Government agenecy also disputes teen drinking stat
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Tim Crowley turm...@freespeechseattle.org
The very group that took the survereey CASA used to come to it's conclusion says the conclusion is incorrect.
Group's Teen Drinking Stats Disputed Wednesday, February 27, 2002 WASHINGTON An advocacy group's ***ertions about how much alcohol teen-agers drink are disputed by both the liquor industry and the federal government.
A report issued Tuesday by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University claimed that young people between the ages of 12 and 20 accounted for 25 percent of all alcoholic beverages consumed in the United States.
Joseph Califano Jr., the organization's president and a former U.S.
secretary of health, education and welfare, called the report, "a clarion call for national mobilization to curb underage drinking." But the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the government agency that conducted the 1998 survey cited by the group, issued a statement saying underage drinkers account for 11.4 percent of U.S. alcohol consumption.
"Regardless of any discrepancies ... any alcohol use before age 21 is unacceptable and against the law," said the agency, an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Citing the government figures, the alcoholic beverage industry accused Califano's group of falsifying its numbers.
Frank Coleman, a spokesman for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, called Califano "a serial abuser of statistics for sensational purposes." Both the government and CASA percentages were based on a 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse in which 25,500 people, including 9,759 between the ages of 12 and 20, were questioned in their homes.
While the 12-20 age group represented 38 percent of those surveyed, they account for only 13 percent of the total U.S. population, according to 2000 Census Bureau figures. The government says it weighted its survey results to account for the discrepancy between its survey sample and the total population.
Califano, in an interview Tuesday, defended his group's decision not to make that adjustment.
"The household survey is taken by going into a home and asking parents if you can talk to their children. If parents are in the living room and you (the surveyor and the teen) are in the kitchen, the odds of getting a really solid answer are slim. So there's a tremendous underestimate in reporting," Califano said.
"Clave" ClaviusNoSpamDam...@cablespeed.com
<...> You don't agree that this statement is true to some extent?
Jim
"Tim Crowley" turm...@blarg.net
I do agree you fail to get good solid scientic answers by asking teenagers about drinking. Some kids will lie and say they don't drink when they do, other kids will lie and say they drink more than they do. I also think that CASA has an agenda. In any case, they have now agreed that the claim of 25 of all booze in the country being consumed by teens is not scientifically accurate.
SMITH29 smit...@attbi.com
xxxxx What I would like to know is where are students coming up with the money to BUY 25% of total liquor sales.
We should execute the alky peddlers to minors too.
I'm for fairness here.
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coll ...@animal.blarg.net (colleen)
: ...
: > "Tim Crowley" <turm...@freespeechseattle.org> wrote in message : > ...
: > : > <...> : > : > > "The household survey is taken by going into a home and asking parents : if : > > you can talk to their children. If parents are in the living room and : you : > > (the surveyor and the teen) are in the kitchen, the odds of getting a : > > really solid answer are slim. So there's a tremendous underestimate in : > > reporting," Califano said.
: > : > : > You don't agree that this statement is true to some extent?
: > : > Jim : > : I do agree you fail to get good solid scientic answers by asking teenagers : about drinking. Some kids will lie and say they don't drink when they do, : other kids will lie and say they drink more than they do. I also think that : CASA has an agenda. In any case, they have now agreed that the claim of 25 : of all booze in the country being consumed by teens is not scientifically : accurate.
I watched the Califano presentation on C-Span and my impression was that he was claiming a larger proportion of teenaged drinkers than the results of the study would indicate.
I think that alcohol should pay for it's own social costs through taxes on the substance and greater fines on the people who choose to do things like drive drunk. Need another set of care facilities for people with fetal alcohol syndrome? More taxes on alcohol. Get caught driving drunk? Lose your house.
"Clave" ClaviusNoSpamDam...@cablespeed.com
<...> I agree, but I don't agree with the 11% figure either. Split the difference and you probably have a close figure.
Appalling in any case.
Jim
SMITH29 smit...@attbi.com
xxxx Appalling it is. I wonder what a survey on schedule-1 drugs would look like?
I've had teens in Yakima tell me use is unreal.
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"Tim Crowley" turm...@blarg.net
teens in seattle tell me it's easier to buy heoin than pot or beer.
SMITH29 smit...@attbi.com
xxxx I believe it. Lot's of meth too.
Screwing up lots of lives.
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