 | Know the Facts | |
Drinking starts earlier than you may think—oftentimes in elementary school. And alcohol affects a young person’s brain differently than an adult’s. The effects of underage drinking can be long-lasting or even permanent.
- The average age that a child takes their first drink is 12.
- Alcohol can damage an adolescent’s developing brain, affecting judgment, impulse control, learning and memory.
- Teen drinking can program the brain for alcoholism. A child who begins drinking before age 13 is 4 times more likely of becoming alcohol-dependent. For those who begin at 21, the risk drops to 1 in 14.
- 67% of teens who drink before age 15 will try other illicit drugs.
- By the time they graduate from high school, half of all teenagers report drinking alcohol regularly. One-third report binge drinking.
- The greatest increase in alcohol usage occurs between grades 9 and 12.
|
|
| |
| United States Surgeon General issues a "Call to Action"
In response to a growing national concern over adolescent alcohol and brain damage research, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a "Call to Action" in early 2007 declaring: "I have issued this 'Surgeon General's Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking' to focus national attention on new, disturbing research which indicates that the developing adolescent brain may be particularly susceptible to long-term negative consequences from alcohol use. Recent studies show that alcohol consumption has the potential to trigger long-term biological changes that may have detrimental effects on the developing adolescent brain, including neuro-cognitive impairment. Adolescent alcohol use is not an acceptable rite of passage but a serious threat to adolescent development and health." (Click here to read the entire Surgeon General's Call to Action.)
|
|
|
|
