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Underage Drinking: The Facts

Alcohol is the No. 1 drug choice among teens in America. • 1

Alcohol kills more young people than all illicit drugs combined. • 2

In 2007, underage drinking cost the nation $68 billion—over $1.3 billion in Louisiana alone. • 3

In 2008, according to self reports by Tangipahoa Parish Students in the 12th grade:

• 79.8% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more days during their life.


• 48% had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more in the past 30 days.


• 27.5% had five or more drinks of alcohol in a row (binge drinking) in the past 30 days. ,. • 4

Teens that begin drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at 21. • 4

In 2008, according to self reports by Tangipahoa Parish 6th graders the average age of first alcohol use is 10.6 years old. • 4

Nearly four out five youth report they are not likely to continue drinking given the threat if caught drinking. A majority (52%) said the threat of punishment would deter them enough that they would definitely not continue to drink and 25% said they would probably not continue to drink. • 5

1. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD); Grunbaum,
2. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD)
3. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), an agency of the United States Department of Justice, Novem 2009. Project KNOW.
4. Caring Communities Youth Survey, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals 2008.
5. The Century Council; TRU; Omnibuzz May, 2003.