A yearly awareness campaign in April since 1987, Alcohol Awareness Month this year is targeting youth and their parents. Alcoholism is the nation’s number one health problem.

Although statistics show a decrease in the number of young people who drink alcohol, alcohol still is the “drug of choice” for American youth, and accidents related to alcohol consumption kill young people more than all illegal drugs. 

By making people more aware of the dangers of alcohol and the solutions, Alcohol Awareness Month aims to reduce the pain and suffering alcohol abuse causes to people’s lives.
Alcohol addiction and abuse causes the death of  thousands of people in the US each year.

Know the facts – 

• More than 65 million Americans admitted to binge or heavy drinking within the one-month period when surveyed.
• More than 10,000 alcohol-related driving fatalities were reported in 2019, amounting to 28% of all traffic fatalities that year.
• Teen drinking kills approximately 4,300 people each year, much more than all illegal drug deaths combined.
• In 2019, almost 25% of young teens 14-15 years-old admitted having at least one alcoholic drink.
• In 2019, seven million people between the ages of 12 and 20 reported that they engaged in alcohol consumption.
• Teens don’t drink as often as adults do, but when they do drink, they are more likely to engage in “binge drinking.” 
• In 2019, millions of young people admitted to at least one instance of binge drinking.
• In the past, adolescent boys were more likely to drink and binge drink than girls, but now the reverse is true.
  
  Communication with youngsters about the dangers of drinking is an important responsibility of parents and caregivers. Teenagers should be aware that alcohol-related deaths include car accidents, murders, overdoses, falls and burns while intoxicated, drowning and suicides.