wfn.org | Youth Alcohol Binges on the Rise, Health Expert Warns

[APD <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

May 24, 2002
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
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APD@stanet.ch
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Youth Alcohol Binges on the Rise, Health Expert Warns
 
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA - It's time for Seventh-day 
Adventists to do more in getting the word out about the 
dangers of alcohol use and binge drinking among young 
people, according to Dewitt Williams, health ministries 
director for the Adventist church in North America.
 
Williams points out that the alcohol industry spends a 
staggering US$11 million a day on advertising in the
United States. As one of the few church groups to take 
a proactive stand against alcohol use, Adventists
have a responsibility to step up their public response on 
this issue, he says.
 
"The key is to begin anti-alcohol education early," says 
Williams. "Grades one through four--that's the age
to target prevention. The average individual who starts 
or experiments with alcohol is around 12 years of
age, and by 13 or 14 has become increasingly involved. 
Studies show the younger a person starts, the
more likely he or she is to become addicted."
 
Williams' comments were prompted by statistics 
reported in the March issue of the Journal of American
College Health showing that 44 percent of college 
students can be classified as "binge drinkers." Williams
cautions that alcohol use is not confined to secular 
campuses. 
 
In 1990, the education department's "Value Genesis" 
study found that 10 percent of Adventist church
members use alcohol, and 25 percent of members 
under the age of 25 use alcohol. Williams says this 
figure
for Adventist young people is "concerning."
 
"At least at an Adventist college it's underground," he 
adds. "It's still taboo. But 50 percent of our young
people go to non-Adventist campuses where it's out in 
the open."
 
"My concern is that the church needs to do more in 
getting the word out about alcohol and other drugs,"
says Williams. "Twenty years ago every church 
conference had a temperance department. Later it was
combined with the health ministries department. But 
now many conferences don't have a health worker on
staff, and the message is not getting to our young 
people."
 
Youth alcohol binges are an increasing concern outside 
North America as well. According to the results of a
British survey released last week, a quarter of 13 and 
14-year-olds in the United Kingdom say they've had
at least five alcoholic drinks in a single session, and 27 
percent of those aged 15 and 16 reported three or
more binges in the past month. [Editors Ansel Oliver 
and Bettina Krause for ANN]

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