Michelob targets teens on Instagram: Self-regulation's epic fail

In the process of running an ad on social media platforms, a business is able to target ads by any combination of  'interests' or location or age or gender. This ad above was delivered to a high school senior, Sunday, Oct. 8, in his Instagram feed. His user profile indicates he is seventeen. The browser history shows ZERO visits to alcohol profiles or pages.

Anheuser-Busch Companies, maker of Michelob Ultra, is one of several alcohol manufacturers capitalizing on the perfect storm of the untamed Wild West of social media combined with an industry permitted to police itself.

Although alcohol is a legal substance for adults age 21 or older, it is the leading drug used by underage American youth. The drug is one of the three leading risk factors for global disease burden according to study appearing in Lancet in 2012.  In adolescents in particular, alcohol use increases the likelihood of injury, addiction and death, and of course the risky behaviors teens are known to find tempting... but it also damages a brain that isn't fully developed until their 20's.  

Exposure to alcohol marketing has been identified as one factor that may lead to underage alcohol consumption. While nobody really needs a 'longitudinal study' to come to that conclusion, one was done and the hard numbers appeared in Addiction in Oct. 2016. A previous Alcohologist.com article noted that the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University (CAMY) has found that youth in the United States were 96 times more likely per capita to see an ad promoting alcohol than an industry ad discouraging underage drinking.

No clear rules, no independent review of content

Industry watchdog, California-based AlcoholJustice, keeps tabs on the sketchy practices engaged by the alcohol makers and the ad agencies pimping them. "Alcohol ads are ubiquitous on public transit, billboards, sports stadiums, and digital media. Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter offer inexpensive, virtually unregulated promotional platforms to alcohol producers and marketers, who encourage youth to build relationships with their brands."

Alcohol ads are shown to a somewhat gullible, very impressionable, and ultimately naive audience that isn't even old enough to purchase, possess. or consume the drug because there's a 'bro code' in the alcohol industry: Their ad policies are voluntary and self-regulated. As a result, teens are going to get served the ads because the fox is supervising the chicken coop. 

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has guidelines defining everything from blogs and social networks to video sharing sites and micro blogging services as 'advertising.' As such, "any use of social media by industry members is subject to the same limitations, requirements and restrictions as any other form of advertising previously has been, among other guidelines...

... ads must be limited to an audience where at least 70 percent are of drinking age. 

It's a guideline, remember. And it's self-policed. 

Where does the 70 percent figure come from? The overall census of the U.S. says 70 percent of us are 21 or older. The census of social media platforms doesn't mate up well with the overall population however. Pew Research (click on their link to the complete .pdf report) shows 72 percent of its users are under age 18. 

Of the 500,000 advertisers on Instagram, you wouldn't count on seeing a business that has a self-imposed rule of not advertising to minors

By the way, Instagram only appeals to four percent of adults over 65 years of age. As for American teenagers, in a Piper Jaffray semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey, 32 percent described Instagram as their most important social network, second only to Snapchat. Statista shows the share of teenagers in the United States who were Instagram users as of March 2015, sorted by gender and age group. During that period of time, 64 percent of female U.S. teens aged 15 to 17 years used the social networking app. 

Advertising a label or a company to establish brand identity is what companies do. In the uber-competitive beverage industry, brand loyalty is everything. It would appear the alcohol makers are attempting to establish their brand with would-be users of their beverage when they're old enough. Which all seems odd when we're talking about a toxic, carcinogenic drug rather than Kool-Aid.

We do more to curtail junk-food advertising aimed at young people than we do to prevent them from soaking in alcohol ads. “There’s very strong evidence that underage drinkers are not only exposed to the advertising, but they also assimilate the messages,” says James D. Sargent, MD. “That process moves them forward in their drinking behavior.” Sargent is the study author of a Jan. 2016 report in JAMA linking the ads kids see and what they do with the information. He’s professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. And he’s summarized the same message a dozen other reports have stated since 1996.

