RSS Feed
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Town Meeting: Underage Drinking On Monday, April 30, 2007, at 6:00 p.m., at the school auditorium, the Coalition For A Safe And Drug-Free Clay County will be hosting a Town Hall meeting entitled "Keep Our Future Growing: End Underage Drinking" to address the issues of underage drinking and adults who serve alcohol to minors. Guest speakers will include families who have lost members to results of underage drinking, Sheriff Joe Shook, the District Attorney, and youth whose lives have been affected by underage drinking. According to the PRIDE surveys which were administered to the 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th grade students, faculty and parents, underage drinking is themajor issue facing youth in Clay County. The average age of onset for beginning drinking by Clay County students was reported as age 11. From 2004 to 2006, while students reported a greater perception of risk of use of alcohol and an increased perception of parental disapproval, the same group of students reported an increased percentage of use of alcohol overall for monthly use. Nationally, approximately 10% of 9- to 10-year olds have started drinking, while 33% of youth begin drinking before age 13. According to the Centers for Disease Control, binge drinking (5 or more drinks in one episode) is a common pattern among teens. Males and females drink at comparable levels, though females tend to prefer alcohol products containing greater alcohol content by volume. It's estimated that 3 million teens are alcoholics, while several million more have an alcohol problem they cannot self-manage. On this day or any other, 7,000 more children under the age of 16 will take their first drink of alcohol. "We can no longer ignore what alcohol is doing to our children," said U.S. Surgeon General, Rear Adm. Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D."There are 5,000 deaths of our young people under the age of 21 each year. That's the size of a small town wiped out every year. If that happened every year, we would notice it," said Mary Easley, North Carolina's first lady. The Coalition requests all members and guests of the community to attend this meeting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
