Younger Girls Binge Drinking More

Public Health Officials Says Girls Between Ages 12 And 14 Are Drinking More Than Boys

(CBS)  Two years ago, Rebecca Neff was a model student, on the honor-roll, on her high school softball team in suburban Columbus, Ohio.

She was also part of a troubling trend: the alarming growth in binge drinking by girls under the age of 15, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston.

"A lot of people in my school were doing it to fit in," said Neff as she recalled her first drink. "You could get drunk and not care what you did. Not care if you hooked up with a guy and ran out in the street naked.

Today, at seventeen, Neff is a recovering alcoholic. She recalls moving quickly from her first drink to bingeing, downing shot after shot of hard liquor for one reason.

"We wouldn't drink cause it tasted good, we wouldn't drink just to get a little tipsy, we'd drink to get drunk," said Neff. "We filled up rows of shot glasses with eighty per cent rum. We just downed these shots."

By age 15 approximately half the boys and girls in America have had a whole drink of alcohol, according to a report by the U.S. Surgeon General.

While binge drinking is going down, there's been a big change between the ages of 12 and 14, where girls are drinking more than boys, reports Pinkston. The Centers for Disease Control call that an alarming trend.

"There are a multitude of dangers," said Jacqueline Miller a medical officer for the CDC. "Drinking and driving; being more likely to be sexually active; more likely to be engaged in sex without protection; more likely to be in physical fighting; more likely to have sexual abuse; more likely to use drugs."

Rebecca encountered all these dangers as she sank into a scary world.

"I got involved with cocaine," she said.

In the midst of your alcohol and drug abuse were you also involved in sexual activity with guys?

"Yes," said Neff when asked if she got involved in sexual activity with guys. "I lost all my money doing drugs and that was a way if you didn't have money that was another way to get drugs."

"I can't even say — that's how big it was," said Neff when asked where she was hooking up with these people. "It was in the slums I guess. It was not good. You know guns in your bag in case someone tried to mug you."

Recent studies show the biggest influence on whether teens drink is how much parents are involved in their lives. But Rebecca's parents, Tom and Marie, who both work at home and rarely drink, kept a close look on their daughter.

"You're told of all the things to look for — changes in attitude, changes in friends, dropping grades, all that kind of things," said Marie, Rebecca's mother. "There just wasn't any of that. I guess the only thing I would say is hold the reins tighter. Be suspicious."

"They were perfect examples as parents, but when you get mixed in with all that peer pressure from high school you kind of forget everything you've learned," said Rebecca.

[mmales-2009]

This is another abysmal media report on youth. First, here%u2019s no increase in younger teens%u2019 %u201Cbinge drinking%u201D; just the opposite. The two most reliable surveys (Monitoring the Future, and National Household Survey) show binge drinking has declined sharply among younger teens, dropping by 30% over the last decade through 2006, and girls%u2019 drinking is down. Second, teens are suffering massive increases in binge drinking among their parents (the number of binge drinkers ages 40-59 leaped from 16.1 million in 2002 to 17.5 million in 2005), which threatens domestic violence, adult drunken driving, arrest, and family breakup. But in the US, talking about the 33 million binge drinkers age 30 and older is taboo. Finally, if CBS and public health officials really wanted to do a realistic report on younger teens with alcohol problems, reporters would have depicted a youth whose parents drink heavily or abuse drugs, whose household is violent and chaotic, and who have suffered physical or sexual abuses. The vast majority of young alcohol abusers fit in these categories. Instead, reporters sanitize family alcohol abuse by ferreting out the exception, a girl with %u201Cperfect%u201D parents, implying that the whole problem is just rebellious kids. This kind of sensational mythmaking is a serious disservice to young people, excuses adult overdrinking, and contributes to the denial that renders the US one of the worst alcohol-abusing Western societies. -Mike Males, Youtfacts.org

[fonic8gw]

...sure glad I grew up in the 70's when the highs were nature-sponsored, a few keggers out in the boonies were just right on a weekend and "The Ajax Lady" from Cheech and Chong movie was the only one I knew who snorted chemicals.
Nowadays, kids are willing to dive into all sorts of junk from some mad-lab, wash it down w/ massive loads of alcohol.....and stupid enough to drive. The phrase "Let's Party" just isn't the same anymore.

[shanev137]

Those stats are pretty hilarious. The last few major spiritual surveys I've read claim that 70 to 85% of all Americans are Christians. That means that 70 to 85% of all these binge drinking teens are Christians. So what does that say about Christianity?

