Underage drinking a problem too often ignored

Communities need to understand the ramifications of underage drinking. Although the sale of alcohol to minors under 21 is illegal in all states, 24.2 percent of fatal traffic crashes with a driver under age 21 involved youth drinking. Of these fatal traffic crashes, 91 percent had a blood-alcohol concentration of greater than 0.10. The legal limit for persons over 21 in Montana is 0.08. The limit for persons under the age of 21 is 0.02 (since that's the lowest concentration that can be detected). In nonfatal crashes involving a driver under the age of 21, 8 percent involved youth drinking.

As we reminisce about parties involving a bonfire, most think about how much safer it is since the persons are not behind the wheel of an automobile. Having a bonfire while under the influence of alcohol isn't in and of itself illegal, but it can be dangerous. Alcohol was a factor in 7 percent of nonfatal burns, while 30 percent of fatal burns were attributed to alcohol involvement.

Floating down a river or frolicking at the lake a good time was had by all? Not quite, since 7 percent of nonfatal water accidents involved alcohol and 30 percent of drownings were directly attributable to alcohol involvement.

It's Friday night, date night. Alcohol has been noted to increase risky sexual behavior by 20 percent. Alcohol has been involved in 43.4 percent of sexual assaults.

We hear parents saying that they will allow their child to consume alcohol in their residence. What is not said is that the friends of that child are probably consuming alcohol as well. We should be asking ourselves, do the parents of the friends know and condone this behavior? Does the adult hosting the party realize the legal and financial risk he takes from hosting a party where underage drinking occurs?

A trend lately at college campuses is to mix energy drinks with liquor. This is a potential problem. In a study from Wake Forest University, college students who drink alcohol mixed with energy drinks are twice as a likely to be injured, require medical attention and ride with a drunken driver as students who drink straight alcohol. Many students said they mixed drinks to mask the taste of liquor, and to drink more for longer periods.

It all comes down to dollars and cents, doesn't it? In a 2001 study of the incurred costs to society as a direct result of underage drinking, it accounted for at least 16 percent of alcohol sales. It led to 3,170 deaths and 2.6 million other harmful events. The estimated bill passed on to society was $61.9 billion - yes, that is billion. This bill breaks down to $5.4 billion in medical costs, $14.9 billion in work loss and other resource costs, and $41.6 billion in lost quality of life.

The median age of underage drinkers in the United States is 15.7 years old. Youth who drink before the age of 15 are four times more likely to abuse alcohol than those who begin drinking at age 21. Alcohol is the drug of choice among children and adolescents. A higher percentage of youth 12-20 years of age use alcohol (29 percent) than use tobacco (23.3 percent) or illicit drugs (14.9 percent).

As a community, we do not need to be against responsible legal alcohol consumption. We need to stop condoning or ignoring the problem of underage alcohol consumption. Our youth deserve better from us; they deserve a chance at living.

Ray Hetherington is dispatch supervisor for the Wheatland County Sheriff's Office in Harlowton. The facts he cited are from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Wake Forest University.

The Billings Gazette