"Underage drinking harms teens, their families and their communities,” adds Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden. "Exposing teens to alcohol advertising undermines what parents and other concerned adults are doing to raise healthy kids.”

If OxyContin was advertised to teens on social media, the FTC, mainstream media, and the Attorneys General of 50 states would be on drug maker Purdue Pharma like a hobo on a ham sandwich. A deadlier teen drug is promoted on teens' favorite app and everyone takes a nap.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has overall oversight of advertising and has been conducting a study for more than a year on alcohol-beverage companies’ use of online advertising, with the results yet to be released. FTC will focus on age verification – a subject the TTB guidelines on social media do not address.

Like the Michelob Ultra sponsored post shown above, kids are being delivered ads where they live: Instagram and other popular platforms that are saturated with adolescent users. They'll get Ultra right alongside the selfies, Selena Gomez posts, and the snap of the pizza slice a friend is about to down. Self-regulation.  It works until it doesn't. Just ask the financial services industry.

Don't just fix the shocks, fill the potholes.

Even the addiction recovery professional and paraprofessionals nap on such front-end, front-line issues. Things like this advertising issue on Instagram are barely on the radar of recovery advocates, be they treatment centers or interventionists. They're overburdened as it is with treating the ill and have little time or disposable assets to address prevention. Aside from the massive economic and public health concern America's insatiable appetite for alcohol creates (see related video), no alcoholic ever became alcoholic without taking the first drink. Period.

Certainly not everyone who drinks becomes alcoholic, but a report from the National Institutes for Health definitively links teen use with higher alcoholism risk later in life. In a nerdy analysis, it would seem a recovery advocate would be sacrificing job security by supporting prevention efforts. Not true. There will always be drug users and those genetically predisposed to the disease of addiction. Recovery advocacy is crucial... prevention is essential. It's like being part mechanic, part street crew: You put new shocks on cars that have run through potholes  and sooner rather than later you just fix the stupid potholes. Instagram's Michelob ad...that's a pothole.

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For more reading on alcohol advertising, see 

Alcohol advertising in sports blasted for 'grooming child drinkers,' bans becoming popular internationally

Scott Stevens, is the author of four alcohol books including the December 2016 release, I Can’t See The Forest With All These Damn Trees In The Way: The Health Consequences of Alcohol. Get the new BookLocker title now on Amazon (viewbook.at/prehab), alcohologist.com, and everywhere you buy books.  Click Alcopocalypse for the author’s 2017 Alcohol Awareness Month whitepaper. Image by  Peter Lecko, used with permission.

Parents Who Host Lose the Most campaign encourages wiser parenting

The Parents Who Host Lose the Most campaign draws attention to the legal and health reasons for not defying common-sense parenting. Share the YouTube video or read the transcript. 


Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

The Sobriety :60 for Red Ribbon Week covers teen drinking risks

There isn't one, single, age group of people more affected by alcohol than young people. Why is this risky co-called 'rite of passage' a big deal? For centuries teens have been lured to that first drink by curiosity, kicks, or aping what they see at home. New studies identify a few things about the harm of the words, “what's one gonna hurt?” Watch episode #12 of The Sobriety :60 at http://youtu.be/HLdTL4BNWpA  for a minute (give or take) on teens' top drug of choice.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Bringing Inspiration To Earth show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

Aggressive teens -- even the girls -- more prone to drinking and are drinking more

A Finnish study released Aug. 6 in the Journal of Adolescence finds teenagers who behave aggressively are more likely to drink alcohol and in larger quantities than their peers. According to the researchers, this study found aggressive behavior to be more common in teen girls compared to boys aged 13- to 18-years-old.

"The findings raise questions about a possible change in the behavior of adolescent girls and their vulnerability during adolescent social and emotional development," says Eila Laukkanen, lead researcher, in a University of Eastern Finland news release.