[sero5]

"They were perfect examples as parents, but when you get mixed in with all that peer pressure from high school you kind of forget everything you've learned," said Rebecca.

The only way teens end up like this is result of inattentive, liberal parents. There are naive parents in this country that actually buy beer for their kid's parties. If you want kids that don't mess with drugs and alcohol, be a disciplinarian raise them with a firm hand for once.

[rohink-2009]

...sure glad I grew up in the 70's when the highs were nature-sponsored, a few keggers out in the boonies were just right on a weekend and "The Ajax Lady" from Cheech and Chong movie was the only one I knew who snorted chemicals.
Nowadays, kids are willing to dive into all sorts of junk from some mad-lab, wash it down w/ massive loads of alcohol.....and stupid enough to drive. The phrase "Let's Party" just isn't the same anymore.
Posted by FoNic8GW

Those were the good old days............Miss those field parties

[toldyouso21]

One alarming aspect of this article is how easily former drug addicts can have continual access to drugs in the form of their profession. Training to be a nurse? With access to all manner of scheduled drugs? In the 1960s and 1970s, if a person had any type of drug addiction, they were barred from being nurses or working around drugs. Now, former meth or cocaine users can go to nursing school. I wonder if anyone has done studies into the avg 100,000 hospital accidents/year and related how many were due to nursing negligence and then--if drug use was involved. I was in a sister industry and can truthfully state, that many nurses are on some type of drugs--either for depression, pain (fibromyalgia), sleeping problems, etc. Recovering addicts are not the best choices for putting in a profession that may challenge them daily in being committed to being drug free...in addition, the patients are at risk. There is a high rate of drug abuse and stress related disorders among nurses--I wonder how many came to the table already with a deficit in that area.

[mitch0927]

In those cases, I would have to lean towards the FDA and drug companies with their bombardment of advertisements on self medication. You know what I mean, the commercials that say, "If you have this problem" you need to take this." And in turn the doctors are prescribing drugs at an alarming rate so they can get their kick-backs from the pharmaceutical companies. It boils down to this, "MONEY"

It seems the American public has easy access now to all sorts of drugs that the doctors and pharmaceutical companies have turned into another industry with little regards to REAL HEALTH. With all the mind altering *** they are pushing on us, no wonder the suicide rate is up and drug addiction is at an alarming rate.

[itwasntme000]

young and dumb....looks like some older guys fed her drinks to get her liquored up and ready for the sack. + other drugs to boot. For some reason i think it would be easier for girls like this to find alcohol then it would for a 12-14 year old boy... But that may just be my interpretation...

[itwasntme000]

Today, at seventeen, Neff is a recovering alcoholic. She recalls moving quickly from her first drink to bingeing, downing shot after shot of hard liquor for one reason.

that was from the article

wow do they throw around the word alcoholic way to much. Was she getting drunk 2-3 times a day almost every day. How about this one... did she strain her puke after chugging tons of alachol into a glass so she could drink it again? now that is an alcoholic

[bennyblack1]

To It Wasn't Me;
If you talk to teenagers, nowadays, or even overhear one of their conversations (as I did at work...), you'll learn that teenage boys are being taught by "father figures" how to hunt young women and girls, and "teach" them how to profit using their bodies. They use money, then alcohol, then drugs, then ***. Girls get hooked on not just one, but all of them, and what the men want is for them to prostitute themselves to get these things. Then the men either take most of it or all of it, and use them until they can't be used any more. When they are useless and no one else wants them, they either kill them or send them out to die on their own. It's a form of brainwashing, and IF these girls grow up, they will die in pursuit of that lifestyle.
Parents, follow your teen that you don't suspect of any wrongdoing. See where they go, who they hang out with. Check up on their stories. Teenagers want to grow up way too fast. They will lie, hide, go where they said they wouldn't go, hang out with whom you said not to hang out with, and if you fail in your duties as a parent, YOUR child will become a victim, and she won't be able to get free of it. So, record phone calls, spy on your kids, go through their stuff in their room on a regular basis, then remind them who owns the home, and that you are their gaurdian. If your children talk freely with you, still be cautious. Watch them, whether son or daughter, they are our future.

