PRINTER'S NO. 1873
No. 269 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY ORIE, COSTA, PIPPY, DINNIMAN, ERICKSON, FERLO,
FONTANA, KASUNIC, LAVALLE, PUNT, REGOLA, O'PAKE, ROBBINS,
STOUT, TARTAGLIONE, WASHINGTON, A. WILLIAMS, C. WILLIAMS,
HUGHES, FOLMER, EARLL AND RAFFERTY, MARCH 31, 2008
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MARCH 31, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the month of April 2008 as "Alcohol Awareness Month"
2 in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Alcohol is a major factor in the four leading causes
4 of death among persons between 10 and 24 years of age, which
5 causes are motor vehicle crashes, unintentional injuries,
6 homicide and suicide; and
7 WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control and
8 Prevention, people from 12 through 20 years of age consume 20%
9 of the alcoholic beverages consumed in the United States; and
10 WHEREAS, Alcohol is the drug most frequently used by high
11 school seniors; and
12 WHEREAS, Young people begin drinking on average at 13.8 years
13 of age; and
14 WHEREAS, Young people who begin drinking before they become
15 15 years of age are five times more likely to develop alcohol
16 dependence than those who begin drinking at 21 years of age; and
17 WHEREAS, Alcohol abuse is linked to as many as two-thirds of
1 all sexual assaults and date rapes of teens and college students
2 and is a major factor in unprotected sex among young people,
3 increasing their risk of contracting HIV or other sexually
4 transmitted diseases; and
5 WHEREAS, A typical young person in the United States will see
6 100,000 beer commercials before he turns 18, which is more
7 advertising than for sneakers, gum and jeans; and
8 WHEREAS, Federal courts have held that there is a correlation
9 between alcoholic beverage advertising and consumption of the
10 advertised products; and
11 WHEREAS, An extensive set of research studies supports the
12 holding of Federal courts that alcoholic beverage advertising
13 influences underage drinking; and
14 WHEREAS, Thirteen percent of persons between 12 and 17 years
15 of age have had at least one serious problem related to drinking
16 in the past year; therefore be it
17 RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of April 2008
18 as "Alcohol Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania and call upon all
19 citizens, parents, governmental agencies, public and private
20 institutions, hospitals and schools to discourage underage
21 consumption of alcoholic beverages and support alcohol recovery
22 programs throughout this Commonwealth.
C26L82JS/20080S0269R1873 - 2 -