The study investigated the association between aggressive behavior or other psychosocial problems and alcohol use among more than 4,000 Finnish teens. The results indicate that smoking and attention problems also increase the probability of alcohol abuse. Among girls, parental divorce and earlier onset of menstrual periods also are associated with drinking.

The study made no mention whether the behavior turned aggressive because of poorer judgment caused by alcohol consumption, or if the drinking was an outgrowth of underlying aggressive attitudes.

A related article in the same journal a decade earlier performed an analysis of studies evaluating the connection between violent video game content and teen aggression. The article, one of the most downloaded pieces from the journal, made the not-quite-unexpected conclusion that the violent games are “significantly linked” to increases in aggressive behavior and thoughts, as well as cardiovascular arousal and decreases in helping behavior. “Experimental studies reveal this linkage to be causal. Correlational studies reveal a linkage to serious, real-world types of aggression.”

Child psychology experts are quick to add that teen aggression can stem from other causes, not just gaming. Stress from peer pressure can cause acting out. Physical changes can result in confusion, frustration and anger. Teens can also react with hostility due to real or perceived academic and extracurricular overload. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, some other factors related to teen aggression include being the victim of physical and/or sexual abuse, exposure to violence in the home/community/media, as well as socioeconomic factors like poverty, single parenting or family unemployment. Aggression can be related to brain damage from head injury.

Regardless of the cause of the aggression, the new Finnish study did note that the proportion of teens turning to alcohol was unchanged compared to earlier surveys, but the ones who are drinking may be consuming more. More than one in four 12- to 20-year-olds in the United States have had a drink in the past month according to a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) report. The rate of minors drinking in the nation was 26.6 percent. (See “Report: 1 in 4 minors are drinking alcohol”)

Underage drinking leads to higher incidence of crime and alcohol use disorders such as alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism in adults. Although there has been progress in reducing underage drinking in recent years, particularly among those aged 17 and younger, the rates of underage drinking are still “unacceptably high” according to SAMSHA.
(see full article)

www.alcohologist.com

imagerymajestic photo, used with permission

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Bringing Inspiration To Earth show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

SATURDAY REWIND: Teen drinking, drug use best thwarted by parents, not red ribbons

Red Ribbon Week -- the annual substance abuse prevention campaign Oct. 23-31 -- produces some of the best and most consistent messaging about alcohol and other drugs and the dangers they present to youth.  A December 2012 article from the alcohol research news archive notes that school and community campaigns are visible and effective, but the best resources in substance abuse prevention are Mom and Dad.


Parental involvement does more to discourage underage drinking than the school environment can, according to research released December 4 by three universities.

Specifically, the researchers looked at how “family social capital” and “school social capital” changed the chances for and/or frequency of alcohol use by children. Family social capital can be described as the bonds between parents and children, such as trust, open lines of communication and active engagement in a child’s life. School social capital captures a school’s ability to serve as a positive environment for learning, including measures such as student involvement in extracurricular activities, teacher morale and the ability of teachers to address the needs of individual students. Parenting is a better block to underage drinking than the schools, according to the North Carolina State University news release on the study.

"To be clear, school programs that address alcohol and marijuana use are definitely valuable, but the bonds parents form with their children are more important. Ideally, we can have both," says Dr. Toby Parcel, a professor of sociology at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work.

The researchers looked at data from a nationally representative sample that collected information from more than 10,000 students, as well as their parents, teachers and school administrators. The research, to be included in the quarterly Journal of Drug Issues, evaluated marijuana use and alcohol use separately.

“Parents play an important role in shaping the decisions their children make when it comes to alcohol and marijuana,” says Parcel. In both cases, researchers at NCSU (in conjunction with Brigham Young University and Penn State University) found that students with high levels of family social capital and low levels of school social capital were less likely to have used marijuana or alcohol – or to have used those substances less frequently – than students with high levels of school social capital but low family social capital.

