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| Advocacy Group Stats on Teen Drinking Disputed |
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Posted by FoM on February 27, 2002 at 09:49:17 PT By Janelle Carter, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press 
An advocacy group's assertions about how much alcohol teen-agers drink are disputed by both the liquor industry and the federal government. A report issued Tuesday by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University claimed that young people between the ages of 12 and 20 accounted for 25 percent of all alcoholic beverages consumed in the United States. Joseph Califano Jr., the organization's president and a former U.S. secretary of health, education and welfare, called the report, "a clarion call for national mobilization to curb underage drinking." But the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the government agency that conducted the 1998 survey cited by the group, issued a statement saying underage drinkers account for 11.4 percent of U.S. alcohol consumption. "Regardless of any discrepancies ... any alcohol use before age 21 is unacceptable and against the law," said the agency, an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services. Citing the government figures, the alcoholic beverage industry accused Califano's group of falsifying its numbers. Frank Coleman, a spokesman for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, called Califano "a serial abuser of statistics for sensational purposes." Both the government and CASA percentages were based on a 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse in which 25,500 people, including 9,759 between the ages of 12 and 20, were questioned in their homes. While the 12-20 age group represented 38 percent of those surveyed, they account for only 13 percent of the total U.S. population, according to 2000 Census Bureau figures. The government says it weighted its survey results to account for the discrepancy between its survey sample and the total population. Califano, in an interview Tuesday, defended his group's decision not to make that adjustment. "The household survey is taken by going into a home and asking parents if you can talk to their children. If parents are in the living room and you (the surveyor and the teen) are in the kitchen, the odds of getting a really solid answer are slim. So there's a tremendous underestimate in reporting," Califano said. On the Net: Distilled Spirits Council: http://www.discus.health.org/ National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse: http://www.casacolumbia.org Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: http://www.samhsa.gov Newshawk: Nicholas Thimmesch II Related Articles: Children Account for Quarter of U.S. Alcohol Use Alcohol is by Far Our Deadliest Drug Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on February 27, 2002 at 10:07:30 PT:
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| Frank Coleman, a spokesman for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, called Califano "a serial abuser of statistics for sensational purposes."
Very good: Now, would you like even more credibility, Frank? Investigate Califano's record on his habitual stance against safe, legal marijuana. Better speak out now, before your industry is prohibited. (again) [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by p4me on February 27, 2002 at 10:05:58 PT |
| Let's get these kids into prison. Do we have laws so we can confiscate the parents houses so they can pay for the prisons? Get them underage smokers and get them in jail. Jail would cure many children from smoking. Let the arrest begin. And while they were at it they would not let the 2 million people now in prison smoke. Cure the prisoners while you got them Buschy Boy. VAAI [ Post Comment ] |
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