[bennyblack1]

To It Wasn't Me;
If you talk to teenagers, nowadays, or even overhear one of their conversations (as I did at work...), you'll learn that teenage boys are being taught by "father figures" how to hunt young women and girls, and "teach" them how to profit using their bodies. They use money, then alcohol, then drugs, then ***. Girls get hooked on not just one, but all of them, and what the men want is for them to prostitute themselves to get these things. Then the men either take most of it or all of it, and use them until they can't be used any more. When they are useless and no one else wants them, they either kill them or send them out to die on their own. It's a form of brainwashing, and IF these girls grow up, they will die in pursuit of that lifestyle.
Parents, follow your teen that you don't suspect of any wrongdoing. See where they go, who they hang out with. Check up on their stories. Teenagers want to grow up way too fast. They will lie, hide, go where they said they wouldn't go, hang out with whom you said not to hang out with, and if you fail in your duties as a parent, YOUR child will become a victim, and she won't be able to get free of it. So, record phone calls, spy on your kids, go through their stuff in their room on a regular basis, then remind them who owns the home, and that you are their gaurdian. If your children talk freely with you, still be cautious. Watch them, whether son or daughter, they are our future.

[bennyblack1]

To It Wasn't Me;
If you talk to teenagers, nowadays, or even overhear one of their conversations (as I did at work...), you'll learn that teenage boys are being taught by "father figures" how to hunt young women and girls, and "teach" them how to profit using their bodies. They use money, then alcohol, then drugs, then ***. Girls get hooked on not just one, but all of them, and what the men want is for them to prostitute themselves to get these things. Then the men either take most of it or all of it, and use them until they can't be used any more. When they are useless and no one else wants them, they either kill them or send them out to die on their own. It's a form of brainwashing, and IF these girls grow up, they will die in pursuit of that lifestyle.
Parents, follow your teen that you don't suspect of any wrongdoing. See where they go, who they hang out with. Check up on their stories. Teenagers want to grow up way too fast. They will lie, hide, go where they said they wouldn't go, hang out with whom you said not to hang out with, and if you fail in your duties as a parent, YOUR child will become a victim, and she won't be able to get free of it. So, record phone calls, spy on your kids, go through their stuff in their room on a regular basis, then remind them who owns the home, and that you are their gaurdian. If your children talk freely with you, still be cautious. Watch them, whether son or daughter, they are our future.

[bennyblack1]

To It Wasn't Me;
If you talk to teenagers, nowadays, or even overhear one of their conversations (as I did at work...), you'll learn that teenage boys are being taught by "father figures" how to hunt young women and girls, and "teach" them how to profit using their bodies. They use money, then alcohol, then drugs, then ***. Girls get hooked on not just one, but all of them, and what the men want is for them to prostitute themselves to get these things. Then the men either take most of it or all of it, and use them until they can't be used any more. When they are useless and no one else wants them, they either kill them or send them out to die on their own. It's a form of brainwashing, and IF these girls grow up, they will die in pursuit of that lifestyle.
Parents, follow your teen that you don't suspect of any wrongdoing. See where they go, who they hang out with. Check up on their stories. Teenagers want to grow up way too fast. They will lie, hide, go where they said they wouldn't go, hang out with whom you said not to hang out with, and if you fail in your duties as a parent, YOUR child will become a victim, and she won't be able to get free of it. So, record phone calls, spy on your kids, go through their stuff in their room on a regular basis, then remind them who owns the home, and that you are their gaurdian. If your children talk freely with you, still be cautious. Watch them, whether son or daughter, they are our future.

[bennyblack1]

To It Wasn't Me;
If you talk to teenagers, nowadays, or even overhear one of their conversations (as I did at work...), you'll learn that teenage boys are being taught by "father figures" how to hunt young women and girls, and "teach" them how to profit using their bodies. They use money, then alcohol, then drugs, then ***. Girls get hooked on not just one, but all of them, and what the men want is for them to prostitute themselves to get these things. Then the men either take most of it or all of it, and use them until they can't be used any more. When they are useless and no one else wants them, they either kill them or send them out to die on their own. It's a form of brainwashing, and IF these girls grow up, they will die in pursuit of that lifestyle.
Parents, follow your teen that you don't suspect of any wrongdoing. See where they go, who they hang out with. Check up on their stories. Teenagers want to grow up way too fast. They will lie, hide, go where they said they wouldn't go, hang out with whom you said not to hang out with, and if you fail in your duties as a parent, YOUR child will become a victim, and she won't be able to get free of it. So, record phone calls, spy on your kids, go through their stuff in their room on a regular basis, then remind them who owns the home, and that you are their gaurdian. If your children talk freely with you, still be cautious. Watch them, whether son or daughter, they are our future.

[bennyblack1]

Sorry about that...I thought it didn't go when the publish button was disabled. OOPS! yikes

[bennyblack1]

Sorry about that...I thought it didn't go when the publish button was disabled. OOPS! yikes