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Quick Stats
Underage Drinking
Alcohol
use by persons under age 21 years is a major public health problem.1
Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United
States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs. Although drinking by persons
under the age of 21 is illegal, people aged 12 to 20 years drink 11% of all
alcohol consumed in the United States.2 More than 90% of this
alcohol is consumed in the form of binge drinks.2 On average,
underage drinkers consume more drinks per drinking occasion than adult
drinkers.3 In 2005, there were more than 145,000 emergency rooms
visits by youth 12 to 20 years for injuries and other conditions linked to
alcohol.4
Drinking Levels among Youth
The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey5 found that among high
school students, during the past 30 days:
- 45% drank some amount of alcohol.
- 26% binge drank.
- 11% drove after drinking alcohol.
- 29% rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol.
Other national surveys indicate
- In 2006, the
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
reported that 28% of youth aged 12 to 20 years drank alcohol, and 19%
reported binge drinking.6
- In 2007, the
Monitoring the Future
Survey* reported that 39% of 8th graders and 72% of 12th graders had
tried alcohol, and 16% of 8th graders and 44% of 12th graders drank
during the past month.7
Consequences of Underage Drinking
Youth who drink alcohol1,3,8 are more likely to experience
- School problems, such as higher absence and poor or failing grades.
- Social problems, such as fighting and lack of participation in youth
activities.
- Legal problems, such as arrest for driving or physically hurting
someone while drunk.
- Physical problems, such as hangovers or illnesses.
- Unwanted, unplanned, and unprotected sexual activity.
- Disruption of normal growth and sexual development.
- Physical and sexual assault.
- Higher risk for suicide and homicide.
- Alcohol-related car crashes and other unintentional injuries, such
as burns, falls, and drowning.
- Memory problems.
- Abuse of other drugs.
- Changes in brain development that may have life-long effects.
- Death from alcohol poisoning.
In general, the risk of youth experiencing these problems is greater for
those who binge drink than for those who do not binge drink.8
Youth who start drinking before age 15 years are five times more likely to
develop
alcohol dependence or
abuse
later in life than those who begin drinking at or after age 21 years.9,10
Prevention of 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.
References:
- U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and
Reduce Underage Drinking. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services; 2007. Available at
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/underagedrinking/.
Accessed March 28, 2008.
- Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention.
Drinking in America: Myths,
Realities, and Prevention Policy.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs,
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; 2005. Available
at
http://www.udetc.org/documents/Drinking_in_America.pdf*
(PDF). Accessed March 28, 2008.
- Bonnie RJ and O’Connell ME, editors. National Research Council and
Institute of Medicine,
Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective
Responsibility.* Committee on Developing a Strategy to Reduce and Prevent
Underage Drinking. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and
Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2004.
- Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration.
Drug Abuse Warning Network,
2005: National Estimates of Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits.
Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Office of Applied Studies. DAWN Series D-29, DHHS
Publication No. (SMA) 07-4256; 2007. Available at
http://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/pubs/edpubs/default.asp.
Accessed March 28, 2008.
- 5. Eaton DK, Kann L, Kinchen SA, et al. Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance—United States, 2007. CDC Morb Mort Surveil Summ
2008;55(S7-04):1–131. Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5505.pdf
(PDF). Accessed June 24, 2008.
- Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration.
2006 National Survey on Drug Use
and Health: Detailed Tables.
Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Office of Applied Studies, 2007. Available at
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k6NSDUH/tabs/LOTSect2pe.htm#AlcAge.
Accessed March 31, 2008.
- Johnston LD, O’Malley PM,
Bachman JG, Schulenberg JE (December 11, 2007). Overall, illicit drug
use by American teens continues gradual decline in 2007. University of
Michigan News Service: Ann Arbor, MI. [Online]. Available at
www.monitoringthefuture.org*.
Accessed March 28, 2008.
- Miller JW, Naimi TS, Brewer RD, Jones SE. Binge drinking and
associated health risk behaviors among high school students.
Pediatrics 2007;119:76–85.
- Hingson RW, Heeren T, Winter
MR. Age at drinking onset and alcohol dependence: age at onset,
duration, and severity.
Pediatrics 2006;160:739-746.
- Office of Applied Studies. The NSDUH Report: Alcohol dependence or
abuse and age at first use. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration; October 2004. Available at
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k4/ageDependence/ageDependence.htm.
Accessed March 31, 2008.
* Links to non-Federal organizations are
provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an
endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none
should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual
organization Web pages found at this link.
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Page last reviewed: August 6, 2008
Page last modified: August 6, 2008
Content source: Division of Adult and Community Health,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion |
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