State health officials released a report earlier this month that showed New Hampshire to be well above the national and New England averages in some areas where we’d rather be near the bottom.

Although the state is consistently ranked among the healthiest in the nation, its young adults have a problem with substance abuse.

The percentage of young people ages 18-25 who engage in binge drinking is particularly worrisome. The report found 49 percent of the state’s residents in that age group participate in the practice, compared to 40 percent nationwide and about 43 percent in the other New England states.

The study also found that, overall, 73 percent of young New Hampshire adults use alcohol, which is also higher than the national and New England averages.

The national Centers for Disease Control defines binge drinking as the practice of consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time, to the point where a person’s blood-alcohol concentration reaches .08 percent or higher. Typically, according to the CDC, that’s about five drinks in two hours for a male, and four drinks in two hours for a female.

Binge drinking carries its own inherent risks, such as car crashes, fatal falls or other tragedies. But it also has consequences for the longer term, according to Joe Harding, the director of Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services for the state Department of Health and Human Services.

“The vast majority of those who develop alcoholism and drug addiction began drinking and using drugs in their teens, and the young adult years are often where the problems either diminish or get worse,” he said.

New Hampshire’s approach to the problem has been, well, typical New Hampshire. The state has a network of 13 organizations set up to collect data about teen substance abuse, but no money to actually do anything about it.

Like a “Cadillac with no gasoline,” said the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Tym Rourke.

One of those organizations is the Nashua Prevention Coalition, which has been operating on a small-potatoes basis with a modest grant from the NHCF.

Thankfully, that’s about to change after the coalition received word earlier this month that it has been selected to receive a grant of at least $125,000 from the federal Drug-Free Communities Support Program to put a plan into action. The coalition – which is made up of police officers, school representatives, a local doctor and administrators from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua, the Nashua Police Athletic League and The Youth Council – is also eligible to receive as much as $625,000 in grant funding for the next four years.

The money will allow the coalition to hire a full-time director and expand its reach into the city’s schools.

“This is just a tremendous boost to us,” said Janet Valuk, the coalition’s part-time coordinator. “We are finally able to address some of the major issues that have been occurring and trying to help kids make better choices – help them to realize that being substance free will help them to be more successful and lead happier and healthier lives.”

Which, when it comes to rankings, is something that ought to be at the top of everybody’s list.

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