westerly Substance Abuse Task Force Westerly