<21=0    (under 21 equals zero)

This is formula is easy to understand but difficult to achieve when it comes to drinking alcoholic beverages. After all, when a person reaches 18 they are an adult in our society, right? Our own attitudes, traditions and biases get in the way of understanding the negative effects of alcohol on adolescent brain development. 

New research indicates that the human brain continues to develop into a person's early 20's and that exposure of the developing brain to alcohol may have long-lasting effects on intellectual capabilities and may increase the likelihood of alcohol addiction. (Brown, Tapert, Granholm and Delis, 2000) www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Patricia A. Powell, Ph.D., in her report to the U.S. Department of Education on February 22, 2006 said about the consequences of underage drinking included vehicle crashes, homicides, suicides, physical and sexual assaults, unwanted or unintended sexual activity, date rape, altered academic performance and possible adverse effects on the developing brain. www.ahealthiermidland.org/facts.htm

If a person is old enough to go to war and die for our country, they should be old enough to drink, right? That is not what Colonel Evan J. Hoapili, commander of the 90th Space Wing, which is head-quartered at Warren Air Force Base (AFB) in Cheyenne, has discovered.

They have enforced a strict 0,0,1,3 policy for their enlisted soldiers.

Responsible drinking means drinking in moderation. Anything more than 4 – 5 drinks in a row, in a relatively short period of time, is known as binge drinking. Binge drinking has been scientifically proven to significantly increase incidents of death, injury, assault, sexual abuse, unsafe sex, poor work performance, and health problems.

Responsible drinking is represented by the numbers of “0-0 1-3.” This means, “0” drinks if you are under 21! “0” DUIs! If you are of age and only drink periodically, only have “1” drink within an hour, with no more than “3” drinks a day!

If you drink on a daily basis, the medical studies recommend only one drink for women and two drinks for men. 

Quick Facts on Youth and Alcohol

In the United States alone, alcohol kills more kids than all illegal drugs combined. (Gruenebaum, J.A. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2002.)

Each day, more than 7000 kids in the United States under the age of 16 takes their first drink. (National Research Council. Institute of Medicine, 2004.)

1 in 5 eighth graders is a current drinker. (National Research Council. Institute of Medicine, 2004.)

By age 14, more than ½ of the children who reported using any alcohol in the past month also reported having had 5 or more drinks in a single occasion in that same month.
(Flewelling, R.L., et al., The Epidemiology of Underage Drinking in the United States: An Overview. Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility, Background Papers. 2004.)

78% of 8th graders, 71% of 10th graders, and 68% of 12th graders reported using
“alcopops” (sweet, sugary alcoholic drinks) in the last month. (Underage Drinking in the United States: A Status Report. Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. 2004.)

Almost 75% of 7th graders who drink alcohol obtain it from their parents with or without  their knowledge. (Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility, National Research Council. Institute of Medicine. National Academies of Science. 2003.)

Girls are now drinking at the same rate as boys. (Cost of Underage Drinking. US Department of Justice. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. 2002.)

Teen girls who binge drink are up to 63% more likely to become teen mothers. (Dee, T.S. The Effects of Minimum Legal Drinking Ages on Teen Childbearing. The Journal of Human Resources. 2004.)

Most kids who drink do so to get drunk. More than 90% of the alcohol consumed by 12-20 year olds is drunk when they are binge drinking (consuming 5 or more drinks in a single drinking episode). (Flewelling, R.L., et al., The Epidemiology of Underage Drinking in the United States: An Overview. Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility, Background Papers. 2004.)

95% of all violent crime on college campuses and 90% of acquaintance rapes involve the
use of alcohol by the assailant, victim or both. (Rethinking Rites of Passage: Substance Abuse on America’s Campuses. National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. 1994.)

Underage drinking costs the United States $53 billion a year in medical care, lost
productivity, and the pain and suffering of young drinkers. (Cost of Underage Drinking. US Department of Justice. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. 2002.)

For more information go to www.faceproject.org