Title IX Corner: Alcohol Abuse Awareness Month provides an opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of alcoholism, its causes, and recovery.

1. ALCOHOL ABUSE AWARENESS MONTH
Title IX Corner: Alcohol Abuse Awareness Month
alcohol abuse awarenessAlcohol Awareness Month provides an opportunity to increase
awareness and understanding of alcoholism, its causes, effective treatment, and recovery. This
helps decrease the stigma surrounding treatment and recovery. This makes seeking help more
readily available to those who suffer from this disease.
Facts About Alcohol:
88,000 deaths are annually attributed to excessive alcohol use
Alcoholism is the 3rd leading lifestyle-related cause of death in the nation
Excessive alcohol use is responsible for 2.5
million years of potential life lost annually
Up to 40% of all hospital beds in the United
States (except for those being used by maternity
and intensive care patients) are being used to
treat health conditions that are related to alcohol
consumption
What Is Drug Addiction?
Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and
use, despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her.
Although the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, the brain changes that
occur over time challenge an addicted person’s self-control and hamper his or her ability to resist
intense impulses to take drugs.
FAQ’s
Can you get addicted even though you only do it once in a while?
Yes. For most, addiction to alcohol and drugs is a process — not an event. Most people who
use alcohol and drugs do so with an intention of only using once or “once in a while.” No one
decides that they want to become addicted to alcohol and drugs. But, addictive drugs directly
affect the brain. It is easy for occasional use to change to frequent use or constant use — that is
addiction. The only thing we know for sure: if you don’t drink alcohol and don’t do drugs, you
definitely won’t become addicted.
Why is the age of first use of alcohol so critically important?

2. Kids who start drinking alcohol before age 15 are 5 times more likely to develop alcohol abuse
or dependence than people who first used alcohol at age 21 or older. A study published in the
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine showed that 47% of those who began drinking
before age 15 experienced alcohol dependence at some point in their life, compared to 9%
percent of those who began drinking at age 21 or older.
Besides alcohol, what are the most commonly abused drugs among young people?
Along with alcohol, the most commonly abused drugs among high-school students are
marijuana, Vicodin, amphetamines, cough medicine, Adderall, tranquilizers, salvia,
hallucinogens, OxyContin, sedatives, MDMA/ecstasy, inhalants, cocaine, and Ritalin.