More than 10 million American youth under the age of 21 drink alcohol, and more than a million of them are binge drinkers, according to the American Medical Association. One in four teens in the United States have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. "Underage drinking should not be a normal part of growing up. It's a serious and persistent public health problem that puts our young people and our communities in danger," said U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Pamela S. Hyde in a related November 26 examiner.com story. "Even though drinking is often glamorized, the truth is that underage drinking can lead to poor academic performance, sexual assault, injury, and even death." Teen drinking also can lead to alcohol abuse as an adult or the disease of alcoholism.
-- from examiner.com (see full article)
www.alcohologist.com


Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  It's one of his Top Ten for 2013.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK. 

Group says banning public transportation alcohol ads can help protect youth

National alcohol industry watchdog, Alcohol Justice, released a national study Oct. 25, assessing the impact of alcohol advertising on youth, concluding young people are being barraged on the way to school or around town. Actor and activist Kurtwood Smith, known for roles in “That 70's Show” and “Dead Poets Society,” led the event, which called on state legislators and Congress to pass legislation that requires transit agencies to ban alcohol advertising on transit property as a precondition of transportation funding.

According to the American Public Transportation Association, more than 20 percent of public transportation users nationwide are under age 25. In large metropolitan areas like Chicago and New York, many kids use buses and trains to get to and from school. These children are disproportionately minorities and/or from economically challenged neighborhoods.

“Exposure to alcohol ads influences youth to start drinking earlier and to drink more,” according to Alcohol Justice spokesperson Michael Scippa. He says the enticement can lead to alcohol-related problems later in life, including the disease of alcoholism. “Alcohol advertising bans can significantly reduce youth exposure to alcohol advertising.”

In 2012, advertising on transit vehicles and transit stations comprised 17 percent of the more than $1 billion alcohol companies spent on ads outside of the household, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.

The report, "These Buses Don't Stop For Children: Alcohol Advertising on Public Transit," describes the alcohol advertising policies of 32 major metropolitan transit agencies. Eighteen ban alcohol advertising; Chicago, New York and Atlanta were tagged as “lagging behind agencies that protect youth from alcohol ads.” The report noted most major cities continue to allow alcohol advertising on transit-related benches and bus or train shelters even if a transit policy banning alcohol ads is in place.

Limits on alcohol advertising can significantly reduce alcohol-related harm according to the speakers at the Los Angeles press conference announcing the study. A 28 percent reduction in alcohol advertising could reduce underage alcohol consumption and binge drinking by at least a percentage point each, while a complete ban on alcohol advertising could reduce the number of deaths from harmful drinking by 7,609 deaths, claims Alcohol Justice.

The alcohol industry claims it is not targeting minors or encouraging underage drinking. Trade associations for beer, wine and spirits have self-regulatory guidelines in place for alcohol advertising. The Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS) Advertising Code of Ethics is one such self-policed directive. Its rules associated with schools address stationary advertising, which may not be located within 500 feet of elementary and secondary schools or places of worship.

In 2012, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) reversed its ad policy, citing economic reasons, and approved an ordinance that allows for alcohol advertising to be placed on trains and in stations for the first time in 15 years. CTA President Forrest Claypool says the ban is still in place on “L” stations that serve a high number of students and on all CTA buses. The bus stops, however, are city property and allow alcohol ads. Alcohol Justice's recommendations include alcohol ad bans extended to all government-owned transit-related properties.

The CTA expects to generate $3.2 million in additional advertising revenue from alcohol ads – 0.2 percent of the agency’s annual operating budget. Scippa says, “It makes no sense for public transit agencies or cities to allow alcohol advertising that recoups less than a percent of their operating revenues while governments in the U.S. bear the burden of over $90 billion in annual costs from alcohol-related harm.”
--from examiner.com (see full article)
www.alcohologist.com



Also, please check out the author interview with Scott Stevens on "All That's Written" 10/11/13
www.alcohologist.com

Hitting puberty at younger age could tip off parents to child's earlier alcohol use

Teens or pre-teens who begin their puberty at an early age are likely to speed up their experimentation with alcohol and other drugs according to a study published in the October issue of Addiction. The research by the University of Texas Austin and colleagues from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill looks at when best to apply parenting savvy to prevent or reduce alcohol abuse by teens and young adults.

