TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control
Board, in partnership with PRIDE of Tuscaloosa, will bring its new “Under Age,
Under Arrest” program on underage drinking to Hillcrest High School on Friday, March 14. This will be the
first school program in the Tuscaloosa area as part of the ABC Board’s new
statewide initiative, which targets underage and binge drinking and highlights
the dangers and the social and legal costs of these forms of irresponsible
drinking.
The initiative was launched in November with programs
in the Montgomery and Birmingham areas.
Joining ABC Board Administrator Mac Gipson and other
ABC Board officials at Hillcrest High School will be Derek Osborn, executive director
of PRIDE (Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education); Dr. Joe Godfrey of
the Alabama Citizens Action Program; and representatives of Mothers Against
Drunk Driving and the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department.
The program
will be presented to students in two sessions: at 1:25 p.m. and 2:20 p.m. Both
will be in the school auditorium. Gipson, Osborn and Dr. Godfrey will be
available for interviews after the program.
Underage drinking and binge drinking continue to be
troubling problems for middle- and high-school students, as well as college
students. These forms of illegal and irresponsible drinking often intersect, as
young drinkers are more likely than older drinkers to binge drink.
According to national student surveys:
n More
than 26 percent of people age 12-20 reported consuming alcohol within the past
month.
n By
age 15, half of teens have had at least one drink.
n By
age 18, more than 70 percent of teens have had at least one drink.
Binge drinking among students are especially
problematic.
n Binge
drinkers are 14 times more likely to drive impaired.
n In
Alabama, 41 percent of 18- to 20-year-olds report binge drinking.
n Among
college students, 60.8 percent nationwide are drinkers, and 39 percent are
binge drinkers.
Nationwide, about 5,000 people under the age of 21
die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol
poisoning and other injuries. In 2008, more than 190,000 people under the age
of 21 went to an emergency room for alcohol-related injuries.
State Troopers report that 62 people were killed and
more than 1,000 injured between 2010 and 2012 in car crashes in Alabama caused
by underage drinkers.
Studies show that young people who begin drinking in
their teen years are six times more likely to become problem drinkers or
alcohol dependent.
“Underage drinking and binge drinking remain big problems in
Alabama and the nation, taking or ruining many lives every year,” said Gipson.
“The ABC Board wants students and parents to understand both the legal and
social costs of such irresponsible drinking.”
It is against the law for people under the age of 21
to consume or possess alcoholic beverages. It is also illegal for adults to provide
alcohol to those under the legal drinking age. Penalties include fines,
possible jail time and, for minors, the loss of their driver licenses.
The goal is to make the “Under Age, Under Arrest”
slogan as synonymous with underage drinking as the “Click it or Ticket”
campaign is with wearing seatbelts.
The ABC Board is working with organizations such as
MADD, SADD and ALCAP’s American Character Builders to help schools get the message
to students and parents alike about the dangers of and penalties for underage
drinking. In addition, the ABC Board is partnering with other groups,
organizations and institutions throughout the state. These include religious
organizations, health agencies, substance-abuse treatment providers, law
enforcement, children’s groups, colleges and businesses.
For more information about “Under Age, Under Arrest,”
go online to www.underage-underarrest.com.
The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
controls alcoholic beverages through distribution, licensing and enforcement as
well as education.