Americans Drinking At An Earlier Age Responsible for Rise In Alcohol Addiction?

A study completed by researcher Richard A. Grucza of the Washington University School of Medicine and colleagues found that more Americans are drinking at earlier ages, and these are more likely to become alcohol-dependent as adults.

The recent study, published in the August 2008 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, compared the ages that people started drinking alcohol, starting with those born between 1943 and 1983.

The study found that not only has the average age people started drinking has declined, (women who were born between 1934 and 1943 began drinking at age 22, on average, while those who were born after 1963 started drinking at an average age of 17), but the rate of lifetime alcohol dependence was higher (9 percent among women born between 1934 and 1943 which rose to 22 percent among those born after 1963).

“This study, which points out that Americans are drinking at an earlier age with each passing decade, challenges the validity of theories promoting alcoholism as a genetically determined disease,” comments Mary Rieser, Executive Director for Narconon Drug Rehab GA. “In fact, it clearly indicates that the factors that influence at least that first drink, are outside of the individual – in the environment, not in the genes.

“Earlier generations were not exposed to TV ads with young people drinking or MTV.  The earliest TV ads showed young mothers using the right kind of detergent or handsome young men getting their hair just right with Brill Cream. There was a different message and different social pressures resulting in different outcomes in terms of behavior in young people. Of course, there were those with drinking problems back then and it is difficult to analyze, looking back, why some people seem to get addicted to alcohol no matter the circumstances.

“However, young drinkers were not created en masse by the media and life had the opportunity to be more like Ozzie and Harriet – which doesn’t seem too bad, compared to the chaos of this young generation.

“Careful examination needs to be done.  We don’t yet know the line between genetically determined alcoholism and that engineered on Madison Avenue.”

If you know someone who is addicted to alcohol, call Narconon.  We have a 76% success rate.

Call Narconon Drug Rehab 1-877-413-3073 for more information on effective drug treatment.

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