Privatization Is Not the Answer
- Print print this page
- Discuss 13 comments, Blog about
Advertisement
Environmental factors surrounding underage drinking are critical and affect early use — a strong predictor of misuse, abuse and chemical dependency.
It is one root cause of this complex problem that we must be vigilant in monitoring. That includes easy access to alcohol outlets, cheap prices and family attitudes that form behaviors contributing to many local issues.
I share these data with your readers:
— On average, 11,318 American youth (12-20 years of age) try alcohol for the first time each day; ages 12-20 account for 3.6 billion drinks per year in the United States; 20 percent of the U.S. alcohol market is made up of youth under age 21.
— North Carolina had the largest increase in drunk driving deaths in the U.S. South Carolina was second with a 44 fatality increase.
— North Carolina alcohol outlets reported that 39 percent of 120 outlets did not check ID at purchase.
— More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year (about five a day) as a result of alcohol-related injuries.
The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration says that 18 percent of all highway fatalities tested for drugs test positive for both illicit and legally prescribed drugs, in addition to the alcohol data; the Moore County lifetime alcohol use rate for high school seniors is 80 percent.
The proposed changes to privatize the North Carolina ABC system promise to lower prices and provide more access to alcohol outlets.
These goals are just the opposite of what youth advocates are trying to accomplish. Higher pricing and limited access to tobacco products have reduced youth initiation to tobacco over the years, and the same is true of alcohol.
Privatization will not reduce the cost of alcohol-related crashes, deaths and problems in health status, school and law enforcement.
Darlind Davis
Drug Free Moore County Pinehurst
More like this story
Advertisement
Comments
Darkwing 2 years, 4 months ago
Pshaw! More alarmist nonsense. I began drinking at an early age. Each time I became legalt to drink, it lost a lot of it's appeal. By the time I was in my mid-twenties, I lost interest.
My experience with drug and alcohol experts is usually that they see the world throught the ditorted lens that "everyone" has a problem, and that the sky is always falling in relation to drugs and alcohol. Having been to much of the world, I find that the real problem is controls. Drinking ages manufacture the trouble. Scrap drinking ages and just hold drinkers responsible for their actions. Go around the world, as I have, and you'll see that our youth are the ones who have a problem. Our Navy is the only 'dry' Navy in the world. So when we pull into a foreign port, our sailors camp out at the first bar we find and binge until we have to go back. Other navies' sailors stop by the bar on their way to go see the sights, and again on their way back.
It's also been my expereince the "advocates" for anyone usually are not for the subject, but rather for CONTROLLING the subject, usually to a far stricter degree than necessary. They spend far too much time finding evidence that we need to crack down on youth or whatever their subject is than trying to find ways to help them. Cast my vote for privatizing, since anti-alcohol youth 'advocates' think it's a bad idea. Bet it reducesthe so-called problem...
SH59 2 years, 4 months ago
Privatization from a business sense is a good idea, there's nothing like competition to bring a better product to the public at a good price. I'm also sure putting a liqueur store in Seven Lakes would save many road trips to Pinehurst and Southern Pines and help decrease traffic on 211. The potential for misuse is always there but restricting who owns the business isn't going to make any difference. That's a matter of education and enforcement.
Darkwing 2 years, 4 months ago
From my own experience, parents who let their kids drink are not the problem. Parentally-supervised drinking is ok. It's the kids who do it behind their parent's back that get in trouble.
Arestorer 2 years, 4 months ago
Parentally-supervised drinking is ok. Are you for real????
pinewoodnc 2 years, 4 months ago
Supervised drinking? That is just condoning something that kids should not be doing in the first place. Especially considering many children are not mature enough to not drink and drive. How many kids get killed every week on the highways? Don't tell me that many have not been drinking.
Darkwing 2 years, 4 months ago
Absolutely wrong. Children should not be taught that drinking is an 'adult' activity, something to sneak. When children see alcohol as just another beverage, rather than a glamorous adult thing, they don't get wasted in the park with their friends and consequently need to drive home. Try READING what I said, not skimming for points to rail against.
Darkwing 2 years, 4 months ago
Certainly. Wouldn't you rather your kids drank with you than their friends without your knowledge? It's a lot easier to be sure they don't overdo it and to teach them to resist peer pressure that way.
When I was a kid, I had friends whose parents allowed them to drink - they had much less interest in alcohol than did other friends whose parents drank, but prohibited their kids from doing so.
dogboy 2 years, 4 months ago
...parentally supervised drinking!! How about parent supervised prostitutes also.
Ross 2 years, 4 months ago
great idea........... where will it be?
Darkwing 2 years, 4 months ago
i thought that was an old tradition already. Seriously, try a little more thought and a little less ad hominem.
SH59 2 years, 4 months ago
I grew up in a household that allowed us at 18 to have a cocktail with the parents before dinner. It wasn't that big of a deal, we had only one (usually sherry) and it was in a social situation. It was almost like an initiation into the adult world and we didn't want to act like stupid kids. I never thought I needed to experiment by overdoing it with friends and drinking wasn't regarded by me as an illicit activity I had to do. I do think parental supervision and teaching can make a difference.
soccermom 2 years, 4 months ago
Right On Darkwing! Thank you for your comments, you are absolutely right. I too have traveled worldwide and it is indeed OUR youth with the biggest problem. The cultures I've had exposure to teach their youth the responsibilities of drinking, and particularly drinking and driving. Most just don't do it, period.
Additionally, the cost and time requirements of drivers education classes and a drivers license are much, much more costly/stringent than ours.They don't just talk the talk like we do - they back it up with education and serious consequences. Plus, their kids aren't driving when they're sixteen, most don't drive until they're eighteen.
But, I think the biggest issue is our 'approach' to drinking and drugs - we make them seem so much more attractive. . Most European kids drink at home from a fairly young age - watered down beer/wine is often served at dinner. Having exposure to alcohol at home, takes the glamour out of experimenting with it outside of home.