SURGEON GENERAL'S CALL TO ACTION TO PREVENT AND REDUCE UNDERAGE DRINKING

Introduction to the Surgeon General's Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking At a March 6, 2007 news conference, Acting U.S. Surgeon General Kenneth P. Moritsugu issued the Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking, appealing to the Nation to do more to stop current underage drinkers from using alcohol, and to keep other young people from starting. In this first Call to Action addressing underage drinking, Dr. Moritsugu laid out recommendations for government and school officials, parents, other adults, and young people. “Too many Americans consider underage drinking a rite of passage to adulthood,” said Dr. Moritsugu, in a news release. “Research shows that young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life. New research also indicates that alcohol may harm the developing adolescent brain. The availability of this research provides more reasons than ever before for parents and other adults to protect the health and safety of our nation's children.” The news release cites research from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which estimates there are 11 million underage drinkers in the United States. Nearly 7.2 million are considered binge drinkers, typically meaning they drank more than five drinks on occasion, and more than 2 million are classified as heavy drinkers. Developed in collaboration with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Call to Action identifies six goals that:

• Foster changes in society that facilitate healthy adolescent development and help prevent and reduce underage drinking;
• Engage parents, schools, communities, all levels of government, all social systems that interface with youth, and youth themselves in a national effort to prevent and reduce underage drinking and its consequences;
• Promote an understanding of underage alcohol consumption in the context of human development and maturation that takes into account individual adolescent characteristics as well as environmental, ethnic, cultural, and gender differences;
• Conduct additional research on adolescent alcohol use and its relationship to development;
• Work to improve public health surveillance on underage drinking and on population-based risk factors for this behavior; and
• Work to ensure that policies at all levels are consistent with the national goal of preventing and reducing underage alcohol consumption.

“Alcohol remains the most heavily abused substance by America's youth,” said Dr. Mortisugu. “This Call to Action is attempting to change the culture and attitudes toward drinking in America. We can no longer ignore what alcohol is doing to our children.”

For a description of the Call to Action and the companion guides, see the Call to Action Publications page.

 

Leadership Response Leadership Co-Chair Mary Easley, First Lady of North Carolina, and Leadership Foundation board member Michele Ridge, former First Lady of Pennsylvania, spoke at the March 6 news conference, lauding the new report, and promising that Governors’ spouses and representatives around the country will use it to mobilize people in their States. Leadership’s goal is to work with this Surgeon General and future Surgeon Generals to highlight prevention of childhood drinking. To accomplish this goal, Leadership is holding news conferences and town meetings focused on the Call to Action, giving speeches and writing articles on childhood drinking, and working with State and local lawmakers to find effective ways to deny children access to alcohol, promote research and treatment programs, and other activities. See the Surgeon General in the States page for information on individual State activities.