Most Alcohol-Related Deaths Among Underage Drinkers Not Related To Drunk Driving

Parents who only address the issue of drunk driving are missing the bigger issue, says a Mothers Against Drunk Driving report: according to the group's research, which combines data from the FBI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only one-third of alcohol-related deaths among underage drinkers is related to traffic incidents.

The other two-thirds include homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning, falls, drownings and burns, among other things, states the report.

And it doesn't stop there.

"That doesn't include other impacts of underage drinking, like unplanned or unsafe sex, injuries, declining school performance and greater chances of having problems with alcohol later in life," the authors write. 

For this reason, the group asks parents to look beyond the discussion of designated drivers and on to drinking itself in order to prevent future harm or death.

Knowing that peer pressure can play a heavy role in children's decision-making, and knowing that addressing the subject effectively can pose a problem in some cases, MADD has developed the Power of Parents program, which is sponsored by Nationwide Insurance.

"The goal of Power of Parents is to educate parents and caregivers about the dangers of underage drinking, and give them the tools they need to talk about their kids about alcohol," the report explains. 

In addition, the group is encouraging parents to set aside April 21 as "PowerTalk 21 day" in which they are encouraged to sit down and make that conversation happen.

And ultimately, even though most underage drinkers will make it into their twenties unscathed, scientists from the National Institute of Health (NIH) warn the effects on brain development can be permanent.

According to the NIH, studies in rats have shown that when an adolescent brain is exposed to high and frequent alcohol consumption, the rats suffered from cognitive deficits as well as other problems well into adulthood. 

The hippocampus, which plays a role in a number of cognitive functions, including learning and memory, seems to be especially vulnerable to alcohol use during a person's teenage years and can result in subtle changes in neuronal connections that are not easily measured and which scientists hope to pursue further.

Furthemore, in a report on the subject the organization states that some studies have found high-dose binging to lead to brain damage in adolescents that was not mirrored in adults.

As Debbie Taylor, whose son died of alcohol poisoning while he was in high school, wrote in a guest blog on MADD's website: "Our children are our future, and we want it to be a long, healthy, happy future."