Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: Thank you for this opportunity to provide for the record my views and concerns about the problems associated with alcohol consumption by this Nation's youth and the activities my Department is undertaking to address them. Today, 10 million adult Americans suffer from alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. In addition, an estimated 3.3 million teen-agers between the ages of 14 and 17 are experiencing problems with the use of alcohol. Eight out of 10 high school seniors have tried alcohol more than once and 31 percent of high school students are considered to be alcohol misusers that is, they're drunk at least six times a year. Surveys show the average age at which young people begin drinking is 13, and that average age has been getting lower. About one in every four tenth-totwelfth graders drinks at least once a week. Fourteen percent of the youngsters in the peak of their formative years drink heavily once a week. Six percent of the twelfth graders in America drink daily. More senior high school students today use alcohol than any other psychoactive drug, with those who do often combining alcohol use with other drugs with potentially deadly consequences. Alcohol abuse and consumption is believed to be even higher - among the high school students who drop out and are therefore not included in national surveys. -3 I recall that in the 1950s, there was an aroused public consensus that a national energency existed when 200 young Americans lost their lives because of polio. At the height of the polio epidemic in 1952, 3,000 Americans succumbed to that disease, and we rushed to develop a vaccine. That vaccine all American students now receive it at a very early age has wiped polio Polio has become almost as rare as bubonic plague in the United - off our map. States. Today we face an epidemic in our society far harder to fight than polio. That epidemic is teen age alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, no doctor or scientist can discover and produce a vaccine which will imunize young people from driving after they drink. We can't manufacture a pill the don't-drink-and-drivepill which could compel young people to stay sober. There's no inoculation which can immunize young Americans and keep them sober when they drive after a Friday or Saturday night party. - - The statistics I've referred to above are devastating. Each number, each statistic, represents a young American who left us too soon, their promise unfulfilled. But those statistics are not as stark as the tragedies themselves how grotesque - because no faceless, nameless statistic no matter is as real as the impact of each single death and the devastation it brings to relatives and friends. I can assure you that this tragic situation has not gone unnoticed in the For example, in 1979 the first Surgeon General's Report, Healthy People was published establishing broad goals to improve the health of the Nation by 1990 which included reducing deaths among those age 15-24. This report noted that motor vehicle accidents were the #1 cause of mortality for this age accounting for 37% of all deaths. - In follow-up to that report, Promoting Health/Preventing Disease was issued setting specific objectives in 15 priority areas to realize these national goals. The adverse consequences of misuse of alcohol and drugs is one of the fifteen priority areas which we are actively seeking to address. Specific objectives have been developed to reduce the risk factors associated with alcohol consumption by youth and to reduce alcohol-related motor fatalities. I have appended the section of this report dealing with misuse of alcohol and drugs. Our specific objectives may be found in Section 3 of the appendix. We are fully aware that implementing these objectives will require cooperation involving participants from many sectors and backgrounds on the local, State and national levels. Agencies within my Department, including the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Center for Disease Control, among others, are involved in addressing the 1990 goals. -5 The Department of Health and Human Services is actively involved in efforts of "marketing the message" about the high price we pay for alcohol abuse and National Highway Traffic Safety Adminsitration, including revision of an existing interagency agreement to facilitate the planning of O We are exploring potential collaborative projects with the Department of Defense in the prevention and treatment areas; We are discussing possibilities of joint efforts with the National O We are vigorously joining forces within the Department of Health and In addition to these activities, there is currently ongoing an activity of which I am particularly proud the Teenage Alcohol Abuse Initiative. - As part of that initiative, late last year HHS conducted a series of ten conferences on prevention and early intervention for teachers, principals, parents, PTAS and alcohol and drug counselors. Over 1,100 people attended. alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs. A new book on prevention programs called Prevention Plus, based on these conferences, is now available for use in schools and communities. Its purpose is to marshal the school and community resources to develop more comprehensive prevention programs. In March of this year, Secretary Dole, Governor Volpe and I had the opportunity to participate in the first national conference for youth on teenage drinking and driving. The conference was held in Chevy Chase, Maryland at the National 4-H Center and was attended by nearly 400 bright, energetic young people from every State and Territory. These young people joined together dedicated to eliminating drunk driving among their peers. Their sincerity, enthusiasm, and determination, give one faith in the future. Right now, these young people who met in Chevy Chase are mounting anti-drinking and driving campaigns base on positive peer pressure. This effort focuses on using young people to persuade other young people that drinking and driving is not acceptable and can be deadly. Since this conference, 34 States have reported starting new anti-drinking and driving campaigns. Next April, I intend to convene the Second Annual Conference for Youth on Drinking and Driving to continue this initiative. |