Underage Drinking PSA - Let's Make It Happen

Each day, 5,400 kids in the United States under the age of 16 take their first drink. 1 * Of the people who began drinking before age 14, 47% became dependent at some point, compared with 9% of those who began drinking at age 21 or older. 2 * 63% of 8th-graders and 83% of 10th-graders believe that alcohol is readily available to them for consumption. 3 * Almost 20% of 8th-graders, and 41% of 10th-graders have been drunk at least once.3 * Ninth-grade girls now report consuming almost as much alcohol as ninth-grade boys: 36.2% of girls and 36.3% of boys reported drinking in the past month, and 17.3% of girls and 20.7% of boys reported binge drinking.4 * 33.9% of ninth-grade students reported having consumed alcohol before they were age 13. In contrast, only 18.6% of ninth-graders reported having smoked cigarettes, and 11.2% reported having used marijuana before they were age 13.4 * Rates of drinking differ among racial and ethnic minority groups. Among students in grades 9 to 12, 29.9% of non-Hispanic white students, 11.1% of African American students, and 25.3% of Hispanic students reported binge drinking.4 * A study of 5th-through 11th-grade students found that those who are exposed to and enjoy alcohol advertisements have more favorable beliefs about drinking and say they are more likely to drink in the future and consume more alcohol.5

1 According to a February 2006 analysis by J. Gfroerer, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, calculated using the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
2 Hingson RW, Hereen T, Winter MR. 2006. Age at drinking onset and alcohol dependence: Age at onset, duration, and severity. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 160(7):739-746.
3 Johnston LD, O'Malley PM, Bachman JG, and Schulenberg JE. 2007. Monitoring the Future national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2006. (NIH Publication No. 07-6202). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2006. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance United States, 2005. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: CDC Surveillance Summaries 55(SS-5):1-108.
5 Chen MJ, Grube JW. 2001. TV beer and soft drink advertising: What young people like and what effects? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• underage
• drinking
• psa
• let's
• make
• it
• happen
• youth
• sub-21s

[alexafaeth]

@Hokies1114 Legal drinking age does not mean that once your 21 consequences due to intoxication cease to exist. 16, 21, 40; fake friends and health problems are a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Many adults, despite being of age to drink, end up in the hospital (alcohol induced violence, car accidents, alcohol poisoning) The age of legal consumption is not the problem- excessive alcohol abuse and poor judgement is, and it has no age boundaries as maturity cannot be measured by ones age.

[roodawgy1]

@korinakorinakorina technically, alcohol is a base. Not acid. And sometimes its just for taste. I'm 19 years old, and I have a glass of White Zinfadel wine with my dinner sometimes. What's wrong with that? And I sometimes have a good time at parties getting a good buzz going. What's wrong with that? I have a 3.8 GPA in Computer Engineering at University of Maryland. Can you see the down side of anything I'm doing?

[lowaces]

why would the govt rather have 18 year olds being fucked up the ass in hardcore XXX movies than drink alcohol

[J0hannski]

They don't care about you as an individual. They just need you to be capable of working and paying taxes so that they don't lose money.

[theAcidBlues]

Lower the drinking age to 16!

[xXLikeAbosSXx09]

@gamelvr1 so you're comparing underaged drinkers to being "evil" like the serial killers, rapers, and people who commited mass murders... riiiight.so i guess i can compare your logic & thought process to that of a gnat

[gamelvr1]

@xXLikeAbosSXx09 Not bullshit. If somebody drinks alcohol when they're not legally allowed to, they ARE criminals. No intelligent person ever does that. They are evil scum who all deserve to be thrown in jail for some time. No criminal ever deserves to go unpunished

[xXLikeAbosSXx09]

@gamelvr1 bullshit

[gamelvr1]

Anyone who drinks when they're underage are brainless pieces of sh**. Throw them in jail for some time. They are criminals