Adolescents who believe they are more advanced in puberty than their peers are more likely to have used nicotine, alcohol and marijuana – the three drugs tallied in the study – compared with other students who believe they are on-time or late developing.  The findings are mainly due to differences in use at age 11, which is customarily sixth grade. Puberty typically begins in girls between ages nine and 13, which is slightly earlier than boys, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The researchers arrived at the connection between early puberty and substance use after studying nearly 6,500 North Carolina boys and girls of different ethnic and racial backgrounds, aged 11 to 17, who were questioned about use of the three drugs over previous 90 days. They were also given a questionnaire to determine when they began puberty.

"We all go through puberty. We remember it being either an easy transition or a very difficult one," said Jessica Duncan Cance, a researcher in the study. "While puberty is often thought of as a solely biological process, our research has shown that pubertal development is a combination of biological, psychological and social processes that all likely interact to influence risk-taking behavior like substance use.

"Our study suggests that being the first girl in the class to need a bra, for example, prompts or exacerbates existing psychological and social aspects that can, in turn, lead to teen drinking, substance use and other risky behaviors early in life," Cance said.

Age of first use also is one of the predictors of alcohol use disorders, including the disease of alcoholism, later in life. (See related examiner.com article)  According to research posted online for Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology in December, early use coupled with a family history of alcohol problems increases the alcoholism risk considerably.  That study's lead author Levent Kirisci of the University of Pittsburgh noted, “[It] does not provide evidence that early onset age predicts alcohol use disorders or substance use disorders in general, it does show that the earlier a child starts using drugs or alcohol, the higher their transmissible risk is,” for children who already have a family risk. “These findings underscore the importance of parents directing prevention at high-risk youths prior to first substance exposure.”
-- from examiner.com (see full story)

www.alcohologist.com

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Decipher mixed messages about alcohol and breast cancer

Research reported June 2013 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) finds alcohol does not reduce survivability from breast cancer. The study is encouraging Breast Cancer Awareness Month news for women who prefer to drink, but the encouragement fades quickly because there remains a higher cancer risk associated with drinking.

Previous research has linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk of developing breast cancer, and the JCO study does not contradict those findings. (See the Oct. 2012 examiner article on the breast cancer/alcohol link) Alcohol consumption is believed to influence breast cancer risk through increases in estrogen production and also by altering breast tissue in developmental years. An August 28 Journal of the National Cancer Institute report showed a double-digit increase in breast cancer risk for women who drank as little as one drink daily between the first menstruation and the first pregnancy. The results were independent of drinking after first pregnancy.

"The risk increased by 11 percent for every 10 grams a day of intake, about six drinks per week," said study author Ying Liu, M.D., of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. A drink, or 10 grams of alcohol, is a 12 oz. beer, a 4 oz. glass of wine or a1.5 oz. shot of hard liquor.

Liu's team also discovered an increase in benign breast disease, a non-cancerous condition which accounts for 80 percent of breast lumps. These benign lumps do increase the risk of breast cancer by 500 percent. The more alcohol consumed between the onset of the first menstrual period and the first pregnancy, the greater the risk for both benign breast disease and breast cancer, the study reported.

The results are a warning in favor of alcohol moderation – or abstinence – during adolescence and early adulthood when the breasts are developing new tissue. "Breast tissues are particularly susceptible to environmental exposures between [the onset of menstruation] and first pregnancy because they undergo rapid cellular proliferation," Liu said. "Our results suggest that alcohol intake before the first pregnancy consistently increases the risk.” The association between drinking before first pregnancy and breast cancer appeared to be stronger for women who had a greater interval of time between the first menstrual cycle and first pregnancy, which is to say that older first-time moms carry a higher risk if they were daily drinkers. (See full article.)

