This is a staff editorial from the Daily Barometer, Oregon State University’s award-winning student newspaper. It argues that underage drinking is not a problem. Underage drinking is not a problem. The problematic situation is over-consumption. This is a result of our society’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Overconsumption is everywhere in today’s America. Drinking is but …
Public policy in the U.S. calls for complete alcohol abstinence by all people under age 21. However, it’s highly unsuccessful. Indeed, the policy has actually been counterproductive. That is, causing more problems than it prevents. We absolutely must replace failed programs with effective alcohol education. Alcohol education programs are virtually mandated by law to present …
There will never be enough enforcement agents to prevent underage alcohol purchases. So says an official of the NC Alcohol Law Enforcement agency. The problem can never be solved by hiring ever more agents. But we must have ways of preventing underage alcohol purchases. Fortunately, Alaska has thought creatively and uses an economic incentive to …
Journalist Jeff Frantz reports that Europeans learn responsible drinking. Thus young Europeans are more responsible about drinking than those in the U.S. Here’s his piece. The 21st-birthday bar tour — it’s a staple of American life. You blow out the candles, go to a bar, drink, vomit, pass out. You laugh the next day when …
Compliance checks or stings for underage alcohol sales are very popular. However, to be legal, they must be done without entrapment. Basically, entrapment is inducing people to commit a crime they are not “predisposed” to commit and would not ordinarily commit. The Department of Justice stresses that “Entrapment is a complete defense to a criminal charge.”1 …
Here is a list of what appear to be grassroots organizations against underage drinking. In reality, all of these groups were organized and supported by the temperance-oriented Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They’re part of its nation-wide program to influence alcohol policy at both the state and federal levels. Pennsylvanians Against Underage Drinking. Texans Standing Tall …
Most alcohol abuse education is ineffective and occasionally even counter-productive. Often young people begin drinking to defy authority. It’s important that we effectively teach young people about the dangers of alcohol abuse. We must also prepare them to drink safely, if they choose to drink, when they’re of legal drinking age. Harm reduction approaches don’t …
Are alcohol ads and underage drinking related? Can reducing or eliminating alcohol ads on TV reduce underage drinking? Simple solutions to complex issues are always temping. Unfortunately, news reports can mislead if they don’t accurately summarize research findings. Misleading Reporting In reporting the findings of a study1 on the subject, the New York Times failed to …
Are early puberty and early drinking age related? Researchers wanted to know the answer. To do so, they studied 1,117 young people. They found that early onset of puberty predicts early consumption of alcohol and intoxication. And it does so among both males and females. It also predicts smoking, drug use, and both sex and …
Much research focuses on early age of first drink. Researchers usually call this early onset of drinking. (They ignore age at first intoxication.) Many report that age at first drink is associated with later drinking problems. However, no one knows why this is so. There are two obvious possibilities. One is that early onset of …
