Underage Drinking Hospitalizations Cost $755 Million in the U.S. Each Year

By Join Together Staff | February 16, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol, Healthcare, Young Adults & Youth

Hospitalization for underage drinking costs an estimated $755 million in the United States each year, according to a new study by the Mayo Clinic.

Approximately 40,000 youth ages 15 to 20 were hospitalized in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available, according to Science Daily.

The study found that among U.S. teens, about 18 of every 10,000 teenage males and 12 of every 10,000 teenage females were hospitalized after drinking alcohol in the year studied. The average age of those hospitalized was 18, and 61 percent were male. Hospitalizations due to alcohol were highest in the Northeast and Midwest.

Nearly one-fourth of the hospitalizations included an injury stemming from causes including traffic accidents, assaults or fights. An estimated $505 million of the cost of hospitalization involved treatment of injuries.

“When teenagers drink, they tend to drink excessively, leading to many destructive consequences including motor vehicle accidents, injuries, homicides and suicides,” researcher Terry Schneekloth, MD, said in a news release. “Alcohol use necessitating acute-care hospitalization represents one of the most serious consequences of underage drinking. Harmful alcohol use in adolescence is a harbinger of alcohol abuse in adulthood.”

The findings are published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The greatest thing in the world a man can do is not build a financial empire or great city.  It is not obtaining a great position of power in politics running a great country.  The greatest thing a man can do and the only thing that truly matters that he has done is loving, nurturing and raising a child.  So today when you look at your children remember this is what life is all about and this is the most important thing a man can do.  To raise a child in the way they should go.
REMEMBER JESUS LOVES YOU!

Virginia Measure Would Require Ignition Interlock for First-Time Drunk Drivers

Getting Teens Talking

According to a survey of 6,500 teens by the Partnership for a Drug Free America, 73 percent said the number one reason they turn to drugs and alcohol is to relieve stress at school. As the new school year begins, how can you help your teen adjust -- and to open up about what's going on?

"You can push too much and that'll shut the child down. So it's a fine balance: Be available, be a good listener, and also know when you do need to push in case they're into some things that they shouldn't be," says Gloria Meaux, Ph.D., a psychologist.

Between a parent and a teenager, this might be the typical conversation: "How was school today?" "Fine." "Anything special happen?" "No." "What are you doing tomorrow?" "Nothing." Mumbles, a shrug, single word answers … how can you get your children to talk openly and honestly? How much do teenagers tell their parents? I hardly share anything with my parents," says 16-year-old Derek.

"I share very little with my parents," says 18-year-old Tyler. And Jessie gives an example of a question she hates: "How was your day?" "When you've had a horrible day, you just feel like people at school are mad at you," she says. "Your classes went horribly, you failed a test. It can almost be an insult without them knowing it, because it just seems insensitive."

Experts say parents are better served asking about something specific: school projects coming up, weekend plans with a friend, or a test that the child may be worried about.

"The specific questions, you'll get more bang for your buck if you want them to communicate back to you than some general question that you could ask a stranger on the street," says Dr. Meaux. "Sometimes she'll be like 'so how is that situation going with this person' and I'll just burst out crying," says Jessie. Experts say it starts by being easy to talk to. "You're sort of the approachable parent, that you listen more than you talk, and listening is the hard thing," says Dr. Meaux. And once they truly believe you're listening, experts say they'll open up more.

"The more talking they'll do because they'll be open," says Licensed Clinical Social Worker Freddie Wilson. "[They'll be more open if they feel] you're open to hearing what I'm saying rather than talking and giving them solutions and solving their problems for them. They want someone to hear them." And knowing when your child really needs your ear comes from getting to know your child. "I’ll look at her and I’ll say 'You look like you’re down, did something happen?' Yes. Was it so and so? Yea," explains Jessie’s mom. "It helps to know that she cares and that she’s actually wanting to know about things," says Jessie.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS CONNECT WITH KIDS NEWS STORY ONLINE.

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Getting Teens Talking

According to a survey of 6,500 teens by the Partnership for a Drug Free America, 73 percent said the number one reason they turn to drugs and alcohol is to relieve stress at school. As the new school year begins, how can you help your teen adjust -- and to open up about what's going on?

"You can push too much and that'll shut the child down. So it's a fine balance: Be available, be a good listener, and also know when you do need to push in case they're into some things that they shouldn't be," says Gloria Meaux, Ph.D., a psychologist.

Between a parent and a teenager, this might be the typical conversation: "How was school today?" "Fine." "Anything special happen?" "No." "What are you doing tomorrow?" "Nothing." Mumbles, a shrug, single word answers … how can you get your children to talk openly and honestly? How much do teenagers tell their parents? I hardly share anything with my parents," says 16-year-old Derek. "I share very little with my parents,"says 18-year-old Tyler.

Jessie gives an example of a question she hates: "How was your day?"

"When you've had a horrible day, you just feel like people at school are mad at you," she says. "Your classes went horribly, you failed a test. It can almost be an insult without them knowing it, because it just seems insensitive."

Experts say parents are better served asking about something specific: school projects coming up, weekend plans with a friend, or a test that the child may be worried about.

