A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in the January 2007 issue of Pediatrics, Binge Drinking and Associated Health Risk Behaviors Among High School Students, states that “binge drinking is the most common pattern of alcohol consumption among high school youth who drink alcohol and is strongly associated with a wide range of other health risk behaviors.” 

Although we know that youth use of alcohol for 8th, 10th and 12th graders was down across the board over the last five years, according to the 2006 Monitoring the Future survey, and current drinking (past 30 days) among 12th graders is at the lowest level since the study began in 1975, and is down 14% since 1997, underage drinking remains an important issue that needs to be addressed.

So the question for parents is, “what can we do?”

And the answer I’d offer is that there are MANY things you can do.  Consider one expert’s opinion: Richard Gallagher, Ph.D., Director of the Parenting Institute and Thriving Teens Project believes that “parents remain the greatest influence over their children’s behavior.”

Among the tips  Dr. Gallagher offers parents:

1) Clearly state what actions you expect your teen to take when confronted with substance use.
2) Talk about the alcohol use that your children observe.
3) Limit the access your children have to substances.

The Century Council, funded by Diageo and other spirits companies, addresses the issue of underage drinking and drunk driving. In its Underage Drinking Worksheet, The Century Council also points out the importance of parental involvement:
A qualitative research study conducted by Amica Insurance confirmed that teenagers whose parents talk with them versus talk at them might be less at risk to engage in harmful behavior involving alcohol. What’s more, teens said they would be more apt not to drink and drive if they had heard directly from their parents how important they are to them.

When it comes down to it, a lot of this advice boils down to talking to your kids and being involved in their lives.

If you’re looking for a good starting point, check out some resources offered by The Century Council that can help parents talk to their children about underage drinking.  Girl Talk,  Ask, Listen, and Learn,   and Parents, you’re not done yet.  are some of the programs available on The Century Council web site that give parents the tools that will assist them in their conversations with their children.

Look for yourself.�� Many government agencies, state driver�?Ts manuals, and consumer groups all tell the same thing �?’ a standard drink of either beer, wine or spirits has the same amount of alcohol.�� This is clearly indicated in the New York State driver�?Ts manual:

Different types of drinks do not affect you differently. It is the amount of alcohol you consume, not whether it is in beer, wine or wine cooler, or liquor, that raises your BAC and lowers your driving ability. These drinks contain about the same amount of alcohol - 1�? ounces of liquor, 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, and 12 ounces of wine cooler. None is “safer to drink” than the others. Whether through brewing, fermenting, or distilling, this alcohol will have the same chemical characteristics even though the taste is different.

There is something else that people will agree on.�� A breathalyzer can�?Tt tell what kind of beverage alcohol a person drinks.�� If one person drank a beer, glass of wine or shot of spirits �?’ an equivalent amount of alcohol �?’ and blew into a breathalyzer, the only information that could be discerned is the amount of alcohol in that person�?Ts system.

The tax rate on distilled spirits is almost three times the rate on table wine and over two times the rate on beer.�� So, why is it that equivalent amounts of alcohol in different forms are not taxed at the same rate?�� The discrepancy in the relative tax rates of these products just furthers the misperception that spirits are hard liquor and that beer is the drink of moderation.�� In the breathalyzer tube, it is all the same �?’ alcohol.
Don�?Tt be fooled.�� Spirits aren�?Tt harder than beer or wine, just more concentrated, and a standard serving of each contains the same amount of alcohol.�� There is moderate behavior not a beverage of moderation.�� Maybe if the respective taxes were more in line, the equivalent nature of these products would be clearer.

“I never thought about it like, ‘Oh, I’m going to be driving drunk.’ It was never a big, dramatic moment or a big decision. I guess that’s the worst thing about it.” Washington Post, November 3.

This quote comes from a Washington Post article that was printed last month. Best friends hadn’t seen each other in a while. Getting together, having some beers and a couple shots didn’t seem like too much to them. As you will see from this tragic story often times, you might think you are not impaired when in fact you are. If there is any question in your mind, make the smart choice and don’t drive.