April is Alcohol Awareness Month and this year’s theme is “For the Health of It: Early Education on Alcoholism and Addiction,” according to the Huffington Post.
For 2015, Alcohol Awareness Month is focused on youth education and the dangers of early alcohol use, according to the publication Jackson Hole News & Guide.
“Many adults drink moderately and responsibly without complications, and there are indications from research that some can derive modest health benefits,” said the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in a press release.
The NIAA added, “At the same time, alcohol-related problems — which result from drinking too much, too fast, or too often — are among the most significant public health issues in the United States and internationally.”
Roughly 37 percent of those who abuse alcohol and 53 percent of those addicted to drugs also have a serious mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Although, one doesn’t always cause the other, one can reportedly make the other worse.
Young people with a mental illness who also use alcohol are reportedly at a higher risk of worsening the symptoms of their mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and self-harming behavior.
About 7,000 children in the U.S. under the age of 16 reportedly take their first drink. Those who begin drinking before the age of 15 are reportedly four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin at the age 21.
Teen alcohol abuse reportedly kills a shocking 4,700 people each year.
Social media users have been spreading news of Alcohol Awareness Month.
“Booze is the most dangerous drug while often harming innocents,” wrote Facebook user Tony Fontana.
