A Shared Responsibility
by Fernando A. Guerra, MD, MPH, FAAP
Every five days, someone in this community
dies due to the negligent and reckless behavior
of those who drink and drive. Yet, that
horrifying statistic does not begin to scratch the surface
of the real costs of alcohol use and abuse here
in San Antonio and Bexar County.
Dangers of drinking in excess extend beyond
fatalities and are a major public health concern.
Along with the perils of death, injury, and family
violence, alcohol abuse is a contributor to a variety
of health consequences such as alcohol dependency,
chronic liver disease, obesity, diabetes, sexually
transmitted diseases, fetal alcohol syndrome, and
low-birth weight babies as well as mental disorders
like depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
For underage drinkers, the results are equally lamentable.
Consequently, the U.S. Surgeon General
issued a first-ever Call to Action to Prevent and
Reduce Underage Drinking. According to the report
by Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, MD, MPH,
nearly 10.8 million youths, ages 12 to 20, are underage
drinkers. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention cites this group as consuming almost 20
percent of the alcohol purchased in the United States.
Other research shows alcohol as the most commonly
used drug among America’s youth.
The repercussions of underage drinking are felt
locally in fatality crashes and on the socioeconomic
front. Teens who drink often engage in other risk-taking
behaviors such as unprotected sex, violence, suicide,
and abuse of other substances, including tobacco
and drugs. Obesity is also a danger with many
teens, especially girls, consuming the genre of drinks
known as alcopops. These “gateway” drinks are
loaded with sugar and flavoring to mimic soda and
mask the taste of alcohol. Hence, the high-caloric
drinks can lead to alcoholism and obesity. Alcoholic
energy drinks are just as problematic and include the
dangerous effects of simultaneously introducing both
a stimulant and a depressant into the bloodstream.
Moreover, there is the issue of underage binge
drinking. In the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey,
26 percent of students at a local high school reported
participation in binge drinking (consuming five
or more drinks within a two-hour period). The
potential damage and long-term impact on brain
development from this type of activity is enormous
and carries too great a consequence to be ignored
by educators, administrators, and parents, as well as
the business community.
Our entire community, including medical professionals,
must address a preventable crisis that we neither
desire nor can afford. Physicians, nurses, and
other medical professionals should have candid conversations
with patients about the health dangers of
alcohol use and abuse. Patients who drink in excess
or are members of families where heavy drinking is
an acceptable norm should be warned of the longterm
health consequences. They include the aforementioned
health risks along with high blood pressure,
strokes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and certain
cancers. Neophyte drinkers or those with smaller
physical frames must be warned of the adverse effects
of alcohol even when consumed in low quantities.
We all have a stake in this public health and safety
concern. As motorists, taxpayers, families, neighbors,
business owners, medical professionals, and educators,
we must actively seek and support solutions.
Parents and other adults also must model responsible
behavior and have the courage to abstain from
social drinking at times to illustrate that fun should
not be equated with drinking. If we fail to take action,
we take responsibility for the next DWI death and the
other ill effects of alcohol use and abuse.
Dr. Fernando A. Guerra is Director of
Health for the San Antonio Metropolitan
Health District and a practicing
pediatrician. He also serves as a Clinical
Professor of Pediatrics at the University
of Texas Health Science Center
at San Antonio and an Adjunct Professor
in Public Health at the Air Force School of Aerospace
Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base, and Adjunct Professor at
the University of Texas School of Public Health.
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