High Rates of Teen Drinking in Washington State, Surveys Say

According to the national Monitoring the Future Survey, 11 percent of high school seniors reported "extreme binge drinking" within the two weeks prior to the survey. Extreme binge drinking is defined as consuming 10 or more alcoholic beverages in a single sitting. Approximately 6 percent reported consuming more than 15 drinks in a row in the two weeks prior to the survey.

The Washington State Healthy Youth Survey reported similar findings. The 2008 state survey found that almost 18 percent of 10th graders are binge drinkers, which is a higher percentage than those that are cigarette smokers (14 percent). Among Washington State 8th graders, 41 percent who drink reported getting alcohol from home and 24 percent reported that their parents have not talked to them about alcohol and its risks.

David Dickinson, director of the Department of Social and Health Services Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR), commented: "Underage drinking, especially binge drinking, is extremely risky, with alcohol poisoning being a potentially fatal outcome. Alcohol causes great harm to the developing teen brain. Teens who drink are more likely to become pregnant, fail in school, and develop alcohol dependence.

"Parents who give kids the facts about alcohol, set healthy examples, and never give alcohol to someone under 21, have the most influence in preventing underage drinking."

(Source: www.dhs.wa.gov)

Labels: alcohol, binge drinking, underage-drinking

posted by Aspen Education Group @ 10:47 AM