Recognizing the 27th Annual National Alcohol Awareness Month

Floor Speech

Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, April marks the 27th annual National Alcohol Awareness Month.

As co-chair of the House Addiction, Treatment and Recovery (ATR) caucus, I rise today to talk about the importance of this milestone and to applaud the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), which since 1987 has sponsored Alcohol Awareness Month to increase public awareness and understanding, reduce stigma and encourage local communities to focus on alcoholism and alcohol-related issues.

Alcohol abuse is one of the leading causes of death in this country and is a huge contributor to other pressing health care problems like hypertension, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Not a day goes by that we as a Caucus don't hear another story about the tragedy wrought by the abuse of alcohol. Some have even gone so far as to call the abuse of alcohol and other drugs the number one public health crisis facing this country.

This year, National Alcohol Awareness Month is highlighting the important public health issue of underage drinking, a problem with devastating individual, family and community consequences. With this year's theme, ``Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow,'' the month of April will be filled with local, state, and national events aimed at educating people about the treatment and prevention of alcoholism. Local NCADD Affiliates as well as schools, colleges, churches, and countless other community organizations will sponsor activities that create awareness and encourage individuals and families to get help for alcohol-related problems.

Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous--both to themselves and to society, and is directly associated with traffic fatalities, violence, suicide, educational failure, alcohol overdose, unsafe sex and other problem behaviors. Annually, over 6,500 people under the age of 21 die from alcohol-related injuries.

Additionally:

Alcohol is the number one drug of choice for America's young people, and is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined.

Each day, 7,000 kids in the United States under the age of 16 take their first drink.
More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year--about 4.65 a day--as a result of alcohol-related injuries.

25% of U.S. children are exposed to alcohol-use disorders in their family. Underage alcohol use costs the nation an estimated $62 billion annually.

And yet, these statistics don't fully convey the danger of underage drinking. The more we learn about the human brain, the more we learn how dangerous early drinking is for underage drinkers.

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, the entertainment industry and alcohol manufacturers/retailers. Underage drinking is a complex issue, one that can only be solved through a sustained and cooperative effort. As a nation, we need to wake up to the reality that for some, alcoholism and addiction develop at a young age and that prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery support are essential for them and their families. We can't afford to wait any longer.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to highlight this important issue with a National Alcohol Awareness Month event in their districts. This is a problem that plagues all of our communities but working together, we can restore hope to our young people and their families.

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