[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23375]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          PREGUNTE, ESCUCHE, APRENDA UNDERAGE DRINKING PROGRAM

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise today to highlight the issue of 
underage drinking. The statistics are startling. According to the 
National Institute on Drug Abuse, on average, children first use 
alcohol around age 12, and research tells us that the majority of kids 
are obtaining the alcohol they drink from family and friends. According 
to Teenage Research Unlimited, 51 percent of 13- to 15-year-olds say 
they will face a decision regarding alcohol in the next 3 months.
  In my State of Colorado, the most recent data we have available 
reveals that underage drinking is on the rise. In 2003, 21 percent of 
children ages 12 to 17 reported having consumed alcohol in the past 
month--an increase of 3 percent from the previous year.
  In addition, Colorado's Youth Risk Behavior Survey, completed by over 
700 Colorado high school students, found that only 19 percent of 
students have never tried alcohol. Conversely, 29 percent reported 
binge drinking, defined as having consumed five or more alcoholic 
drinks on one or more occasions during the 30 days preceding the 
survey. Tragically, five college students died in Colorado last year 
due to binge drinking.
  As policy makers but more importantly, as parents--these statistics 
should alarm us all. As the father of two teenage daughters, I worry 
because I know alcohol abuse is frequently a precursor to use and abuse 
of illegal drugs and other dangerous behavior. The good news is that 
parents are the leading influence on a child's decision not to drink 
alcohol. It is critical that parents and other trusted adults initiate 
conversations with children about underage drinking well in advance of 
the first time they are faced with a decision regarding alcohol.
  Earlier this week, my colleagues from Congressional Hispanic Caucus 
teamed up with The Century Council and Nickelodeon to cast a spotlight 
on underage drinking in the Hispanic community.
  We all know that the Hispanic population is growing in the United 
States. In Colorado, Hispanics represent almost 20 percent of the total 
population. Because the Hispanic community is a younger community, we 
have the ability and the obligation to influence the lives of these and 
all children, and to prevent them from engaging in dangerous activities 
such as underage drinking.
  With the launch of Pregunte, Escuche, Aprenda: Los ninos y el alcohol 
no mezclan!, Hispanic parents and their middle-school-aged children 
will have access to critical information on the negative consequences 
of underage drinking. The program is designed to reduce underage 
drinking, particularly among children ages 9 to 13. The information is 
useful for parents, other trusted adults and kids, and includes 
strategies to help facilitate conversations about the dangers of 
underage drinking.
  It was developed in collaboration with several national Hispanic 
organizations, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, 
LULAC, the Aspira Association, the National Latino Children's 
Institute, the National Hispanic Medical Association and MANA, among 
others, and is a culturally and linguistically adapted version of their 
Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix program.
  I commend The Century Council and Nickelodeon for giving Hispanic 
parents and children across the Nation such a valuable communications 
tool to initiate those critically important discussions regarding 
alcohol.

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