News from South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services

For more information contact: Jimmy Mount, 803-896-5562

What You Can Do About Underage Drinking

by W. Lee Catoe

COLUMBIA, SC (02/12/2008; 1057)(readMedia)-- Four 11-year-old girls. Numerous bottles of alcohol. And two adults under arrest for allowing and encouraging the girls to drink what police described as "gross amounts of liquor," to the point of losing consciousness and becoming physically ill. If you were disgusted by the reports of what took place at a sleepover in a quiet Irmo neighborhood a few weeks ago, you weren't alone.

The mother of one of the girls reported the incident to the Sheriff's Department, which assigned deputies to investigate the case and later obtained arrest warrants for the two adults. But what did the rest of us do? Most stood idly by, concerned but seemingly powerless to prevent such scenes from repeating themselves in our community.

At the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, we provide tools and support for the three tactics proven effective in the prevention of underage drinking: curtailing the availability of alcohol, consistent enforcement of existing laws and regulations, and changing norms and behaviors through education. Our "Parents Who Host, Lose The Most" campaign is already in place to educate parents on the legal consequences of providing alcohol to underage youth. You can help by supporting your local Alcohol Enforcement Teams, which are now in every county in South Carolina, and by reporting any and all violations of underage drinking law.

The problem of underage drinking is complex. It can be solved only through a cooperative effort between parents, schools, community leaders and the children themselves. But already we are seeing progress: The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed 15 percent drops in binge drinking among high school students and in underage drinking overall. And yet, of those children who did report drinking, 66 percent said the alcohol was provided or purchased by an adult, reminding us that we still have a long way to go.

Not all cases of underage drinking get the attention the Irmo case is receiving. But all are equally illegal. And they are no less serious when involving older children, as we saw in the recent arrest of a Spartanburg caterer when police found empty liquor bottles and Jell-O shots in her business after a birthday party full of teenagers.

In addition to endangering themselves, older children can, and often do, endanger others by getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. Alcohol is the drug most frequently used by teenagers, consumed more frequently than all other illicit drugs combined. It is also the drug most likely to be associated with injury or death. In fact, in South Carolina, alcohol use is the major cause of loss of life for young people ages 15 to 24, accounting for 45 percent of their fatalities, most of which result from alcohol-related car crashes.

Underage drinking is also a critical public health issue, with research indicating a significant link to dependence on alcohol and other drugs later in life. It's up to us, as parents, neighbors and community members, to protect our children and the people their decisions can affect.

Refuse to provide alcohol to anyone under 21, and talk with your child about the consequences of drinking. You also can sign a pledge to fight underage alcohol use by downloading the document at www.daodas.state.sc.us/underage_drinking.asp.

These recent events have again called our attention to the problem of underage drinking and the urgency for us to take action. Let's make sure we don't need to be reminded again.

(Appointed by Governor Mark Sanford in January 2003, W. Lee Catoe is the director of the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services [DAODAS], the state agency responsible for ensuring the availability and accessibility of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse prevention, intervention and treatment services throughout South Carolina.)