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MADD Texas to visit Longview Mall educate about dangers of underage drinking

The organization will be at the Longview Mall on Saturday and Sunday to education young people about the dangers of underage drinking and drunk driving.
Photo Courtesy MADD

GREGG COUNTY — MADD Texas will visit the Longview Mall on July 22 and 23, 2018 to educate young people about the consequences underage drinking can cause and the overall impact drugs and alcohol can have.

According to the organization alcohol use among teenagers kills 4,300 young people every year, a total surpassing all illegal drugs combined.

Summer is usually a time for a spike in drunk driving fatalities and MADD has partnered with the Coalition of Drug Free Youth, the Longview Police Department and Wellness point for the MADDTX Summer Fun event at the Longview Mall.

Their Power of Youth program's goal is to encourage young people to "#ProtectUrFuture" by promising not to drink alcohol before they turn 21 and to not ride with drivers who have been drinking.

MADD also said that "Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are significantly more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at older ages. Youth who begin drinking before the age of 15 have a 41 percent chance of future alcohol dependence, compared with a 10 percent chance for those who begin after the legal drinking age."

MADD was founded 38-years-ago by a mother who lost her daughter to a drunk driver. The organization has helped save more than 300,000 lives and works to reduce drunk driving deaths by teaching parents and teens to make safe choices.

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