REPORT FINDS WISCONSIN LEADS THE NATION IN UNDERAGE DRINKING

Wisconsin can lay claim to a dubious new title. The state leads the
nation in underage drinking, according to a report released last week
on substance use and mental health.

The rate of underage drinking (ages 12 to 20) was highest in
Wisconsin, 39.5 percent in 2004-2005 and lowest in Utah, 21.3 percent
according to a report released last week from the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration.

The new data analysis shows that in 2004-05 Wisconsin had the highest
rate of alcohol use among those 12 years and older, 65.3 percent.
Utah had the lowest rate, 30.1 percent.

The highest rate of alcohol use in the U.S. occurred among ages 18 to
25, again in Wisconsin, 75.7 percent.

Earlier this year, the Coalition for Drug Free Youth and the Racine
Community Coalition for Youth merged to form the Racine County Youth
Coalition as a way to improve efforts to prevent and reduce substance
abuse and to ensure that youth are increasingly involved, healthy and
successful.

Mary Esther Schnaubelt, project coordinator for Focus on Community,
said the impetus to come together stemmed from the fact that, "part
of what it means to build young people up is to work toward
preventing young people from getting involved in drugs and alcohol."

Both groups focused on a similar goal - helping create a healthy
positive environment for young people - but members approached this
from different perspectives. It made sense to coordinate efforts,
Schnaubelt said.

"We thought it was important that this be a county-wide effort. We
thought it was important to engage folks in the city and in the
county," Schnaubelt said. "Everybody who works with young people in
the community needs to be working together -- that's why we have this
coalition."

State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2004-05 National Surveys on
Drug Use and Health provides state-level rates for 23 measures of
substance use and mental health problems, including underage
drinking, binge drinking, use of illegal drugs, serious mental
illness and tobacco use.

In 2004-05, on the national level, almost 22.7 percent of all persons
age 12 or older participated in past month binge drinking, which is
defined as having five or more drinks on the same occasion on at
least one day in the 30 days prior to the survey.

Five states ranked in the top fifth in all three age-subgroups and
among persons 12 or older -- Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota,
and Wisconsin.

"Too many Americans are in denial about teen drinking," said John
Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy. "We need to stop
looking the other way and pretending that it's just a rite of
passage. Let's face facts -- when teens drink, they drink to get drunk."

State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2004-05 National Surveys on
Drug Use and Health is available on the Web at
http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k5state/toc.cfm.

For more information about the Racine County Youth Coalition, call
Mary Esther Schnaubelt at Focus on Community at (262) 632-6200.