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From what I (barely) remember of the 4th of July outings in my own late teens and early 20s, they pretty much always involved alcohol and, ugh, somebody driving.
Maybe it was because we had a destination -- wherever there were fireworks! -- or maybe we were just lost, delinquent souls. In either case, we apparently weren't the last drunk teenagers on 4th of July weekend.
According to a new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, hospital emergency room visits related to underage drinking nearly double over the Fourth of July weekend.
I'm sure there are some fire-related injuries among these ER visits, but the weekend is so alcohol-infused, even for adults, that many of those visits probably involve alcohol poisoning, DUI-related injuries, and other "drunk and stupid" mishaps.
According to this study, "drinking related visits to hospital emergency departments are 87 percent higher during the 4th of July weekend than they are on the average July day."
Yikes.
What's your teen up to this 4th of July? Are you talking to them about the dangers of alcohol?
Image via hmerinomx/Flickr
Comments (6)
That's so scary. Ours aren't teens yet, but neither my husband nor I got into that kind of trouble as teens. Hopefully, our kids won't either, in a few years.
Scary!
Wow what a statistic,it figures though pretty much every holiday involves drinking
I don't have a teen but those stats are worth EVERYONE being aware of!!!!
I have always talked to my son about drinking, he knows I don't want him to drink and I always remind him not to drive drunk or get in a car with someone who is drinking....I have told him he can call me at any time and I hope it sunk in.
I had a dear friend die about 5 years ago due (in part) to this very reason on the 4th of July. When my children are old enough we will DEFINATLY be discussing it.