Alcohol Consumption by Youth in the United States

Underage drinking is widespread in the United States. Approximately 13,334,000 underage minors in the U.S. drink each year. In 2007, according to surveys by the U.S. students in grades 9-12:

• 75% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more days during their life.
• 24% had their first drink of alcohol, other than a few sips, before age 13.
• 45% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more occasion in the past 30 days.
• 26% had five or more drinks of alcohol in a row in the past 30 days.
• 4% had at least one drink of alcohol on school property on one or more of the past 30 days.

In 2007, underage drinkers consumed 14.5% of all alcohol sold, totaling $24.2 billion in sales. These sales provided profits of $11.9 billion to the alcohol industry.

Problems and Costs Associated with Underage Drinking in the United States

Underage drinking cost the citizens of the U.S. $68.0 billion in 2007. These costs consist of medical care, work loss, and pain and suffering associated with the multiple problems resulting from the use of alcohol by minors. This totals to a cost of $2,280 per year for each minor in the State. Excluding pain and suffering from these costs, the direct costs of underage drinking ocurred through medical care and loss of work cost the U.S. $22.3 billion each year. Youth violence (homicide, suicide, aggravated assault) and traffic crashes contribute to alcohol use by underage minors in the United States represent the largest costs for the State. Among teen mothers, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) alone costs the United States $1,227 million.

Effects of excessive Alcohol on young bodies

Youth 'immature' organs can literally be poisoned by alcohol.

The liver can be damaged. It takes a few days for it to recover and to get back to normal functioning after a 'session'.

The heart can beat so irregularly that it can stop.

The body can lose temperature causing hypothermia. Every year some teens die when they get drunk and pass out in the freezing cold.

Too little sugar in the body can cause coma and seizures.

Breathing can become so shallow or slow that it can stop.

One of the most common ways in which teens (and adults) die from alcohol is by choking on their own vomit. If you vomit when you are unconscious you can easily breath it in. If your body cannot get the oxygen it needs brain damage or death results.

Dangers of Teen Drinking

Brain Development and Alcohol Abuse

• Research indicates that the human brain continues to develop into a person's early 20's, and that exposure of the developing brain to alcohol may have long-lasting effects on intellectual capabilities and may increase the likelihood of alcohol addiction.
• The age when drinking starts affects future drinking problems. For each year that the start of drinking is delayed, the risk of later alcohol dependence is reduced by 14 percent.

Drinking and Driving

• Car crashes are the leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 20. About 1,900 people under 21 die every year from car crashes involving minors.
• Young people are more affected to alcohol-induced impairment of their driving skills. Drinking drivers aged 16 to 20 are twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as drinking drivers who are 21 or older.

Suicide

• Alcohol use relates with conditions like depression and stress, and adds to an estimated 300 teen suicides a year.
• High school students who drink are twice as likely to have seriously considered attempting suicide, as compared to nondrinkers. High school students who binge drink are four times as likely to have attempted suicide, as compared to nondrinkers.

Sexual Behavior

• Current teen drinkers are more than twice as likely to have had sexual intercourse within the past three months than teens who don't drink.
• Increased drinking levels increase the likelihood of sexual activity.
• Minors who drink are more likely to participate in risky sexual activities, like having sex with someone they don't know or failing to use birth control.

We Don't Serve Teens

To show parents' perspective on the legal consequences of underage drinking, they showed a survey of over 1,000 adults. The results consist of, 96% of adults and parents don't believe it is acceptable for parents or other adults to provide beverage alcohol to minors.

Survey respondents said if they learned another parent or adult providing alcohol to their son or daughter without their permission, they would consider taking action against the other parent, or their child. Some of these actions include:

• Speaking with my child about the dangers and consequences of underage drinking (93%)
• Call that adult and express my objections/feelings/opinions (86%)
• Restrict my child's time at that family's house (80%)
• Limit my child's relationship with that family (76%)
• Notify other parents (74%)
• Punish my own child (69%)

Other incidents adults would report is calling the police (44%), reporting the incident to the school (40%), and taking legal action, such as file charges, sue them, etc. (34%).

Gender Differences in Alcohol Use

In 2009 the National Survey on Drug Use and Health nearly 8.14 million 12-20 year old girls reported consuming alcohol in the past year.
In 2009, more males than females ages 12 to 20 reported past month alcohol consumption 29% to 26%
binge drinking 21% to 16%
heavy drinking 7% to 4%
However, among 12- to 17-year olds, the percentage of females who report drinking in the past month (14%) is almost the same as that of their male peers (15%).

Among college students: The 2009 Monitoring the Future Study 45% of college males report having consumed five or more drinks in a row during the previous two weeks compared with 31% of their female peers. This gender difference has slowed with both male and female binge drinking rates declining down 8 percent from 49% in 2007 among college males and down almost 14 percent from 36% in 2007 among female college students.

Facts about Drinking

Facts about underage drinking:

• 74% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more days during their life
• 26% had their first drink of alcohol, other than a few sips, before age 13
• 43% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more occasion in the past 30 days
• 26% had five or more drinks of alcohol in a row in the past 30 days.
• 4% had at least one drink of alcohol on school property on one or more of the past 30 days

In 2005, underage teen drinking consumed 15 percent of all alcohol sold in the United States, totaling $19.8 billion in sales.

Teens and young adults between 16 and 24 years old take in only 20 percent of the total licensed population; they cause 42 percent of all fatal alcohol related crashes.