SOUTH BEND – Teachers, parents and students alike are settling in for the new school year, a process complicated here in Pacific County by wide acceptance of underage drinking, according to a state survey.

As preparations are made, parents should consider talking with their children about peer pressure and the dangers of alcohol consumption, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

Many seniors leaving for college, middle school students and younger are entering an environment where the pressure to drink may increase significantly. While some view underage drinking simply as a “rite of passage” into adulthood the reality is “it is the leading cause of death among youth and contributes substantially to adolescent motor vehicle crashes, traumatic injuries, suicide, date rape, and family and school problems,” according to leading authorities.

When 12th grade students throughout Pacific County were asked how wrong they think it is for someone their age to drink beer, wines, or hard liquor regularly, 56.2 percent of the students answered, “a little bit wrong or not wrong at all.” While students may not think of alcohol as “very wrong,” alcohol is statistically considered “by far the most used and abused drug among America’s teenagers.”

While you can’t always be with your children there are signs of possible alcohol or drug usage like: change of friends, declining grades, dropping involvement in activities, and being secretive or not explaining where they are or who they are with.

If your teen is drinking or dependent on alcohol call the Alcohol/Drug Helpline for free confidential information and referrals at: 800-562-1240.

The local provider of youth assessment/screening/treatment is Willapa Counseling: toll free 800-884-2298; Long Beach 642-3787; and Raymond 875-9426.