What Every Parent Needs to Know
Alcohol: The Deadliest Drug
Do you feel relieved your kid is "just" drinking and not using drugs? Don't relax yet. Alcohol is the most serious drug of all. You might think it's a relatively innocent rite of passage, but here are the hard facts:
- Alcohol is the most used and abused mood-altering substance among youth.
- Kids who begin drinking at a young age are at much higher risk of developing problems. Kids who view alcohol in a positive light are more likely to drink at a younger age.
- One concern in the East Kootenay area is the number of youth who report binge drinking. Binge drinking at any time is risky for adolescents, significantly increasing the risk of assault, sexual assault, injury and death.
- A high number of East Kootenay youth report having been a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone who has been impaired by alcohol or other drugs, and report operating a vehicle after using alcohol or other drugs.
- Kids are drinking at younger and younger ages. Many kids are already experimenting with alcohol in the 5th grade, many more than just 10 years ago when teens were more likely to start drinking in 8th or 9th grades.
- According to the Center for Disease Control, 40% of 9th-graders reported that they tried alcohol before age 13 and had used alcohol in the past month.
- Kids who start drinking at a young age are more likely to experiment later with illegal drugs.
- Many kids report that, although they learn early on about the dangers of drugs, they do not learn about the dangers of drinking alcohol.
