"Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The numbers are staggering. Surveys from the CDC show that of all alcohol consumed in the US, 11% was consumed by children
between the ages of 12 to 20. On average, under age drinkers consume more drinks per occasion than adult drinkers.
Statistics from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) show:
28.2% of 12- to 20-year-olds report drinking alcohol in the past month. 18.8% of underage drinkers were binge drinkers and 6% were heavy drinkers.
9.9% of 12- to 17-year-olds report having five or more drinks ("binge drinking") on the same occasion on at least 1 day in the past 30 days.
5.8% of 12- to 17-year-olds need treatment for an alcohol use problem.
Social Consequences:
DWI Crashes - Suicide - Crime - Sexual Assault - Underage Drinking - Binge Drinking -
Domestic Violence - Child Abuse - Animal Abuse - Dysfunctional Families - Unnecessary Economic Loss - Health Consequences and Costs.
Alcohol accounts for 11 million accidental injuries each year.
Alcohol plays a major role in 39% of highway fatalities.
Alcohol is the third leading health problem in the U.S., right behind cancer, and heart disease.
Why do some adolescents drink?
As children move from adolescence to young adulthood, they encounter dramatic physical, emotional, and lifestyle changes.
Developmental transitions, such as puberty and increasing independence, have been associated with alcohol use.
So in a sense,
just being an adolescent may be a key risk factor not only for starting to drink but also for drinking dangerously.
Risk-Taking - Research shows the brain keeps developing well into the twenties, during which time it continues to establish important
communication connections and further refines its function.
Scientists believe that this lengthy developmental period may help explain
some of the behavior which is characteristic of adolescence—such as their propensity to seek out new and potentially dangerous situations.
For some teens, thrill-seeking might include experimenting with alcohol. Developmental changes also offer a possible physiological
explanation for why teens act so impulsively, often not recognizing that their actions, such as drinking, have consequences.
NIAAA
Could Alcohol Advertising / Marketing also play a role on youth's alcohol consumption?
Almost all youth overexposure to alcohol advertising occurs on cable. Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of the overexposing alcohol
ad placements in 2007 were on cable television, which generated 95 percent of youth overexposure to alcohol advertising on television.
Of the youth overexposure on cable in 2007, 53 percent came from beer advertising, and 41 percent from distilled spirits advertising.
In 2006 and 2007, there were no alcohol industry-funded "responsibility" messages about underage drinking on television.
Over the entire period of 2001 - 2007, youth ages 12 to 20 were 22 times more likely to see an alcohol product advertisement than an
alcohol industry-funded "responsibility" advertisement about drinking-driving, safety or underage drinking.
Eleven specific brands are responsible for 48.5 percent of the youth exposure to advertising.
For this report, researchers developed a methodology to determine the best and worst performers with regard to youth exposure to alcohol
advertising.
By combining risk taking behaviors and overexposure to alcohol ads, this Action News Investigation Report show
the escalation of Binge Drinking among college students.
The consequences of excessive and underage drinking affect virtually all college campuses, college communities, and college students, whether they choose to drink or not.
In 2005, about 10.8 million persons ages 12-20 (28.2% of this age group) reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Nearly 7.2 million (18.8%) were binge drinkers, and 2.3 million
(6.0%) were heavy drinkers. More males than females ages 12-20 reported current alcohol use (28.9% vs. 27.5%), binge drinking (21.3% vs. 16.1%), and heavy drinking (7.6% vs. 4.3%).
44% of students attending 4-year colleges drink alcohol at the binge level or greater.
Young adults aged 18-22 enrolled full-time in college were more likely than their peers not enrolled full time to use alcohol in the past month, to binge drink, and to drink heavily.
48% of college drinkers report that ‘drinking to get drunk’ is an important reason for drinking. Almost 1 in 4 drink alcohol 10 or more times a month and 29% report being intoxicated 3 or more times per month.
Binge drinkers consumed 91% of all alcohol that college students reported drinking, while 68% of alcohol was consumed by frequent binge drinkers.
College students who first became intoxicated before age 19 are more likely to be alcohol dependent and frequent heavy drinkers. These younger drinkers are also more likely to report driving after drinking,
riding with a driver who was drinking or drunk, and sustaining injuries after drinking alcohol that required medical attention. Center for Science in the Public Interest
How can you help prevent underage drinking?
Reducing underage drinking will require community-based efforts to monitor the activities of youth and decrease youth access to alcohol.
Recent publications by the Surgeon General1 and the Institute of Medicine3 outlined many prevention strategies that will require actions on the national,
state, and local levels, such as enforcement of minimum legal drinking age laws, national media campaigns targeting youth and adults,
increasing alcohol excise taxes, reducing youth exposure to alcohol advertising, and development of comprehensive community-based programs.
These efforts will require continued research and evaluation to determine their success and to improve their effectiveness.
Read full article on how you can help at: Alcohol quick stats.
Download recent publications on underage drinking issues: Tax Increase Study - Prevention of Deaths From Harmful Drinking in the
United States: The Potential Effects of Tax Increases and
Advertising Bans on Young Drinkers.
Alcohol Report - Alcohol Excise Tax Benefits and Public Opinion. Ralph W. Hingson, SC.D. - Magnitude of Alcohol-Related Mortality and Morbidity
among U.S. College Students Ages 18-24. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth - Statement on The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce
Underage Drinking.
Alcohol as a Drug and the Adolescent Brain Development:
In fact, all underage drinking is unsafe drinking. Research has shown that the brain continues to develop into the early twenties.
The part that controls reasoning and cognitive ability takes the longest to mature; thus, underage drinking, especially heavy drinking, affects memory and reasoning.
The part of the brain responsible for forming new memories, is noticeably smaller in youth who abuse alcohol.
Alcohol use in adolescence also decreases executive functioning, memory, spatial operations, and attention among adolescents. Brain Drain will explain our greatest challenge on underage drinking effects on brain development.
