Health
Teen access to alcohol begins at home
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 22, 2005
Nearly half of teenagers have been able to obtain alcohol, and many of them get it from their parents, according to two polls by the AMA in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In the survey of some 700 teens, a third said it was easy to get alcohol from their homes. A quarter had been at parties where teens drank in front of their parents, and a quarter were supplied alcohol by their parents.
Another survey of several thousand parents found a quarter believed that teens should be able to drink at home with a parent present.
"From a public health standpoint, these findings are frankly disturbing," said AMA President J. Edward Hill, MD.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/08/22/hlbf0822.htm.
