By Matt Leingang
Enquirer staff writer

NORWOOD - An Ohio panel on underage drinking kicked off a statewide tour in Cincinnati by defining the problem.

About 6 percent of Ohio children ages 12-17 abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent, according to testimony Monday at the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.

Underage drinking - even casual use - costs the nation $53 billion each year in traffic crashes, health care costs and violent crime.

"As a society, we are not diligent enough about the casual use of alcohol by adolescents, and we are paying a huge price," said Nan Franks Richardson, chief executive officer of the Alcoholism Council of the Cincinnati Area.

"I hear stories about parents who buy beer for their kids on the weekends because at least that way they know what their children are doing. There's a wide flaw in that logic," said Tim Lawrence, a coordinator with the Hamilton County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board.

The state panel will conduct four more hearings across Ohio to develop recommendations for how Ohio and its communities can better respond to the problem.

The next hearing is Thursday in Akron. A final report to Gov. Bob Taft is expected in March.

The good news is that overall alcohol use is declining.

A survey released this month by the Coalition for Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati shows that 19 percent of students in the 10-county region regularly use beer. That's down from 30 percent in 2000.

But significant problems remain, including lack of funding for treatment.

Hamilton County's addiction services board treated about 100 adolescents for alcoholism last year, but thousands more need help, Lawrence said.

---

E-mail mleingang@enquirer.com