The JCO study by Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center indicates that once a patient has the disease, drinking before and after her diagnosis does not impact survival from the disease. In fact, some benefit was found in women who were “moderate” drinkers due to a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a major cause of mortality among breast cancer survivors.

So alcohol can increase breast cancer risk, but may also improve outcomes once a patient has the disease.

Polly Newcomb, Ph.D.,led the study. "Our findings should be reassuring to women who already have breast cancer because their past experience consuming alcohol will not impact their survival after diagnosis."

The study began in 1988 and was conducted in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Wisconsin. Among study participants with a history of breast cancer, the authors found that the amount and type of alcohol a woman reported consuming in the years before her diagnosis was not associated with her likelihood from dying from the cancer. However, the authors also found that those who consumed a moderate level of alcohol (three to six drinks per week) in the years before their cancer diagnosis were 15 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than non-drinkers.

The JCO report does not recommend drinking alcohol. An accompanying editorial cites many other risks of drinking alcohol, including alcohol use disorders (alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism), and that “alcohol intake may be associated with accidental or violent death.” A separate report Feb. 14 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demonstrated other health risks specific to women drinkers, beyond increasing the chance for breast cancer, leading to 23,000 deaths annually.

Additionally, the American Journal of Public Health posted research from Boston University earlier this year on the connection between all cancers and alcohol consumption. (See related examiner story) That study determined that alcohol-related cancer death took away an average of 18 potential years from a person's life. Boston University's Timothy Naimi, Ph.D., said. “When it comes to cancer, there is no safe level of alcohol consumption."
--from my Oct. 1 news article (full report)
www.alcohologist.com

SATURDAY REWIND: Who is teaching the kids when summer break arrives? (And the rest of the year, for that matter?)

School is on summer break, officially, for most kids.  The older they grow, the more varied the influences in their lives become.  Summer break may mean more time with friends out of earshot of educators and out of sight of parents.   It may be easier and less embarrassing or uncomfortable to just let the schools and TV public service announcements advise the generation about drinking's hazards... but peers hold a lot of sway.  And so do advertisers (see yesterday's blog post).  What makes the difference is not waiting for teachers or government or entertainers to guide them, according to this article from the alcohol research news archive.  It's a long way of saying, they STILL listen even when you don't think teens ARE hearing.


Parental involvement does more to discourage underage drinking than the school environment can, according to research released December 4 by three universities.

Specifically, the researchers looked at how “family social capital” and “school social capital” changed the chances for and/or frequency of alcohol use by children. Family social capital can be described as the bonds between parents and children, such as trust, open lines of communication and active engagement in a child’s life. School social capital captures a school’s ability to serve as a positive environment for learning, including measures such as student involvement in extracurricular activities, teacher morale and the ability of teachers to address the needs of individual students. Parenting is a better block to underage drinking than the schools, according to the North Carolina State University news release on the study.

"To be clear, school programs that address alcohol and marijuana use are definitely valuable, but the bonds parents form with their children are more important. Ideally, we can have both," says Dr. Toby Parcel, a professor of sociology at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work.

The researchers looked at data from a nationally representative sample that collected information from more than 10,000 students, as well as their parents, teachers and school administrators. The research, to be included in the quarterly Journal of Drug Issues, evaluated marijuana use and alcohol use separately.

“Parents play an important role in shaping the decisions their children make when it comes to alcohol and marijuana,” says Parcel. In both cases, researchers at NCSU (in conjunction with Brigham Young University and Penn State University) found that students with high levels of family social capital and low levels of school social capital were less likely to have used marijuana or alcohol – or to have used those substances less frequently – than students with high levels of school social capital but low family social capital.

