DR. WALLACE: You keep telling your young readers that drinking alcohol is "evil." If it is so evil, why does my mother have an occasional glass of red wine with dinner? Her doctor recommended it a year ago and Mom followed her doctor's orders. She says that the wine at dinnertime has done wonders for her health. I'd appreciate your comments on this subject. — Nameless, Iowa City, Iowa.

NAMELESS: I'm aware that doctors endorse moderate drinking of red wine because doing so can reduce a person's risk of developing heart problems. When a doctor recommends this preventive procedure, then the patient should follow doctor's orders. Drinking red grape juice can give the same benefit.

However, the vast majority of people who consume alcohol are not doing it to improve their health. Alcohol is a drug — a very addictive drug. If a person becomes addicted to alcohol, the person is addicted for life. There is no cure.

The problem is that many people are unable to confine their drinking to "moderate" levels. A regular drinker may be blissfully aware that addiction has him in its grip. He doesn't notice that he has increased his alcohol intake and lost control over his drinking habit, even though it is painfully obvious to those close to him.

Allow me to inform you of the downside of drinking, and the misery it creates for individuals, families and communities. The following is courtesy of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism:

At least half of all traffic fatalities and one-third of all traffic injuries are alcohol-related. Up to 59 percent of fatal crashes and 25 percent of non-fatal crashes involve drinking drivers with a blood alcohol level of .10 or higher. Up to 37 percent of persons arrested for driving while intoxicated are identified as alcoholics, and 48 percent are identified as having serious drinking problems.

Up to 40 percent of fatal industrial accidents, 69 percent of accidental drowning, 83 percent of fire fatalities, and 70 percent of fatal falls are alcohol-related. Non-fatal accidents of these sorts are even more often alcohol-related.

Drinking plays a role in robberies (72 percent), rape (50 percent of offenders, 31 percent of victims), assaults (72 percent of offenders, 79 percent of victims), and homicides (86 percent of offenders, 40 to 60 percent of victims). Up to 83 percent of offenders in prison or jail have reported alcohol involvement in their crimes.

Over one-third of all suicides involve alcohol, and a disproportionately high number of people with drinking problems commit suicide. Excessive drinking has been implicated in child abuse, child molestation and marital violence. People working with battered women often encounter drinking problems in the home.

Space limits me from presenting more negatives about alcohol consumption, but I think you now know why I encourage young adults to stay alcohol-free forever!

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.