Blame the Young'Uns

In October 2006, my home town tab a harrowing feature story dealing with “binge drinking” (a phenomenon often associated with teens). Because in civil society it is proper for all human beings to exhibit concern for all other members of society, this feature had many elements of appropriate coverage. On the other hand, it also bore markers of special interest. I submitted a letter – which turned out to be too long to fit the length protocol for The Independent, the town’s superb local newspaper—pointing out ways to put this issue into context, at least from my perspective.

I have since sent a much shorter letter to that newspaper. The original text is below.

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Letter to the Editor, The Independent, Lafayette, Louisiana

Kudos for Leslie Turk’s wonderful coverage warning parents about the problems of alcohol abuse, and other binge behavior, especially among young people. Abuse of alcohol can cause predictable, well-defined, and profound health problems costing individuals and the community millions of dollars each year. The Independent has performed a timely public service alerting the public to the painful minority effects of our boon companion, alcohol. Still, I do think a few extending comments might be made.

While no one could continence abuse, readers should know that the overwhelming majority of drinkers actively benefit from the consumption of alcohol in their lives & diet. Most of the time, for most people, alcohol contributes strongly to a healthy and happy lifestyle.

Keep in mind that while about 400 people a year do die from alcohol poisoning, about 20,000 die from the common, every-day flu, over 40,000 die in vehicular accidents—any many, many more are badly hurt. Indeed we so love our cars that in 1981 when a presidential task force totaled damage from different crimes, vehicular manslaughter (in fact responsible for perhaps 13,000 deaths) wasn’t even on the list. Cigarettes, the real stalking horse, slays a staggering 300,000 to 500,000 human beings, all dieing from tobacco related illnesses or complications.

From a numbers point of view, if you let your teen smoke, or drive, why worry about drinking? In fact, maybe we should worry about what worries us: while communities struggle to find pennies to fund basic preventative health care facilities or domestic abuse centers, the nation spends billions “defending” us from terrorists, yet it’s more likely that an American will be hit by lighting or die from a bad peanut than be killed by a terrorist.

Maybe Lafayette is down to dealing with the quite tiny risk factor of alcohol poisoning? Perhaps sound anti-smoking regulations are in place, parents don’t let kids drive frivolously, the advice of Dr. Thibodeaux has been followed about the benefits of smaller classrooms –in this case lowering the chance of vectoring flu pathogens—and so on. I’d hate to think folks are carping on alcohol just to give voice to religious extremists.

Indeed, we even know that “participation in eight common types of recreational activities leads annually to more than 2 million medically treated musculoskeletal injuries in children aged 5 to 14 years. Many of these injuries could have been prevented if current safety guidelines and protective equipment had been used.” Adults perhaps should prioritize risk intervention based on reason, and avoid motivations toward social control by special interest groups.

It is important to remember that many millions of Americans receive the well-documented positive health benefits, in addition to social enjoyment, of routine moderate addition of alcohol in the diet, most especially red wine. Regular drinking is not just acceptable; it makes a positive contribution to health.

Although the data is not in yet on how chemistry (including alcohol) works on the developing brain, we do absolutely know that the way to “train” young people into moderation is by learning in a family setting. Few family meals involve “binge” drinking.

Importantly, the claims repeated in text: “teens who drink are more likely to be sexually active and have unsafe, unprotected sex; that half the drowning deaths among teens are alcohol related; how alcohol use increases the chance of them being involved in a homicide. Or committing suicide” are very, very deeply contested or even misleading. I believe the people who use such “motivating spin” are sincere, but I don’t think these “factoids” could stand much rigour. The claims may indeed be false.

Put another, more important way, have young people generally been unimpeachably informed about human sexuality in school? Or, more appropriately, by parents? Do young people have the information necessary to make good decisions about drink and sexual and other activity?

Or have they been kept in some magnitude of ignorance? Are condoms easily and plentifully available to young folks? If not, drunk or sober how can they have “protected” sex? We know at least 25% of 15 year old women ARE having sex. Do Lafayette area schools, public and private, offer the new vaccine against human papillomavirus (the main cause of genital warts and cervical cancer)? Vaccines for Children, the Federal program which offers it cheaply, cuts off funding after 18.

So, if the schools don’t offer good sex education, if means of “protected sex” are not available, if opportunities for vaccines are not offered, it’s fatuous for “experts” to rattle on about “binge” drinking being the boogie man, is it not? Adults have access to all of that; they make the “rational” decision to make it available or withhold it. That decision process places young people in or out of jeopardy, prior to any action taken by the young folks themselves.

Again, thank you for a fine article, especially when the focus was on the appropriately narrow problem of alcohol abuse.

Please do keep up the very good work of a locally owned newspaper.

Thank you

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