TEENS MISS POINT ON ALCOHOL ABUSE

A commercial sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy
shows a stark image: a father and his pre-teen son sitting down to
breakfast, neither saying a word.

The screen fades to black and a message glares: "Another opportunity
lost to talk to your child about drugs."

That talk should include alcohol, a legal, potent drug that a survey
suggests teens are abusing because they apparently don't know any better.

Some of them, right here in South Texas, might even be doing it
tonight, maybe after the football game. We hope not.

The survey, commissioned by the American Academy of Pediatrics, found
more than half of the youths ages 16 to 19 said they drank during the
previous month, but nearly two-thirds said they always appoint a
designated driver.

Good news? Not.

Eighty percent of the teens surveyed think it's OK to drink as long as
there is a designated driver.

Their definition of designated driver should scare parents and other
interested adults: 19 percent think one drink is acceptable for a
designated driver, while 17 percent think two drinks is OK.

Only about half "agree that a designated driver should not have a
drink," Dr. Richard Heyman, chairman of the academy's substance abuse
committee, told the Associated Press. "Usually they just mean,
'Someone who drinks less than I do.' "

Just as alarming is the rate at which kids drink to get drunk. Nearly
30 percent of those surveyed have six or more drinks at each outing,
with boys handily outpacing girls.

But girls keep up with the boys in the number of drinking days a
month, 5.2 days to 5.6, respectively.

Glamorous ads touting liquor don't help the cause. Neither do parents
and other significant adults who bury their heads in the sand when the
subject turns to drug and alcohol use among teens.

Talk to your kids. It could save their lives.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry