Underage Drinking

Alcohol use by children, adolescents, and young adults under the age of 21 years is one of the top public health concerns in the United States. In fact, research has shown that nearly half of all eighth grade students in this country have had at least one drink, while nearly 30% of all 12th graders report drinking at least three times per month. According to the 2007 Monitoring the Future Survey, approximately 10% of eighth graders and 26% of 12th graders reported drinking five or more drinks consecutively in the previous 2 weeks. Moreover, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported that the average age adolescents started to drink alcohol was 17V2 years in 1965 compared with an alarming 14 years in 2003. ...