Alcohol and Youth
Alcohol kills more teenagers than all other drugs combined, and it is a factor in the three leading causes of death among 15-24 year old (accidents, homicides, suicides).
Nearly four million young people suffer from alcohol dependence.
Alcohol is the most widely used and abused drug among youth. The average age at which children begin to drink today is about 13 years old.
Youth can overdose on alcohol just as easily as they can with any other drug. Drinking too much too quickly can result in death. The symptoms of alcohol poisoning include unconsciousness, abnormally slow breathing, and cold, clammy skin.
Nearly 2/3 of teenagers who drink, including those as young as 12 or 13 report that they can walk into a store and buy their own alcoholic beverages.
Several reasons, besides the law, for taking seriously underage drinking are:: highway death, drowning, suicide, violent injury, and unwanted pregnancy.
Many youth drink alone because they get bored or depressed. That puts them at greater risk for developing alcoholism.
Even though most teenagers know that you shouldn't drink and drive, nearly a third still accept rides from drivers who have been drinking.
The prevalence of drinking and driving among youth and young adults increases substantially with frequency of alcohol use and is strongly associated in binge drinking.
The total cost of youth alcohol use, including traffic crashes, violent crime, burns, drowning, suicide attempts, fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol poisoning and treatment, is more than $58 billion per year.
Youth who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin at 21.
Teenagers whose parents talk to them regularly about the dangers of drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don't, yet only 1 in 4 teens report having these conversations.
Almost half of college students who were victims of campus crimes said they were drinking or using other drugs when they were victimized.
Almost one third of eighth graders and half of tenth graders have been drunk at least once.
Forty percent of children who begin drinking before age 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives.
Early abuse of alcohol can impede a child's physical, mental, and social development. Research shows that adolescents who abuse alcohol may remember 10% less of what they learned than those who do not drink.
Underage drinkers consume about 10 percent of all the alcohol purchased in the United States, and the vast majority of this alcohol is consumed in a risky fashion (consuming 5 or more drinks at one sitting).
One in four youth are exposed to family alcoholism or alcohol abuse some time before the age of 18. These children often live in environments that are stressful, frightening or chaotic. They are more vulnerable to mental illness and medical problems, and morel likely than others to become alcoholics.
Underage Drinking, NCADD 2001; Youth, Alcohol, and Other Drugs, NCADD 1999