What's New?
- Movies that feature drinking make teens twice as likely to drink (28%) & more likely to progress to binge drinking (28%). The number of kids who start drinking doubled from 11% to 25%; the number of kids who binge drink tripled from 4% to 13%. More
- Every year the average age of first alcohol use by youth decreases; the average age of first youth may be as young as 8-years-old.
- Two-thirds of youth say alcohol is easy to get at home without their parents' finding out; one-third say it’s easy to get with their parents' knowledge.
Four Loko, a sweet alcohol drink containing as much alcohol as 4-5 cans of beer, is now resealable to discourage finishing it in one sitting (binge drinking). More - By late adolescence, 78% of teens have consumed alcohol and about 15% meet the criteria for alcohol abuse.
- The median starting age for alcohol use is 14. More
- Teenagers who are familiar with TV ads for alcohol are more likely to drink.
- 59% of the teens drink while 49% engage in binge drinking (more than six drinks in a row). Teens who drink are more likely to be familiar with TV alcohol ads. Owning alcohol-branded merchandise or having a favorite alcohol ad is linked to hazardous drinking. More