April is Alcohol Awareness Month.
It is an opportunity to focus attention on America's No. 1 health problem, according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance among adolescents and adults everywhere.
The New Albany-Plain Local School District is committed to achieving the best academic and developmental outcomes for each student. A comprehensive Well-being Initiative is being implemented to provide pre-K through 12th-grade programs and resources for our students and families.
For the past two years, the district has partnered with Hanover Research to conduct a substance-use survey with middle school and high school students to gain data and valuable insight.
This year, 2,234 students in grades 6 to 12 participated.
Key findings include:
* 84 percent indicated they are not using alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs and/or prescription medication.
* 50 percent indicated their first use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or unauthorized prescription medication occurred from ages 14 to 16.
* Students responded they use alcohol (28 percent), tobacco (27 percent), prescription medication (37 percent) and illicit drugs (36 percent) because the substances make them feel good quickly.
* Friends appear to influence alcohol, tobacco and drug use; 64 percent of students who have experimented indicated that their first use was with friends, with 52 percent reporting that their first use was at a friend's home. Friends are the most common methods of acquiring substances.
* Students indicated they are engaging in these activities at friends' homes (57 percent), at their home (4 percent), at parties or events outside of school (42 percent), in a car (21 percent) or in public places (17 percent). Students most often are using substances after school or on weekends, and not during school.
* The vast majority of students (94 percent) indicated their parents/guardians would strongly disapprove if they used tobacco, illicit drugs or prescription medication without a prescription. However, only 75 percent of students reported their parents would strongly disapprove of drinking alcohol.
Why should parents and guardians care about underage drinking?
The risks associated with underage drinking go far beyond driving drunk and can be just as fatal, according to the Prevention Action Alliance.
Underage drinking impairs judgment, leads to risky sexual behavior, increases the risk of physical and sexual assault, interferes with brain development, increases the risk of alcohol problems for life, leads to problems at school, affects health, causes unintentional injuries or fatalities and might lead to other substance use.
According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, "students who begin drinking before the age of 15 are six times more likely to develop alcoholism or have problems with alcohol later in life, compared to those who wait until turning 21.
Alcohol use by those under the age of 21 is not a rite of passage. It's dangerous. It's deadly. It sets kids up for a lifetime of negative consequences."
The importance of clear expectations from parents and guardians to students regarding substance use, including alcohol consumption, is tremendous.
To learn more, join district leaders at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, at New Albany Intermediate School, 177 N. High St., for "Alcohol Awareness -- Power of Parents" in partnership with MADD. All are welcome.
Michael L. Sawyers is superintendent of the New Albany-Plain Local School District.