by Felton E. May

About the author: Felton E. May is a Methodist bishop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Editor’s note: This viewpoint is excerpted from testimony given by Felton E. May on March 3, 1993, to the President’s Commission on Model State Drug Laws.

Our young people also consume alcohol because they see their parents drinking. If mom and dad do it, then it must be all right, despite mom and dad’s warnings to the contrary. Alcohol use and abuse is a family affair.

Alcohol Consumption Among Children

Here are some statistics that chill my blood:
• Kids in grades seven through twelve consume 35 percent of the wine coolers sold in the United States.
• 10.6 million children in grades seven through twelve drank more than 1 billion cans of beer in 1991.
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