MORE THAN A QUARTER OF UNDERAGE DRINKERS MEET CLINICAL CRITERIA FOR ALCOHOL ABUSE OR DEPENDENCE
...Underage drinkers and adult pathological drinkers (those that meet the clinical DSM--IV criteria for alcohol abuse or addiction) consume between 37.5 percent and 48.8 percent of the value of all alcohol sold in the United States, according to an article in the May 1 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (APAM).

...“Consuming at least $48 billion in beer, wine and liquor, underage and pathological drinkers are the alcohol industry’s most valuable customers,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA’s chairman and president and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.  “It is reckless for our society to rely on an industry with such an enormous financial interest in alcohol consumption by children, teens, alcoholics and alcohol abusers to curb such drinking.  Self regulation by the alcohol industry is a delusion that ensnares too many children and teens.”

...“If unchecked, the alcohol industry stands to gain at least one-half trillion dollars in cash revenues over the next decade from consumption by underage and pathological drinkers.  The industry’s significant financial gains from underage and pathological consumers create a conflict of interest for the alcohol industry.  This conflict is so substantial that regulation of advertising and marketing practices solely by the industry cannot be expected to work.”

“Exposure of young people to alcohol advertising has been shown to increase their drinking, and the earlier a child starts to drink the greater the chance that he or she will become a pathological drinker,” said former First Lady Betty Ford.  “It is imperative to provide effective prevention and treatment services for teens to interrupt their progression to adult pathological drinking.”  

Other findings in the CASA white paper:

• Alcohol abuse and addiction cost the nation an estimated $220 billion in 2005 – more than cancer ($196 billion) and obesity ($133 billion).
• Each day more than 13,000 children and teens take their first drink.
• The 25.9 percent of underage drinkers who are alcoholics and alcohol abusers consume 47.3 percent of alcohol drunk by underage drinkers.
• The 9.6 percent of adult pathological drinkers consume 25 percent of alcohol drunk by adult drinkers.
• Children and teens that begin drinking before age 15 are four times likelier to become alcohol dependent than those who do not drink before age 21.

The CASA report also recommends a public health campaign, education of health care providers, more effective prevention and treatment programs, and insurance coverage for treatment.

“It is critical for our nation to put an end to this senseless savagery that alcohol abuse and addiction visit on our children and teens--in deaths from auto accidents and risky sex and alcohol poisoning, rape, murder, suicide and other violence,” Califano added, as he urged parents, colleges and the media, as well as alcohol industry executives to accept personal responsibility to help curb underage and pathological drinking:

• Parents are children’s first line of defense and should be actively engaged in their children’s lives. They should restrict availability of alcohol to their children and talk to their children about the dangers of alcohol abuse and addiction.
• Colleges must accept their responsibility to create environments that discourage drinking, including the prohibition of alcohol advertising on campus and at sponsored events.  The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) should ban all beer and other alcohol advertising during broadcasts of college sporting events like football and basketball games.
• The media, including magazines, network and local radio, television and cable stations, and Internet sites should take steps to avoid exposing underage viewers to alcohol advertisements. ...