Children who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more likely to report academic problems, substance use, and delinquent behavior in both middle school and high school. By young adulthood, early alcohol use was associated with employment problems, other substance abuse, and criminal and other violent behavior.
About two fifths of students (41%) have consumed alcohol (more than just a few sips) by 8th grade. Adolescents Drink Less Frequently Than Adults, But When They Do Drink, They Drink More Heavily Than Adults. When youth between the ages of 12 and 20 consume alcohol, they drink on average about five drinks per occasion about six times a month. This amount of alcohol puts an adolescent drinker in the binge range, which, depending on the study, is defined as "five or more drinks on one occasion" or "five or more drinks in a row for men and four or more drinks in a row for women." By comparison, adult drinkers age 26 and older consume on average two to three drinks per occasion about nine times a month. The alcohol industry spent over $28.4 million dollars on ads shown during the 15 most popular teenage television shows in 2003. Alcohol is the number one abused substance by teenagers in the United States. It's prevalence in this age group is quite staggering. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse - Columbia University, "underage drinkers account for 11.4% of all the alcohol consumed in the United States." Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more April is Alcohol Awareness Month |
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