How are We Doing with Drinking in America

How are We Doing with Drinking in America? Stanton Peele Testimony: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms Health claims and other health-related statements in the labeling and advertising of alcohol beverages The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site http: //www. peele. net

College Binge Drinking (Wechsler, 2000) 1993 1999 % Abstain 15 19 % Binge Often 19 23 • • After a decade of effort Significant "polarization effect" "Despite all the attention" "Disappointment" The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site http: //www. peele. net

American Dependence Symptoms (Room, 1989, Midanik/Clark, 1995, Midanik/Greenfield, 2000) • National surveys of Americans' drinking All 18 -29 1967 -84 +114% +108% The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site 1984 -90 +13% +50% http: //www. peele. net 1990 -95 +5% 0

American Dependence Symptoms (Room, 1989, Midanik/Clark, 1995, Midanik/Greenfield, 2000) • For quarter century, more Americans reporting symptoms of alcohol dependence (shakes, can't stop drinking, skipped meals) • But U. S. consumption declined 1967 -1995 The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site http: //www. peele. net

Temperance Societies (Peele, 1993) Temperance 9 AA Membership 2 14 167 Consumption 1 Non Temperance 41 liters/person annually 2 AA groups/million people 1 • Drinking with family, at meals Vs. • On weekends, in bursts The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site http: //www. peele. net

Monitoring the Future (Johnston et al. , 1999) • Behavior – Drank past year: 74% – Drunk past year: 53% – Drank past month: 51% – Drunk past month: 33% • Attitudes – Disapprove 1 -2 drinks daily: 67% – Disapprove 5 drinks on weekend: 63% The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site http: //www. peele. net

U. S. Status Quo • • • Decades of public education Exclusively negative Broad disapproval of drinking Lot of drinking No distinction moderation/excess The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site http: //www. peele. net

What We Might Do • • • Stop pretending all drinking is bad Present +s and -s of alcohol Moderation and health Explain moral values Require adults to take responsibility The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site http: //www. peele. net

References Johnston, L. D. , O'Malley, P. M. , and Bachman, J. G. (1999). National Survey Results on Drug Use from the Monitoring the Future Study, 1975 -1998. Volume I: Secondary School Students. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Midanik, L. T. , and Clark, W. B. (1995). Drinking-related problems in the United States: Description and trends, 1984 -1990. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 56, 395 -402. Midanik, L. T. , and Greenfield, T. K. (2000). Trends in social consequences and dependence symptoms in the United States: 1984 -1995. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 53 -56. Peele, S. (1993). The conflict between public health goals and the temperance mentality. American Journal of Public Health, 83, 805 -810. Room, R. (1989). Cultural changes in drinking and trends in alcohol problem indicators: Recent U. S. experience. Alcologia, 1, 83 -89. Wechsler, H. , Lee, J. E. , Kuo, M. , and Lee, H. (2000). College binge drinking in the 1990 s: A continuing problem. Journal of American College Health, 48, 199 -210. The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site http: //www. peele. net