CARMEL – Citing alcohol as the most “commonly used addictive substance in the United States with one in every 12 adults or 17.6 million people suffering from alcohol abuse or dependence,” the Putnam County Legislature Tuesday evening declared April as Alcohol Awareness Month across the county.
Legislator Willam Gouldman noted in Putnam, the county’s 2024 Prevention Needs Assessment Survey indicated that 34 percent of the county’s high school seniors have used alcohol within the past 30 days while young people who begin drinking prior to the age of 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol use disorder than those who begin drinking at the age of 21.
Last year some 3,600 teenagers died from motor vehicle crashes nationwide while 140,000 others died due to alcohol related causes including traumatic injury, violent crime, high risk sexual activity, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and alcohol poisoning.
Two additional astonishing statistics were revealed by Gouldman: “The typical American will see 100,000 beer commercials before they turn 18 while alcohol related problems cost America $249 billion in lost productivity, absenteeism, healthcare costs, crime and family related problems.”
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