Page 13
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Young boozers: Good news/bad news
A new statewide survey
of Oregon eighth- and 11th-
graders reports disturbing
data about the middle-
schoolers’ underage drink-
ing -- but also some good
news for parents.
The Healthy Teens sur-
vey conducted annually by
the Oregon Dept. of Human
Services (DHS) found in-
creased rates of binge drink-
ing among eighth-graders, a
larger share of eighth-
graders saying alcohol is
easy to obtain and signifi-
cant numbers at both grade
levels reporting negative
consequences of underage
drinking.
Contrary to popular
belief that beer is the No. 1
alcoholic beverage con-
sumed by teen-agers who
drink, eighth-graders re-
ported that they consumed,
in order, hard liquor, fla-
vored alcoholic beverages
and beer.
Eleventh-graders put
beer second after hard liquor.
More than 13 percent of
eighth-graders reported hav-
ing engaged in binge drink-
ing -- defined as five or
more drinks in a row -- dur-
ing the 30 days prior to re-
sponding to the survey. That
is an increase of 15 percent
from the 11.5 percent re-
ported last year, and 43 per-
cent more than the 9.3 per-
cent who reported binge
drinking during 2001.
“Everyone who wants
to see kids healthy and suc-
cessful should find some
way to act on these num-
bers," said Bob Nikkel,
DHS assistant director for
addictions and mental
health.
“The good news is that
parents who act by sending
clear, consistent messages
I.V. Songwriter & Music Fest
Saturday at Selma Center
MUSIC is the theme for
the first Illinois Valley
Songwriter & Music Festi-
val of Friends to be held
Saturday, Nov. 18 from 4
to 11 p.m. at Selma Cen-
ter. There will be an ex-
hibit of arts and crafts,
plus musical theater, a
rockin’ dance band, and
the Honeybees children’s
ensemble. Food will be
available. The event is
sponsored by Hope Moun-
tain Radio Takilma FM.
(Photos provided)
State liquor commission adds 400 new items
The Oregon Liquor
Control Commission has
responded to customer de-
mand and increased its
product offerings by 400
items – to 1,700 -- in the last
two years.
“The distilled spirits
industry is continuing its
trend of introducing many
new products, such as
higher-priced specialty
items,” said Steve Pharo,
OLCC executive director.
“Customers have re-
sponded enthusiastically to
the greater variety of prod-
ucts,” he said.
OLCC’s distribution
center regularly carries in
excess of 1,300 items, but
special orders and one-time
buys have increased that
number by 30 percent.
And, Pharo said, the
agency will continue to ex-
pand its product line in re-
sponse to industry’s creation
of new products.
“By continually evalu-
ating the product line, the
OLCC provides the public
with new liquor products as
they are introduced and
eliminates non-performing
items,” he explained.
“This helps ensure that
the state’s investment in
liquor inventory will opti-
mize profits for the state,
and that customers have the
products they desire.”
drinking rate fell slightly
over the five-year period, to
24.9 percent from 25.3 per-
cent.
*Among teens who re-
ported having consumed
alcohol during the prior 30
days, 35 percent reported
stomach upset, 35 percent
were unable to remember
what happened while drink-
ing and 25 percent later re-
gretted something they did.
One in 12 reported missing
school or class.
*Teen-agers at both
grade levels reported it was
“easy” or “sort of easy” to
obtain alcohol -- 57.2 percent
for eighth-graders and 80
percent for 11th-graders --
with parties being placed
first at both grade levels,
followed by friends under 21
(eighth-graders) and friends
older than 21 (11th-graders).
At both grade levels,
about one in 10 reported ob-
taining alcohol from parents.
Although more eighth-
graders reported it was “easy”
to obtain alcohol, the share of
11th-graders saying so fell by
3 percentage points.
*The rate of 11th-
graders reporting having
consumed alcohol during
the prior 30 days was 43.9
percent, down from the
2005 rate of 47.4 percent
and lowest since 2003.
*The rate of 11th-
graders reporting that they
drink and drive fell to 8.2
percent this year from 13.6
percent during 1997. The
decline was greatest for
boys, falling to 8.7 percent
from 15.7 percent.
All Healthy Teens sur-
vey results are available at
dhs.state.or.us/dhs/ph/chs/
y o u t h s u r v e y /
ohtdata.shtml#2006 on the
DHS Website.
about underage drinking are
making a difference,” Nik-
kel said.
Among eighth-graders
who think their parents be-
lieve it’s “very wrong” to
drink beer, wine or liquor,
almost 80 percent reported
not having consumed alco-
hol during the prior 30 days.
By contrast, among
those reporting their parents
believe drinking is “not
wrong at all,” only 30 per-
cent had abstained. Compa-
rable data for Oregon 11th-
graders were 66.9 percent
and 26.7 percent. The data
are consistent with national
surveys showing percep-
tions of parental attitudes
affect teens’ decisions.
Underage drinking is
associated with school fail-
ure, unwanted teen pregnan-
cies, sexually transmitted
diseases, automobile crashes
and other negative conse-
quences.
Key findings listed
Among other key find-
ings:
*During 2006, the rate
of eighth-graders reporting
having consumed alcohol
during the prior 30 days was
31.9 percent, the highest
since 1997 when it was 35.5
percent. The rate among
eighth-grade girls was 33.9
percent this year, highest
since 1997 when it was 36.6
percent.
*The share of eighth-
graders who believe one or
two drinks of alcohol daily
poses “great risk of harm”
fell to 29 percent this year
from 39 percent in 2001.
*13.3 percent of eighth-
graders reported binge
drinking during the prior 30
days, a 43 percent increase
from 9.3 percent in 2001.
Eleventh-graders’ binge-
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