Bill Text: DE HCR115 | 2023-2024 | 152nd General Assembly | Draft

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Bill Title: Designating April 2024 As Alcohol Awareness Month.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-2)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-04-25 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT [HCR115 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2023-HCR115-Draft.html

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SPONSOR:	Rep. Morrison & Sen. Hansen
Reps. Heffernan, K. Johnson, Baumbach, Parker Selby, Romer; Sens. Sokola, Huxtable, Hocker, Wilson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 115

DESIGNATING APRIL 2024 AS “ALCOHOL AWARENESS MONTH”.

WHEREAS, 138.5 million Americans aged 12 and over drink alcohol; and

WHEREAS, 28.3 million or 20.4% of them have an alcohol use disorder; and

WHEREAS, nearly 100,000 annual deaths are attributable to alcohol abuse, more than half of them due to long-term use; and

WHEREAS, 53.7% of alcohol-related deaths are due to chronic misuse; and

WHEREAS, alcohol poisoning is responsible for 32% of acute alcohol-related deaths; and

WHEREAS, 22.5% of acute-alcohol related deaths are due to suicide, and suicides involving alcohol kill more people than car accidents involving alcohol, accounting for 16.1% of acute-alcohol related deaths; and

WHEREAS, alcoholic liver disease causes 19.1% of all alcohol-related deaths; and

WHEREAS, about 18% of adult Delawareans are considered “binge” drinkers—including 21.2% of men aged 18-24 and 13.7% of women aged 18-24; and

WHEREAS, 10.3% of adult Delawareans are considered chronic “heavy” drinkers—including 10.3% of young men and 7.3% of young women; and

WHEREAS, 4.2% of Delawareans drive while drunk; and

WHEREAS, each day, about 37 Americans die in drunk-driving crashes, one person every 39 minutes, and about 31% of all traffic crash fatalities in the America involve drunk drivers; and

WHEREAS, national drunk driving deaths are up 31% since 2019; and

WHEREAS, excessive drinking can contribute to unintentional and intentional injuries, weight gain, heart disease, some types of cancers, cirrhosis of the liver, mental health issues, and other health problems; and

WHEREAS, about 6.1 million children aged 17 or younger reside in a two-parent household with at least one parent who has an alcohol use disorder, and 1.4 million children reside in a single-parent household with a parent who has an alcohol use disorder; and

WHEREAS, alcohol abuse disproportionately affects young men and women, racial minorities, individuals of a lower socioeconomic status, and the LGBTQ+ community; and

WHEREAS, each year, alcohol contributes to a $249 billion loss to the American economy including $179 billion for workplace productivity, $28 billion in healthcare, $25 billion to the criminal justice system, and $13 billion due to car crashes.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 152nd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that April 2024 is hereby designated as “Alcohol Awareness Month” and the State Legislature calls upon Delawareans to recognize individuals with current or past alcohol abuse issues, and the many negative effects alcohol can have upon individual lives and on society as a whole.

SYNOPSIS

This Concurrent Resolution dedicates the month of April 2024 as "Alcohol Awareness Month" in the State of Delaware.