"The specific questions, you'll get more bang for your buck if you want them to communicate back to you than some general question that you could ask a stranger on the street," says Dr. Meaux. "Sometimes she'll be like 'so how is that situation going with this person' and I'll just burst out crying," says Jessie.

Experts say it starts by being easy to talk to. "You're sort of the approachable parent, that you listen more than you talk, and listening is the hard thing," says Dr. Meaux. And once they truly believe you're listening, experts say they'll open up more.

"The more talking they'll do because they'll be open," says Licensed Clinical Social Worker Freddie Wilson. "[They'll be more open if they feel] you're open to hearing what I'm saying rather than talking and giving them solutions and solving their problems for them. They want someone to hear them."

And knowing when your child really needs your ear comes from getting to know your child. "I’ll look at her and I’ll say 'You look like you’re down, did something happen?' Yes. Was it so and so? Yea," explains Jessie’s mom. "It helps to know that she cares and that she’s actually wanting to know about things," says Jessie.

*CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS CONNECT WITH KIDS NEWS STORY ONLINE.* 

            200 OAK AVENUE               KITTANNING, PA 16201

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Whitney Houston’s Substance Abuse and Early Death at Age 48

If you’re looking for a good reason to get yourself some help for drug or alcohol addiction you don’t have to look much further than Whitney Houston’s tragic early death at only 48 years old

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Once the fresh faced and supernaturally talented queen of R'n'B pop, two decades of alcohol, crack and marijuana addiction left her haggard and erratic - with her once powerful multi-octave voice reduced to a raspy shadow of its former glory.

How do you hit rock bottom when you’ve got an estimated $100 million to insulate you from the consequences of your actions and to fuel decades of extravagant drug use?

For Whitney, money and fame offered no salvation from her personal demons, though she tried on multiple occasions to overcome her addictions and though she endured tabloid mockery after a number of bizarre public appearances and 

                                             disappointing performances over the last decade.  

Whitney Houston: Battled Years of Addiction

• 1963 – Whitney Houston is born into a musical family to singer mother Cissy Houston. She is also cousins with Dionne Warwick and goddaughter to Aretha Franklin.
• 1983 - Signed by mentor Clive Davis of Arista Records, who saw the 20 year old Houston singing at a nightclub and signed her on the spot.
• 1985 – Releases her first album ‘Whitney Houston’. It remains the biggest selling debut album by a female artist of all time.
• 1987 – ‘Whitney” her second album hits the charts and goes on to sell 25 million records.
• 1989 – Meets Bobby Brown
• 1992 – Marries Bobby Brown
• 1992 – Stars in the movie ‘The Bodyguard’.
• 1995/1996 – Stars in the movies ‘The Preachers Wife’ and ‘Waiting to Exhale’. In a 2009 Oprah interview Houston reveals that by the time she is filming these movies she has become a daily cocaine user.
• Jan 11 2000 – Airport security guards find marijuana in her luggage in Hawaii but her plane leaves before authorities can arrive
• 2004 – Whitney goes to rehab after Clive Davis threatens to cut her out of Arista Records if she doesn’t get help
• 2006 – Photos of Houston’s squalid home bathroom hit the internet. Pictures full of drug paraphernalia and old beer cans paint a depressing picture of her drug and alcohol use.
• 2006 – Whitney again goes to rehab on Davis’s prompting, spending months in a Pennsylvania residential addiction treatment facility. After rehab, she works intensely with a sober coach who has her move to LA to keep her away from using friends and family in New Jersey.
• 2007 – Whitney divorces Bobby Brown after a 14 year turbulent marriage characterized by drug use allegations, numerous arrests of Brown and allegations of spousal abuse.
• 2009 – Tells Oprah that she has beaten drugs for good.
• 2009 – Tries a comeback with the release of the album, ‘I Look to You’. The album goes platinum but her comeback tour is criticized for poor performances and odd stage-behaviors and her numerous tour-date cancellations fuel rumors that she is once again abusing drugs. She performs very badly in A Good Morning America concert to promote the album, sounding raspy and off key and failing to hit high notes.  
• May 2011 – Whitney enters rehab for the third time
• Wednesday, Feb 8 2012 – Whitney checks into the Beverly Hills Hilton. Witness reports over the next few days have her drinking heavily in the hotel bar and appearing sweaty and disheveled and smelling of liquor and cigarettes at a pre Grammy rehearsal.
• Saturday, Feb 11 2012 - Houston found dead in a bathtub in her hotel room. Although toxicology reports will take some time, because she was seen drinking heavily in the days prior to her death and because she had prescriptions in her room for drugs like Xanax, experts speculate that she could have passed-out from a combination of these substances and drowned in the tub or could have overdosed and died before submerging.

Where would she be today had she gotten help a few years sooner? Could anyone have saved her back when things weren’t so out of control?

We’ll never know what might have been had she taken steps to get help before things got so crazy, but we can remember her for what she once was, look to her descent from the top as a lesson on the costs of addiction and use her tragic end as a chilling reminder of just how dangerous these substances can be.

Whitney Houston - here's hoping you've found the peace that eluded you in this life and that you are remembered for your gifts and achievements and not for your very human frailties.

Here is some important information for those of you who want to get off Xanax. We encourage you to seek professional help now.

Read more: Whitney Houston’s Substance Abuse and Early Death at Age 48