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Show Alcohol Consumption (Utah Household Survey on Substance Abuse) The survey question related to alcohol consumption looks at self-reported regular use of alcohol, but focuses on age differences in alcohol consumption. Use of alcohol is generally highest for young adults 18-25. The number of 12-17 year olds Table 74. Regular Alcohol Use* Utah U.S. Year 12-17 18-25 26 + Year 12-17 18-25 26 + 1979 - 38.5 27.9 1979 37.2 75.9 61.3 1983 - 44.0 31.6 1982 30.2 70.9 59.8 1989 38.7 28.7 1988 25.2 65.3 54.8 1991 « - 1991 20.3 63.6 52.6 1992 8.8 31.4 26.3 1992 15.7 59.2 50.1 1993 13.2 34.3 24.0 1993 23.9 59.3 52.1 1994 ~ 32.8 24.9 1994 21.6 63.1 56.6 1995 8.5 24.3 26.6 1995 21.1 61.5 ~ 1996 11.8 ~ ~ 1996 18.8 - 1997 13.2 - 1997 ~ ~ ~ who report having consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days appears to be rising in Utah. See Drug Use Among Students, for more on alcohol consumption by teens. ?Percentage of persons reporting consumption of alcohol within the past 30 days. Table 74. Source: 1979-1994: Utah Division of Substance Abuse, Utah Household Survey on Substance Abuse, Executive Summary and Main Findings. Salt lake City: Suthor. 1994. 1995: Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Health Promotion/Risk Reduction, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 1995. Unpublished Report. Drinking and Driving (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) This survey question asks those who drink if they have had too much to drink in the past month before driving. This asks for a judgment, "too much to drink," which may be difficult to determine while consuming alcohol, even in hindsight. There has been a steady decline in the percentages of those drinking and driving in Utah and the U.S. Changing social attitudes and stiffer laws may have contributed to the decline in drinking and driving. Utah has one of the nation's strictest legal blood alcohol limits (at 0.08%). Utah remains below the U.S. median in the percentage of the population 18 and older who report having too much to drink before driving. Only eight states had lower percentages than Utah in 1995. Starting in 1993, data began to be collected in odd years only. Table 75. Drinking and Driving Age 18+ U.S. US U.S. High Year Utah Low Median 1986 3.4 1.1 3.6 9.5 1987 2.1 1.3 3.3 8.2 1988 1.5 1.4 3.2 8.4 1989 1.5 1.1 2.9 5.9 1990 1.3 0.7 2.9 5.9 1991 1.4 0.69 2.49 6.32 1992 1.4 0.65 2.33 5.71 1993 1.5 0.82 2.42 5.30 1995 1.2 0.6 2.3 5.2 ?Percentage of persons who report driving after having too much to drink one or more times in the past month. Table 75. Source: 1993: Utah Department of health, Bureau of Health Promotion/Risk Reduction, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 1994. Unpublished report, p.79. 1991-1992: Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Health Promotion/Risk Reduction, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 1993. Unpublished report, p.60,63. 1986-1990: Center for Disease Control (1991). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Behavioral Risk Factor Survey: 1986-1990.40 (SS-4), p. 18-19. Figure 45 Drinking and Driving Percentage of Respondents - - - Utah U.S. Low US Median U.S. High 1986 1988 1990 1992 1995 116 |