Acting Surgeon General Issues National Call To Action On Underage Drinking

In its first Call to
Action against underage drinking, the U.S. Surgeon General's Office
appealed today to Americans to do more to stop America's 11 million current
underage drinkers from using alcohol, and to keep other young people from
starting.


Acting Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., laid out
recommendations for government and school officials, parents, other adults
and the young people.


"Too many Americans consider underage drinking a rite of passage to
adulthood," said Dr. Moritsugu. "Research shows that young people who start
drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-
related problems later in life. New research also indicates that alcohol
may harm the developing adolescent brain. The availability of this research
provides more reasons than ever before for parents and other adults to
protect the health and safety of our nation's children."



Although there has been a significant decline in tobacco and illicit
drug use among teens, underage drinking has remained at consistently high
levels. The 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates there are
11 million underage drinkers in the United States. Nearly 7.2 million are
considered binge drinkers, typically meaning they drank more than five
drinks on occasion, and more than two million are classified as heavy
drinkers.



Developed in collaboration with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), the Call to Action identifies six goals:


-- Foster changes in society that facilitate healthy adolescent
development and that help prevent and reduce underage drinking.


-- Engage parents, schools, communities, all levels of government, all
social systems that interface with youth, and youth themselves in a
coordinated national effort to prevent and reduce underage drinking
and its consequences.


-- Promote an understanding of underage alcohol consumption in the
context of human development and maturation that takes into account
individual adolescent characteristics as well as environmental,
ethnic, cultural, and gender differences.


-- Conduct additional research on adolescent alcohol use and its
relationship to development.


-- Work to improve public health surveillance on underage drinking and on
population-based risk factors for this behavior.


-- Work to ensure that policies at all levels are consistent with the
national goal of preventing and reducing underage alcohol consumption.


"Alcohol remains the most heavily abused substance by America's youth,"
said Dr. Moritsugu. "This Call to Action is attempting to change the
culture and attitudes toward drinking in America. We can no longer ignore
what alcohol is doing to our children."


U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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