Underage drinking’s toll extends beyond driving

Recently we have seen news articles about youth being cited for underage drinking, and we think back on our own experiences. We reminisce about youthful indiscretions and often shake our heads in amazement that we survived our youth. It is easy to say, “I could drink at 18, and I turned out just fine” or “kids will be kids, especially once they are in college.”

But the bottom line is underage drinking is illegal, and providing alcohol to an underage person is also illegal. Even so, youth are risk takers, and feel they are invincible. Add alcohol to that “it won’t happen to me” attitude, and you have a combination that can lead to many risky and dangerous behaviors. Often, people only focus on underage drinking and driving, but it is important to note that there are a variety of other risky behaviors that occur when young people are under the influence.

Underage alcohol use is a leading contributor to death from injuries, which are the main cause of death for people under age 21. Annually, about 5,000 people in this country under age 21 die from alcohol-related injuries involving underage drinking. Approximately, 1,900 (38 percent) of the 5,000 deaths involve motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 (32 percent) result from homicides, and 300 (6 percent) result from suicides. It has been demonstrated that increasing the drinking age to 21 has saved many young lives, and enforcing the law will save many more.

Underage drinking also leads to other risky behaviors that may not result in death but may result in life-changing events. Alcohol plays a significant role in risky sexual behavior, sometimes leading to unwanted, unintended and unprotected sexual activity and sex with multiple partners. Such behavior increases the risk of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

We have seen tremendous amounts of alcohol being consumed at parties. We have witnessed private parties where hundreds of underage youth are in attendance, with ages ranging from the teens to the late 20s. While loud and unruly behavior, property destruction, unintentional injuries and violence are part of the concern, it is the 18-year-old who is too inebriated to walk or say no to unwanted sexual advances, party after party, week after week, that should remind us why we don’t want to live in a community that condones this behavior.

The basic truth is that alcohol effects youth differently and affects their cognitive development, potentially causing changes in the structure of the brain and how the brain functions. These changes can lead to life-long problems. We know too that the earlier people start drinking, the more likely they are to become dependent on alcohol or other substances. And, people between the ages of 18 and 20 represent the largest percent of our population dependent on alcohol.

Many believe that underage drinking is not an issue for them because they are of legal drinking age, and have no children. Not only is underage alcohol use a danger to the entire community because of death and injury resulting from risky behaviors, but it also cost the citizens of South Carolina nearly $899 million in 2005. These costs are attributed to youth violence, traffic crashes, risky sexual behavior, property damage, injury, poisonings, fetal-alcohol syndrome and treatment services for youth.

It is time that we stopped believing the myth that underage drinking is a victimless crime and a rite of passage. We need to quit promoting this misconception, so our youth can lead healthy, productive lives.

Ms. Francis is president and chief operating officer of LRADAC, the Behavioral Health Center of the Midlands. She previously worked with the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services and the Department of Health and Human Services.