Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving

Prevalence of Underage Drinking

• Every day in the United States, more than 4,750 kids under age 16 have their first full drink of alcohol.1
• More youth in the United States drink alcohol than smoke tobacco or marijuana, making it the drug most used by American young people.2
• The average age at which young people ages 12 to 17 begin to drink is 13 years old.3
• The average age that underage drinkers ages 12 to 20 begin to drink is 16.1 years old.4
• From 1979 to 2006, risk of binge drinking declined from 12- to 20-year old males but not females in this age range. NO reduction in binge drinking occurred for college males.5, 6
• In a national study, 13.8% of eighth-graders reported having at least one drink in the past 30 days, and 11.5% had been drunk at least once in the past year.7
• Between 1993 and 2001, 18- to 20-year-old drinkers showed the largest increase (56%) in binge-drinking episodes among American adults. This group of underage drinkers also had the second-highest rate of binge drinking, outstripped only by young adults ages 21 to 25.8
• Twelve- to fourteen-year-old binge drinkers consume 91% of the alcohol drunk by their age group. Ninety-four percent of the alcohol drunk by all 15- to 17-year-olds and 96% of the alcohol drunk by all 18- to 20-year-olds is consumed through binge drinking.9
• Approximately 10.0 million persons ages 12 to 20 (26.3 % of this age group) reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Nearly 6.5 million (17.0%) were binge drinkers, and 2.0 million (5.1%) were heavy drinkers.10
• Almost half (48%) of all alcohol use reported by college students is attributable to those who are underage.11
• Underage drinking is estimated to account for between 11% and 20% of the U.S. alcohol market. Even the lower estimate of 11% represents 3.6 billion drinks each year.12, 13
• Youth who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence or abuse in their lifetimes than those who begin drinking at age 21 years or later.1
• In 2009, among current underage drinkers, 30.6% paid for the alcohol the last time they drank—8.8% purchased the alcohol themselves and 21.6% gave money to someone else to purchase it. Among the underage drinkers who did not pay for the alcohol the last time they drank, 38.9% received it from an unrelated person ages 21 or older, 16.6% received it from other underage persons, and 21.6% received it from parents, guardians, or other adult family members, 6.0% took the alcohol from home, 3.8% took it from someone else’s home, and 8.1% got it some other way.15

More kids try alcohol than try cigarettes:

*16 Had a drink in the last 30 days -- Had a cigarette in the last 30 days

8th-graders drink (13.8%) -- cigarette (6.9%).

10th- graders drink (28.9%) --cigarette (13.6%).

12th- graders drink (41.2%) cigarette (19.2%).

*Prevalence of drinking by grade level:17 Had a drink, last 30 days Had a drink, last year Been drunk, last 30 days Been drunk, last year Been drunk, ever

8th-graders 13.8%-- 29.3%-- 5.0%-- 11.5%--16.3%

10th- graders 28.9%-- 52.1%-- 14.7%-- 29.9%-- 36.9%

12th- graders 41.2%-- 65.2%-- 26.8%-- 44.0%-- 54.1%

Many people assume that European countries, with lower drinking ages, are more successful than the U.S. at preventing heavy drinking among young people. However, surveys from those countries that are designed to be comparable with U.S. data suggest otherwise:

Drinking among 15-16-year-old students, selected Western countries and United States, 200318.

France, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States:

Minimum purchase age (on-premise/off-premise)19 18i &16ii: 18, 16, 18, 20, 18, 21.

Had a drink, last 30 days 64%, 80%, 63%, 44%, 70%, 33%.

Had five or more drinks on at least one occasion (binge drinking), last 30 days 43%, 60%, 38%, 37%, 54%, N/A, 20.

Been drunk at least once, last 30 days 18%, 49%, 12%, 17%, 33%, 18%.

i Buying alcohol is illegal below the age of 18 for spirits and below 16 for other beverages.
ii Alcohol By Volume (ABV) must be under 16.5% to purchase in shops at age 16.

Updated July 2011

References:

Aceldama, A. (2013, December 24). Drunk Driving Simulation Medical Course [Video file]. Retrieved from YouTube website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kdiUF-kii8

The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. (2011). Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved from http://www.camy.org/factsheets/sheets/Prevalence_of_Underage_Drinking.html