Authorities in Massachusetts are cracking down on parents who serve alcohol to teenagers in their homes.

Police in that state are arresting parents under a law called "the Social Host Law," which says that an adult who owns or controls property where teenagers are drinking can be charged with a crime, even if he or she does not provide the alcohol directly to the underage children.

"The notion that providing alcohol at home creates a safe drinking environment is not true," said Ralph Hingson, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research. "It behooves parents to try to do everything they can to delay the onset of drinking for young people."

According to statistics from that Institute, 5,000 people under age 21-years old die every year from alcohol-related problems, including 1,900 in automobile accidents.

Hingson noted that many studies show that the earlier a teen starts drinking, the more likely it is that he or she will develop a dependency on alcohol.
 

Labels: alcohol, parental_involvement, laws

Posted By: Jane St. Clair