Recognize April as Alcohol Awareness Month

By Christine Leccese

April is National Alcohol Awareness Month and Thursday, April 5, is National Alcohol Screening Day® (NASD). These are excellent opportunities for you to help military members, veterans, and their families assess their drinking habits at www.drinkingiq.org.

Hardly anyone in America has not been affected by alcohol problems at one time in their life – whether their own or someone else’s. Members of the military and their families are no different when it comes to escaping the impact of alcohol. In fact, in a 2002 study done by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) researchers found that the rate of heavy drinking among young military personnel is significantly higher than it is in the civilian population of the same age. Approximately 17.8% of young civilian males (18-25) reported heavy drinking, while 32.2% of young males in the military reported the same thing.

While alcohol does not discriminate based on age, statistics in the NIAAA study find that while 27% of young adults in the military reported heavy drinking, only 8.9% of adults between the ages of 26 and 55 report the same thing.

The theme of this month’s Military Pathways® blog will be alcohol awareness. It is a deep and rich subject area to explore. We are going to take a close look at alcohol issues from all angles, including:

• How to take the first steps to learn if you have a problem.
• Learning safe levels of alcohol.
• Talking to a friend or family member about his or her alcohol use.
• Living with an alcoholic in the family.
• Talking with your child about alcohol.
• Alcohol in the military.
• How drinking can hurt your pregnancy.
• Telling the story of a woman who has been sober for decades after suffering from alcoholism for a long time.

Please check this blog regularly to access the most helpful, readable, and informative alcohol topics on the Web. We will be updating it very frequently. If you don’t already “like” us on Facebook® or follow us on Twitter®, please do so. We update these places frequently as well — you’ll always know when we’ve uploaded a new blog post, and you can share them with your family and friends.

Christine Leccese is the marketing and communications manager at Military Pathways.