Alcohol
Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce
Underage Drinking (exit DHS)
Six Goals of the Call to Action
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Foster changes in American
society that facilitate healthy adolescent development and that help
prevent and reduce underage drinking.
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Engage parents, schools,
communities, all levels of government, all social systems that
interface with youth, and youth themselves, in a coordinated
national effort to prevent and reduce drinking and its
consequences.
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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.
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Conduct additional research
on adolescent alcohol use and its relationship to development.
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Work to improve public
health surveillance on underage drinking and on population-based
risk factors for this behavior.
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Work to ensure that
policies at all levels are consistent with the national goal of
preventing and reducing underage alcohol consumption.
Alcohol abuse is different from alcoholism
Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that can be
treated and cured. Alcoholism is a disease that can be treated, but
there is no current cure. Treatment is available and works for both
alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
Warning Signs of Alcohol Abuse:
If you answer "yes" to any of the following
questions you may have a problem with alcohol.
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Do you drink alone when you feel angry or sad?
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Does your drinking ever make you late for work?
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Does your drinking worry your family?
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Do you ever forget what you did while drinking?
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Do you get headaches or have a hangover after
drinking?
When alcohol abuse has developed into an addiction:
According to The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
the following four additional symptoms indicate that an alcohol abuse
problem has developed into an addiction to alcohol:
- Craving – A strong need, or urge, to drink
- Loss of control – Not being able to stop drinking once
drinking has begun
- Physical dependence – Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea,
sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking
- Tolerance – The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to
get "high."
Additional Resources:
Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and NCADI
information for April (exit DHS)
National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (exit DHS)
NIAAA home page. Publications, research, information and
other resources.
Screening, Brief
Intervention, Referral and Treatment (exit
DHS)
S-BIRT information.
Institute of Medicine: Reducing Underage Drinking, a
Collective Responsibility
National Alcohol Policy Information System
is the leading authority on alcohol issues.
Surgeon General Call to Action on Underage Drinking
Alcohol Policy MD
Center to Alcohol Marketing and Youth
FACE
Institute for Public Strategies
Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free
Marin Institute
PIRE Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation
Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation
Town Hall Meetings
Wisconsin
Clearinghouse on Prevention Resources
Last Revised: July 15, 2008 |
