Showing progress in underage drinking

Dear Editor,

While I agree with your editorial, "Underage drinking campaign facing an uphill battle" (Dec. 27), it is also true that there has been progress on this front.

Alcohol use among Nebraska high schools students has declined considerably in the last twenty years. The percentage of students reporting in a survey that they drank alcohol during the past 30 days has declined from 53 percent in 1991 to 27 percent in 2011. The percentage reporting binge drinking dropped from 37 percent in 1991 to 16 percent in 2011.

There has also been a decrease in reported impaired driving among young adults, compared to previous surveys. And four in five young adults report an unfavorable view of underage drinking, and very strong disapproval of providing alcohol to minors.

That being said, there is more work to be done. Children who drink alcohol are more likely to use drugs, get bad grades, suffer injury or death, engage in risky sexual activity, make bad decisions, and have health problems. So it's important we address underage drinking.

With this new grant funding from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration community coalitions will be working to identify those factors in the environment that contribute most to underage drinking in their communities and work together to create positive change. The common goal for each of eleven targeted counties is to decrease the number of health, safety and social problems caused by underage alcohol use.

It is possible to reduce alcohol use by young people. We've done it in the state and the progress we've made attests to that. We'll continue to fight the good fight. We appreciate the McCook Gazette's support in this area and encourage you to stay involved.

Thanks for your attention to the subject.

Sincerely,

Scot L. Adams

Director, Division of Behavioral Health

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services