Many Kids Who Drink Get Liquor from Home

A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that 709,000 youth ages 12 to 14 in the United States are drinking beer, liquor and other alcoholic beverages.

And the surprise is that many of these underage drinkers aren't just getting a friend to buy a six pack for them or smuggling alcohol out of the family liquor cabinet. Some are getting the alcohol directly from a parent, guardian or another adult relative.

In the past month alone, more than 200,000 kids were given alcohol by a parent or other adult family member. About 45 percent got alcohol from a parent or other family member or they took it from their home without permission.

About 15 percent of these kids just took the liquor, but 15.7 percent got it directly from that parent or guardian and another 14 percent got it from another relative, according to the study.

“SAMHSA Data Spotlight: Young Alcohol Users Often Get Alcohol from Family or Home” is based on the combined data from SAMHSA’s 2006 to 2009 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and involves responses from more than 44,000 respondents ages 12 to 14. NSDUH is a primary source of information on national use of tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs (including non-medical use of prescription drugs) and mental health in the United States. The survey is part of the agency’s strategic initiative on behavioral health data, quality and outcomes.

"People who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 15 are six times more likely than those who start at age 21 and older to develop alcohol problems. Parents and other adults need to be aware that providing alcohol to children can expose them to an increased risk for alcohol abuse and set them on a path with increased potential for addiction," said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde, in the report.

For more information, please visit www.cadca.org.

The President's National Drug Control Budget: Continuing Increased Support for Prevention and Treatment

Yesterday, President Obama announced his Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget requests, which includes the National Drug Control Budget request of $26.2 billion to reduce drug use and its consequences in the United States. This request demonstrates a continued commitment to the National Drug Control Strategy and its comprehensive approach to drug policy.

The FY 2012 budget request includes funding for critical areas of drug control policy, including:

• Prevention - Spearheaded by the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education, Federal resources totaling $1.7 billion support education and outreach programs aimed at preventing the initiation of drug use.

• Treatment - The FY 2012 Budget proposes $8.9 billion in Federal funds for early intervention and treatment services for substance abusers.

• Domestic Law Enforcement - Over $9.5 billion in FY 2012 Federal resources are requested to support domestic law enforcement efforts, including facilitating partnerships between Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, to identify, dismantle, and disrupt sophisticated national and international drug-trafficking and money-laundering organizations.

• Interdiction - The Federal budget for interdiction activities, which is designed to interrupt the trafficking of illicit drugs into the United States, totals $3.9 billion in FY 2012.

• International Activities - The FY 2012 Budget requests over $2.1 billion to provide international support for the disruption or dismantlement of significant international drug organizations.

In addition, the FY 2012 budget request includes funding to support programs to reduce prescription drug abuse and drugged driving.

Study finds sharp monthly fluctuations in levels of adolescent male visits to emergency department for drug related suicide attempts

A new study examining monthly and seasonal trends in the number of emergency department visits involving drug related suicide attempts reveals considerable fluctuations among adolescent males. The rate for the general population varies little.

The study conducted by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) showed that only 2.5 percent of drug related suicide attempt emergency room visits by males aged 12-17 occur in February – as opposed to 18.9 percent reported in December.

December also marked the highest level of emergency department drug related suicide attempt visits by men aged 50 and older (12.9 percent). The lowest level of visits for males in this age group was in October (5.5 percent).

By comparison, the study showed that the rate of visits remained relatively constant for the rest of the population including males aged 18 to 49.

“Emergency departments present an opportunity to intervene in a way that can help prevent future attempts, said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “While the study does not identify the factors that lead to fluctuations in drug related suicide attempts, it does point to the need for additional research in the factors that play a role in suicidality, particularly among both younger and older males.

The study found that from 2004 to 2008, on average, each year emergency departments dealt with 178,423 visits for drug-related suicide attempts by patients 12 or older. Overall the number of visits reported by emergency departments ranged from12,656 in February (7.1 percent) to 16, 812 visits in September (9.4 percent).

The study’s findings are being announced in conjunction with today’s meeting of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, a public/private partnership (including SAMHSA) to update and advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. The Alliance’s goal is to enhance efforts to address what has become the foremost, preventable public-health tragedy in our nation: suicide. One of the meeting’s specific goals is to more effectively deliver suicide prevention services and messages to high-risk groups. The Action Alliance is engaging every sector of society, public, private and philanthropic to help reach people at risk and help them stay safe.

The study, Monthly and Seasonal Variation in Emergency Department Visits for Drug-Related Suicide Attempts: 2004 to 2008 is an effort to inform policy makers and service providers on the nature and scope of behavioral health issues. The report is part of SAMHSA’s Strategic Initiative on Data, Outcomes, and Quality and is based on SAMHSA’s Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report. DAWN is a public health surveillance system that monitors drug-related hospital emergency department visits reported throughout the nation. A copy of the study is available at http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k11/DAWN019/SuicideBySeason.cfm

For additional information about SAMHSA programs, please visit http://www.samhsa.gov.