SAFE GC Coalition: April is Alcohol Awareness Month

Underage drinking is a serious public health problem in the United States. Alcohol is the most widely used substance among America’s youth and can cause them enormous health and safety risks and the consequences of underage drinking can affect everyone regardless of age or drinking status.

According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), about 19.7% of youth ages 14 to 15 reported having at least 1 drink in their lifetime and 5.8 million youth ages 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol beyond “just a few sips” in the past month. Adolescent alcohol use differs by race and ethnicity. For example, at age 14, White, Black, and Hispanic youth are equally likely to drink. By age 18, White and Hispanic youth are twice as likely to drink than Black youth.

Binge drinking has become an area of great concern as people ages 12 to 20 drink 3.2% of all alcohol consumed in the United States. Although youth drink less often than adults, when they do drink, they drink more. Approximately 90% of all beverages containing alcohol consumed by youth are consumed by youth who engage in binge drinking. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08%—or 0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter—or more. This typically happens if a woman has 4 or more drinks, or a man has 5 or more drinks, within about 2 hours. Research shows that fewer drinks in the same timeframe result in the same BAC in youth: only 3 drinks for girls, and 3 to 5 drinks for boys, depending on their age and size.

• 3.2 million youth ages 12 to 20 reported binge drinking at least once in the past month.
• Approximately 646,000 youth ages 12 to 20 reported binge drinking on 5 or more days over the past month.

• More adolescents use alcohol than tobacco and marijuana and drinking patterns differ by age and gender.

Drinking Patterns Vary by Age and Gender Alcohol use often begins during adolescence and becomes more likely as adolescents age. In 2022, fewer than 2 in 100 adolescents ages 12 to 13 reported drinking alcohol in the past month, and fewer than 1 in 100 engaged in binge drinking. Among respondents ages 16 to 17, fewer than 1 in 5 reported drinking, and fewer than 1 in 10 reported binge drinking. Historically, adolescent boys were more likely to drink and binge drink than girls. Now, that relationship has reversed. Past-month alcohol use among adolescents ages 12 to 17 has declined more in recent years for boys than girls, with more girls reporting more alcohol use (8.5% vs. 5.5%) and binge drinking (4.0% vs. 2.6%) than boys.

Implementing prevention strategies during early adolescence is needed to prevent this escalation, particularly because earlier alcohol use is associated with a higher likelihood of a variety of alcohol-related consequences such as Alcohol Use Disorder. Community-based interventions are often coordinated by local coalitions working to mitigate risk factors for alcohol misuse has proven success of delaying age of onset.

The SAFE Glen Cove Coalition was formed in 2003 to change societal norms about alcohol and substance use. The Coalition is concerned about excessive alcohol use in youth and adults and seeks to educate the community about its negative effects on one’s health and wellness. The Glen Cove Police Department has been a longstanding member of the Coalition and works diligently to monitor alcohol sales to minors and provide prevention education to youth and adults about Social Host Law and its consequences throughout the year. To learn more about the SAFE Glen Cove Coalition please follow us on www.facebook.com/safeglencovecoalition or visit SAFE’s website to learn more about Alcohol and its negative consequences please visit www.safeglencove.org.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, as part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, supports and conducts biomedical and behavioral research on the causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. For more information, please visit: niaaa.nih.gov.