The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions.

NCADD News Release

For More Information, Contact: Jeffrey Hon, Director for Public Information

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Immediate Release:

NEW YORK YANKEE DEREK JETER TO SERVE AS HONORARY CHAIR OF ALCOHOL AWARENESS MONTH

Derek Jeter, one of baseball's rising young stars, will serve as honorary chair of Alcohol Awareness Month in April 2000. The fourteenth annual campaign sponsored by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) will once again focus on youth with the slogan "Let's Stop Underage Drinking Short." "Young people need to keep their eye on the ball," asserted the 25-year-old New York Yankees shortstop who joined the ball club in 1995 and has played on its World Series championship teams for the past two years. "They need to focus on their dreams, whether it's sports, academics, legal or any other profession. You can live your dreams, as I am, by staying away from alcohol and other drugs." Jeter's concern with use of alcohol and other drugs among youth prompted him to found the Turn 2 Foundation in 1996. The Foundation, which operates in Michigan, Florida, New York and Ohio, supports organizational activities and programs that are designed to motivate youth to avoid using drugs and alcohol through healthy alternatives and to provide effective treatment options for those who already have problems with these substances. The Turn 2 Foundation is best known for its "Jeter's Leaders" program, which recognizes alcohol- and other drug-free youth who are achievers of excellence in their lives and act as role models to their peers. Underage drinking remains the number-one drug problem among youth, yet it is often overlooked in the nation's efforts to prevent use of tobacco and illicit drugs in this population. About 10.5 million Americans between ages 12-20 had at least one drink last month; of these, nearly half were "binge" drinkers, meaning that they consumed five or more drinks in a row on a single occasion. Use of alcohol by young people puts them at much higher risk for the leading causes of death (motor-vehicle crashes, homicides and suicides) in their age group; it also costs the nation more than $58 billion per year, including traffic crashes, violent crime, burns, drowning, suicide attempts, fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol poisonings and treatment. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, children who begin drinking before the age of 15 have a four times greater chance of becoming alcoholic as an adult than those who begin at 21, the legal drinking age. Materials to help communities conduct local Alcohol Awareness Month campaigns will be posted on NCADD's website (www.ncadd.org) in January. They will include sample press materials, suggestions for grassroots activities and an order form for a variety of prevention posters and brochures. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. provides education, information, help and hope in the fight against the chronic and often fatal disease of alcoholism, and other drug addictions. Founded in 1944, NCADD, with its nationwide network of Affiliates, advocates prevention, intervention and treatment and is committed to ridding the disease of its stigma and its sufferers from their denial and shame. 1/00

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.

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