2023 -- H 6250

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING APRIL OF 2023 TO BE "ALCOHOL AWARENESS MONTH" IN THE

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Representatives Casey, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Chippendale, Craven,
Caldwell, Dawson, O'Brien, Phillips, and Marszalkowski

     Date Introduced: April 04, 2023

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Alcohol Awareness Month is a public health program which began in April

of 1987, and is organized by the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence as a way

of increasing outreach and education regarding the dangers of alcoholism and issues related to

alcohol; and

     WHEREAS, Alcohol abuse affects everyone, not simply the person with the drinking

problem. It impacts family, friends, and the workplace. The numerous initiatives promulgated

during Alcohol Awareness Month benefits everyone, and all people and organizations are

welcome to participate including parents, schools, healthcare facilities, medical professionals, law

enforcement, substance abuse organizations, faith-based groups and other important community

organizations; and

     WHEREAS, The disease of addiction, including dangerous alcohol use, continues to

devastate Rhode Island’s communities and remains a public health emergency that poses a

significant public health safety threat to our State; and

     WHEREAS, According to the National Institute of Health’s 2020 Monitoring the Future

Survey, alcohol is the most used substance by both young people and adults in the United States.

Their survey results showed that more than 55 percent of high school seniors used alcohol, with

more than 25 percent of people 18 or older admitting that they engaged in binge drinking in the

past month. Approximately 95,000 Americans die from alcohol-related causes each year; and

     WHEREAS, According to the National Center For Health Statistics, alcohol-related

deaths in the United States increased from 39,000 in 2019, to 40,000 in 2020, and preliminary

data from 2021 shows that the number of alcohol-related deaths increased again to 52,000. The

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that excessive alcohol use costs the United

States Economy approximately 249 billion dollars; and

     WHEREAS, According to the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence,

excessive alcohol abuse causes 75 percent of esophageal cancers, 36 percent of the cases of

primary liver cancer, and nearly 50 percent of cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx. Chronic

drinking increases a woman’s chance of getting breast cancer by 10 percent, and causes 65

percent of all cases of pancreatitis. Among emergency room patients admitted for injuries, 47

percent tested positive for alcohol and 35 percent were intoxicated. Overall, alcoholics are ten

times more likely to develop general carcinoma, accidents related to alcohol use are among the

leading causes of death for teenagers, and more than 140,000 Americans die from the effects of

alcohol yearly; and

     WHEREAS, The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics reports that nearly 18 percent

of Rhode Islanders over the age of 18 binge drink at least once per month. Annually, 493 deaths

in Rhode Island are attributable to excessive alcohol abuse. Overall, alcohol related deaths per

capita in Rhode Island increased by 39 percent from 2015 to 2019; and

     WHEREAS, In December of 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (P.L.

116-260) was enacted, which included $1.65 billion in the supplemental Substance Abuse

Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant funding as provided as part of the law’s section

dedicated to COVID-19 relief and in March of 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2)

was enacted, which included $1.5 billion in longer term supplemental SAPT Block Grant

funding; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

proclaims April of 2023 to be “Alcohol Awareness Month”; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this House hereby respectfully requests that the Governor of the State

of Rhode Island, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Department of

Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, the Department of Corrections,

and the Department of Health consider utilizing the supplemental SAPT Block Grant funding

provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan for these efforts;

and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Daniel McKee, Governor of the

State of Rhode Island, Ana P. Novais, Acting Secretary of the Rhode Island Executive Office of

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Health and Human Services, Patricia A. Coyne-Fugue, Esq., Director of the Rhode Island

Department of Corrections, Utpala Bandy, MD, MPH, Interim Director of The Rhode Island

Department of Health, and Richard Charest, Director of the Rhode Island Department of

Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals.

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