HHS HealthBeat (December 31, 2010)

A dangerous underage New Year

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

What a way for a kid to start the new year – in the emergency room because of drinking. But HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says New Year’s Day E-R visits because of underage drinking are 263 percent higher than an average day. It’s the worst day of the year for that.

Dr. Pete Delany says parents should use the holidays as another opportunity to talk to their school-aged kids about not having even one alcoholic drink, because youngsters can start drinking in middle school:

``They need to be paying attention to what’s going on. They need to know where their kids are going, if there’s going to be alcohol served, and give good role models for making sure that the kids see what it’s like to be safe on the holiday.’’ (11 seconds)

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011