Community costs of underage drinking

Underage drinking parties in our parks is a problem the Prevention WINS coalition has been raising awareness about since 2006.  Today, Q13-FOX reported on an underage drinking party at Gas Works Park during which teenagers plastered it with graffiti.

Photo from Q13FOX, July 29, 2014

Cleaning up graffiti and trash left behind by underage drinkers costs Seattle Parks and Recreation money they would probably prefer to use for other purposes.  Other costs include personal ones associated with driving drunk as well as first responder and medical costs associated with injuries from drunk driving crashes.  View a video produced by Prevention WINS on this very subject at www.PreventionWorksInSeattle.org

Update (11:55 a.m.):  A reporter from KIRO said that it was a "huge party" of more than 100 minors that did not appear to be homeless.  

Easing regulations to raise money

Earlier today, I went through my "to read" folder and posted a bunch of drug and alcohol-related links in the blog entry below.  I was going to include one from the New York Times entitled "States Putting Hopes in ‘Bottoms Up’ to Help the Bottom Line" but I thought it deserved its own entry considering all of our local/state initiatives that would ease regulations on alcohol.

Here's an excerpt:

With cities across the country facing their fifth straight year of declining revenues and states cutting services and laying off workers, raising money from people who enjoy a cocktail is becoming an increasingly attractive option.

Since the recession started in earnest in 2008, dozens of states and cities have tinkered with laws that regulate alcohol sales as a way to build up their budgets.

Although some drinkers and government budget writers might like the changes, not everyone is happy.

“Lawmakers are taking a very short-sided view,” said David Jernigan, director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “What they gain in short-term tax revenue they are losing in long-term police costs, emergency room costs and work-force readiness costs in terms of the Monday morning effect.”

Like many public health officials, Mr. Jernigan does not support government efforts that increase the availability of alcohol, but he does support raising sales tax as a way to make people drink less.

As I have noted in previous blog entries, stringent alcohol regulations are one tool communities rely upon to prevent underage drinking.  So, as our local and state governments propose increasing access to alcohol as a way to raise tax revenue, communities should consider the costs associated with increased access .  At the same time, communities may want to consider advocating for an increase in taxes on alcohol -- a policy that has proven to prevent underage drinking. 

Strong alcohol regulations save us money

While researchers continue to find that substance abuse prevention saves money (see yesterday's post), a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study adds to what we know about the high cost of excessive alcohol consumption. 

Underage drinking is included in the definition of excessive alcohol consumption.  According to the study, 12% of the economic costs of excessive consumption were related to underage drinking.  The largest share of underage drinking costs were related to "lost productivity" due to premature death. 

Here is part of CADCA's summary of the findings:

Excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for an average of 79,000 deaths and 2.3 million years of potential life lost in the United States each year, said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., in a press conference held Monday.

Researchers found the costs largely resulted from losses in workplace productivity (72 percent of the total cost), health care expenses for problems caused by excessive drinking (11 percent of the total cost), law enforcement and other criminal justice expenses related to excessive alcohol consumption (9 percent of the total cost), and motor vehicle crash costs from impaired driving (6 percent of the total cost). The study did not consider a number of other costs such as those due to pain and suffering by the excessive drinker or others who were affected by the drinking, and thus may be an underestimate. Researchers estimated that excessive drinking cost $746 per person in the United States in 2006.

“This research captures the reality that binge drinking means binge spending, not just for the person who drinks but for families, communities, and society,” Dr. Frieden said. “There are substantial costs to all of us in health care, the workplace, and criminal justice systems. Responsible individual behavior combined with the effective policies can decrease unhealthy drinking, reduce health care and other costs, and increase productivity.”

The authors of the study (published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, November 2011) conclude by saying, ". . . this study shows that the economic impact of excessive alcohol consumption is quite comparable to the economic impact of other leading health-risk behaviors, such as smoking and physical inactivity."  Among the policies they cite as being effective in preventing excessive consumption are increasing the price of alcohol, limiting alcohol outlet density, and keeping the legal drinking age of 21.  In other words, strong alcohol regulations can save us money.

Local drug-related emergency department visits

DAWN, the Drug Abuse Warning Network, recently released a report about drug-related emergency department (ED) visits in the Seattle metropolitan area.

According to the report, patients aged 18-24 had the highest rate of drug-related ED visits and the highest rate of ED visits related to illicit drugs and the nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals. 

Seattle's rate of ED visits involving drug misuse or abuse is higher than the national average.

Seattle's rate of ED visits involving nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals is higher than the national average.

When it comes to illicit drugs, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana are the top three drugs involved in drug-related ED visits.  Seattle's rates of ED visits due to heroin, stimulants, and meth are significantly higher than the national average.

Seattle's rates of ED visits related to underage drinking have decreased while national rates have increased.

2010 Healthy Youth Survey results available online

Statewide results from the 2010 Healthy Youth Survey are now available on the Department of Health website. 

According to the survey, given in October to all 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in Washington, more students are making healthier choices by avoiding alcohol. In the past 20 years, there’s been a big drop in 8th and 10th graders who report drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. Since 1990, youth drinking is down for 8th graders by over half, from 29 to 14 percent in 2010. Drinking among 10th graders has dropped from 44 to 28 percent. Since 2008, about 20,000 more youth in 8th, 10th, and 12th grade report that their parents talked to them about not drinking alcohol.


While our state has made gains in preventing underage drinking, the same cannot be said for youth marijuana use. 

-- Marijuana use among 12th graders increased from 23% to 26% (compared to 20% of 12th graders who smoke cigarettes).

-- Fewer students believe regular use of marijuana is a great risk: down from 63% to 59% among 8th graders; from 52% to 46% among 10th th graders.   As perception of harm goes down, drug use increases.


Statewide data is available online.  Seattle Public Schools anticipates releasing school-level data in April. 

The high cost of underage drinking in Washington State

The Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery recently released its 2010 Report on Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Trends in Washington State.  Included is this chart (on page 179) about the costs of underage drinking in our state.  The report states:

Underage drinking in Washington State is associated with substantial harm resulting from traffic crashes, violent crime, unintentional injury, and risky sexual behavior.

-- In 2007, it is estimated that there were 32 traffic fatalities and 2,200 nonfatal traffic injuries involving underage drinking and driving.

-- In 2006, it is estimated that there were 21 homicides, 17,700 nonfatal violent crimes such as rape, robbery, and assault and 50,200 property crimes including burglary, larceny, and car theft perpetrated by underage drinkers.

-- In 2006, it is estimated that there were 12 fatalities from burns, drowning, and suicide involving underage drinking.

-- In 2006, an estimated 2,500 teen pregnancies and 11,500 risky sexual acts by teens involved the use of alcohol.

This all from a substance that is illegal for those under the age 21 and that is regulated.