Many more youths die of alcohol overdose drinking mainly vodka, disguised as water in commercial water bottles. They drink alone in dorms, on campuses(1,700 die annually there of AOD). Colleges aren’t educating teen peer groups to recognize the symptoms of alcohol abuse and what to do about it. Many needless deaths occur for lack of this vital information.

However, parents and evidently the Amethyst people who offer education on college campuses, don’t know why teens shouldn’t drink alcohol. This is why: The myelin, a thin sheath surrounding the nerve leading to the brain is thin during puberty, then thickens with age, thickest at age 22. The thin, young sheath admits alcohol quickly to the brain, causing heart rate and breathing to slow. The disease of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) involves the breakdown of the myelin sheath often leading to death.

If we were scientific about health issues, the drinking age should be 22. The old disclaimer from the alcohol industry that soldiers should be allowed to drink at any age is a myth. The best soldier is sober, can aim his gun, has peripheral vision and sharp reflexes, all of which begin to fail at the .04 BAC  Level according to former US Surgeon General Koop.

If parents don’t educate their 12-14 youths about this basic health information, hold beer parties at home for the kids, think “beer is food” and “know when to say when”, we will continue to develop an increase in alcohol dependency by the time these youths reach their twenties and thirties. It is shameful that none of the presidential candidates don’t push for a sane national alcohol policy at the Federal level to require health alerts after each ad aimed at youths; that drinking alcohol fast can kill in a matter of hours. No college that accepts alcohol ads on campus should receive tax dollars from the government unless they have a mandated alcohol education program involving parents. For example, no student could play sports if they failed to bring a parent to the alcohol education program held in the evening or weekends. Presidential candidates should not appear drinking “boiler makers”, a kind of binge drinking, to win votes and contributions from the alcohol industry.