New Release

Most in Treatment for Alcohol Abuse Started Drinking Early

Classroom Programs April 18-22 Will Teach Pre-Teens Not to Start

Early alcohol intoxication can lead to a need for substance abuse treatment later in life.  That is the conclusion of a new analysis by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  SAMHSA found that among those persons ages 21 and older admitted to treatment for alcohol dependence or abuse in 2002, 88 percent were first intoxicated before age 21. 

Of those in treatment for alcohol abuse or dependence, 35 percent were first intoxicated at ages 15-17.  SAMHSA’s Treatment Episode Data Set defines age of first use for alcohol as the age of first intoxication.  The new SAMHSA report, “Characteristics of Primary Alcohol Admissions by Age of First Use of Alcohol: 2002” shows that a quarter of the 683,000 admissions to treatment ages 21 and older began drinking between ages 12-14.  There were 16 percent who initiated alcohol use between ages 18 and 20 and 12 percent who were younger than age 12 when first intoxicated.

To combat continuation of this pattern of abuse of alcohol by young teens, SAMHSA has teamed up with Scholastic, Inc., on the Reach Out Now initiative to educate students in fifth and sixth grade classrooms nationwide on the dangers of underage alcohol use, with a program that includes teach-ins April 18 through 22 in every state. The SAMHSA materials, provided to fifth and sixth grade teachers, contain resources to educate youngsters, before they become teens, about the dangers to young bodies associated with drinking alcohol. 

Public figures, including the first ladies of states, will go into classrooms in their states to teach the anti-underage drinking message.  There will be at least one teach-in in every state.  First ladies Patsy Riley, Alabama; Nancy Murkowski, Alaska; Janet Huckabee, Arkansas; Columba Bush, Florida; Karen Baldacci, Maine; Mary Easley, North Carolina; Hope Taft, Ohio; Mary Oberst; Oregon; Mary Kaye Huntsman, Utah; and Nancy Freudenthal, Wyoming; and Lt. Governor James Aiona, Hawaii, are all scheduled to teach the underage drinking curriculum.  Three first ladies, Mary Perdue of Georgia, Anita Perry of Texas and Barbara Richardson of New Mexico are writing newspaper op-eds.  All are members of the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, an organization of  governors’ spouses, federal agencies and public and private organizations.

“While we know that the majority of youth do not drink, research tells us that people who start drinking at early ages are more likely to have problems with alcohol as adults,” said Charles Curie, Administrator of SAMHSA.   “These new SAMHSA data confirm that the vast majority of those in treatment for alcohol misuse had an early initiation into intoxication.” 

He pointed out that “those who used alcohol prior to age 12 were more likely than all others to have had five or more prior treatment episodes.  With the help of the governors’ spouses and our partners we are reaching out to classrooms nationwide to prevent the early use of alcohol and delay the age of initiation.”

The SAMHSA data on who is in treatment for alcohol abuse and dependence is extracted from the Treatment Episode Data Set 2002.  These data indicates that those admitted to treatment with an age of first use of alcohol younger than 15 years old were more likely to report both alcohol and drug use upon admission than those who reported their age of first use of alcohol as 15 or older.  In 2002, 57 percent of primary alcohol admissions ages 21 or older were admitted to treatment for alcohol alone while 43 percent reported abusing alcohol and drugs.

This is the fourth year of Reach Out Now.  In 2004, Reach Out Now materials were distributed to over 300,000 class rooms nationwide.  The materials were developed by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) and Scholastic, Inc., and were based on research supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and SAMHSA.  The public/private partnership allows SAMHSA to merge its knowledge about underage drinking prevention with Scholastic, Inc.’s reputation for excellence in the development of classroom materials.

Partnering with SAMHSA in the effort are MADD, Pride Youth Program, Inc., Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America,  the National Family Partnership, National Association of State Drug and Alcohol Abuse Directors, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.

A Family Resource Guide is part of the school program.  The guide urges parents to establish and maintain good communications with their children; get involved in your child’s life; make clear rules and enforce them with consistence and appropriate consequences; be a positive role model; teach children to choose friends wisely; and monitor the activities of your children.

The new SAMHSA report is available on the web at www.oas.samhsa.gov.  Reach Out Now materials and more information about the teach-ins are available on the web at www.teachin.samhsa.gov.

SAMHSA, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead federal agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services in the United States.

 

This page was last updated on 13 April, 2005
SAMHSA is An Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service