Each April since 1987, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) has sponsored Alcohol Awareness Month to encourage local communities to focus on alcoholism and alcohol-related issues. This April, NCADD will be highlighting the important issue of underage drinking, a problem with devastating consequences. Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous - both to themselves and to society at large, and is associated with traffic fatalities, violence, unsafe sex, suicide, educational failure, and other problem behaviors. 

Some key facts: 

• Alcohol is the number one drug of choice for America's young people;
• Those who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin at age 21;
• Each day, 7,000 kids in the United States under the age of 16 take their first drink.
• Underage alcohol use costs the nation an estimated $53 billion annually.

Reducing underage drinking is critical to securing a healthy future for America's youth and requires a cooperative effort from parents, schools, community organizations, business leaders, government agencies, alcohol manufacturers and retailers, the entertainment industry, and young people themselves. This year's theme for Alcohol Awareness Month is A Call to Action and it highlights the need for working together to create comprehensive education, prevention, intervention and treatment resources.

"The issue of underage drinking is a complex problem," says Robert J. Lindsey, President of NCADD, "one that can only be solved through a sustained and cooperative effort. But if we care about the health and well being of our children, the bottom line is that we need to do everything we can to discourage them from drinking for as long as possible."

Unfortunately, it remains relatively easy for teenagers to get access to alcohol and, despite serious concerns, kids are flooded with media messages that glamorize alcohol use, increasing the likelihood that they will drink themselves. 

"We need to wake up to the problem and to recognize the reality that for some, alcoholism and addiction develop at a young age and that intervention, treatment, and recovery support are essential for them and their families," says Lindsey. "We can't afford to wait any longer."

An integral part of Alcohol Awareness Month is Alcohol-Free Weekend (April 7-9, 2006), which is designed to raise public awareness about the inappropriate use of alcohol and how it may be affecting individuals, families, and the community. During this seventy-two-hour period, NCADD extends an open invitation to all Americans, young and old, to participate in three alcohol-free days and to use this time to contact local NCADD Affiliates and other alcoholism agencies to learn more about alcoholism and its early symptoms.

For more information about underage drinking, Alcohol Awareness Month and Alcohol-Free Weekend, visit the NCADD website at: www.ncadd.org.