More than 10 million American youth under the age of 21 drink alcohol, and more than a million of them are binge drinkers, according to the American Medical Association. One in four teens in the United States have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. "Underage drinking should not be a normal part of growing up. It's a serious and persistent public health problem that puts our young people and our communities in danger," said U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Pamela S. Hyde in a related November 26 examiner.com story. "Even though drinking is often glamorized, the truth is that underage drinking can lead to poor academic performance, sexual assault, injury, and even death." Teen drinking also can lead to alcohol abuse as an adult or the disease of alcoholism.
-- from examiner.com
www.alcohologist.com

SATURDAY REWIND: Intoxicated driving no longer top killer of teen drivers, but being #2 is no merit badge

The no-kidding news this week was that texting behind the wheel is a bigger killer of teen drivers than drinking and driving. Teens killed texting and driving: 3,000. Teens killed drinking and driving: 2,700. A number of high-profile programs are aimed at avoiding crashes by stifling the distraction of the mobile phone. AT&T. AAA. The AdCouncil. All have top-of-mind messages about the texting-and-driving danger. Just because drinking and driving has slipped to the number two slot in the lethal list, does not mean it has become less hazardous... it just means more teens are tapping out messages instead of paying attention to the road.

 

Parents, schools and community leaders are mindful to not take the emphasis off the hazards of intoxicated driving just because a new killer has risen to the top of the list. But as the following article from my news archive points out, schools and communities have less of a role than parents in thwarting drinking and driving and underage drinking in general.

Parental involvement does more to discourage underage drinking than the school environment can, according to research released December 4 by three universities.

Specifically, the researchers looked at how “family social capital” and “school social capital” changed the chances for and/or frequency of alcohol use by children. Family social capital can be described as the bonds between parents and children, such as trust, open lines of communication and active engagement in a child’s life. School social capital captures a school’s ability to serve as a positive environment for learning, including measures such as student involvement in extracurricular activities, teacher morale and the ability of teachers to address the needs of individual students. Parenting is a better block to underage drinking than the schools, according to the North Carolina State University news release on the study.

"To be clear, school programs that address alcohol and marijuana use are definitely valuable, but the bonds parents form with their children are more important. Ideally, we can have both," says Dr. Toby Parcel, a professor of sociology at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work.

The researchers looked at data from a nationally representative sample that collected information from more than 10,000 students, as well as their parents, teachers and school administrators. The research, to be included in the quarterly Journal of Drug Issues, evaluated marijuana use and alcohol use separately.

“Parents play an important role in shaping the decisions their children make when it comes to alcohol and marijuana,” says Parcel. In both cases, researchers at NCSU (in conjunction with Brigham Young University and Penn State University) found that students with high levels of family social capital and low levels of school social capital were less likely to have used marijuana or alcohol – or to have used those substances less frequently – than students with high levels of school social capital but low family social capital.

More than 10 million American youth under the age of 21 drink alcohol, and more than a million of them are binge drinkers, according to the American Medical Association. One in four teens in the United States have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. "Underage drinking should not be a normal part of growing up. It's a serious and persistent public health problem that puts our young people and our communities in danger," said U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Pamela S. Hyde in a related November 26 examiner.com story. "Even though drinking is often glamorized, the truth is that underage drinking can lead to poor academic performance, sexual assault, injury, and even death." Teen drinking also can lead to alcohol abuse as an adult or the disease of alcoholism.
– from examiner.com


The news headlines this week to dangers specific to teens behind the wheel, whether texting or drinking. The above article begins to address the life risks stemming from underage drinking aside from traffic accidents. Earlier this year, a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) commissioned study (see related article) concluded that two-thirds of alcohol-related underage drinking deaths were not from traffic accidents. Thirty percent of alcohol-related deaths in people age 15 to 20 are from homicides. Fourteen percent are from suicides. Nine percent are from alcohol overdose. Other causes, such as drowning and household accidents, comprise the remaining 15 percent.

Texting and driving might be the trending topic today, but as MADD points out, “Of all the dangers teens face, underage drinking is among the worst.” And it's not just behind the wheel.
www.alcohologist.com