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Show Alcohol Hurts Everybody By TOM BUSSELBERG North County Editor CENTERV1LLE - After seeing the affects of alcohol and drug use on young people, former County Coun-ty Com. Ernest Eberhard is far from silent on the issue. AND AS A member of the Chemical People drug and alcohol prevention task force, he has every right to speak out about what he sees as the "most acute" problem that affects not only those using it but millions mil-lions around them, including the unborn. From a filing cabinet filled with material on a myriad of subject areas that he's used for speeches to his five books, Mr. Eberhard quickly pulls virtually reams of material outlining concerns shared by many so-called experts from the health field to govern- lowed it, I've seen some of the worst," Mr. Eberhard said, recalling his days growing up in a small southwestern south-western Idaho community. "I spent yi years (as a part-time psychologist worker), at the Utah State Prison-I saw the end results. The warden told me at least 75 percent who committed felonies were under the influence of alcohol." "THE BEST advertising on the, tube is alcohol advertising," he said, returning to the tremendous influence that force carries. "With the cost of money spent, the affect on the unborn, the connection on crime with death and accidents" he stressed more effort should be put into alcohol control and prevention preven-tion although most of the publicity goes to such areas as a narcotics task force. Not belittling that, Mr. Eberhard re-enforces the magnitude of the alcohol problem. "Many, many more are using alcohol. We found nearly 34 percent in Davis County use alcohol regularly. "IT HAS MORE affects than we realize. People on welfare are taking nutritious food out of the hands of children" when they spend the money on alcohol, he said, and that parental drinking puts a stigma on their kids, possibly severely affecting their self image. "You know that a certain percent who takes that first drink become alcoholics," he said, noting that "social drinkers" often go far beyond what they perceive they're doing at a party, for example, leading lead-ing to accidents or a serious alcoholism problem. BY MAKING ALCOHOL a legal, socially acceptable accept-able drug it's led to wide-ranging problems that economically, eco-nomically, alone, could "make this recovery look pretty sick" if the millions spent on alcohol were used elsewhere, he said. A MESSAGE from the Storer Broadcasting Co.' points to bare-bone statistics indicating nine million Americans are considered alcoholics-or one in 25-half 25-half of all traffic fatalities, or about 25,000, are caused by alcohol with the biggest rise in drinking among young Americans. Three-quarters of today's high school students drink, nearly double what it was just a few years before, that message continues, citing National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse figures showing 450,000 of the nation's alcoholics between age 10 and 19. CITING FIGURES from the federal department of Health, Education and Welfare, lost production by workers amounts to $9.35 billion lost annually while health and medical bills total S8.29 billion, motor vehicle accidents cost S6.44 billion. On the other hand, alcohol programs and research total only S640 million, the criminal justice system spends just over a half billion dollars and the social welfare system S140 million. |